Detroit Archives - Page 2 of 9 - The Handbuilt City

For one of the first times ever, the state’s road agency is proposing narrowing a major arterial street and producing a dedicated bus lane. Sort of.

Cycling Public Safety

September 7, 2023 Nat M. Zorach

Drivers: Please Don’t Honk At Cyclists. Ever.

Car horns are dangerously loud, and dangerously loud sounds are not only deleterious to health, they’re also scary for cyclists– who are already occupying a precarious position on the streets of American cities.

abandoned ilitch building in cass corridor detroit owned by olympia development

Detroit Historic preservation Real Estate Urban Planning

August 2, 2023 Nat M. Zorach

The Ilitch Crusade Continues: When Is Enough Enough?

The latest Ilitch demolition has us all scratching our heads and wondering when we will deserve a better city– for buildings, for historic preservation, and, of course, for Detroiters.

streetmix brush street traffic calming and renovation plan

Cycling Parking Urban Planning

July 25, 2023 Nat M. Zorach

What If Every Street Project Required Rightsizing And Traffic Calming?

Detroit’s Department of Public Works spends a lot of time repaving streets. It doesn’t spend much time thinking about what might make those streets safer.

Business & Economics Movements & Organizing Sustainability

July 11, 2023 Nat M. Zorach

TED Countdown Detroit: Sustainability’s Problem With Elitism and Respectability Politics

Al Gore, McKinsey alums, and half of the Ivy League descends on Detroit this week to tell the peasants about sustainability and decarbonization. Just kidding, it’s a for-profit, invite-only event that costs $4,000– no peasants will be invited.

midjourney ai rendering cities city neighborhoods

Art & Design Artificial Intelligence

July 3, 2023 Nat M. Zorach

Unpacking AI Training Biases in Midjourney

Artificial intelligence can produce imagery of whatever you ask it for. The question is: How accurate is the AI’s interpretation? In some cases, it sounds like it’s based more on the prejudices and stereotypes held by the people who design and train the model. That’s a big problem.

Public Safety

June 7, 2023 Nat M. Zorach

Another Day, Another Vigilante Murder in Detroit.

Another pointless death at a gas station in Southwest Detroit highlights, well, we’re not really sure what anymore. Something bad, certainly.

gretchen whitmer announcing her growth strategy for Michigan in front of a bunch of busted cars

Climate Editorial Michigan Politics Urban Planning

June 6, 2023 Nat M. Zorach

Michigan Growth Strategy: Gretchen Whitmer Needs To Step Up Her Politics, Not Her Leadership.

The governor wants to figure out a strategy to grow the state. It’s going to have to start with investing in things that matter to real people, rather than things that matter to quarterly earnings reports for automakers. But it’s not that gloomy. There’s plenty of opportunity to think about how to do this.