economic development Archives - The Handbuilt City

Business & Economics Energy Tech

In Irrational Markets, Bitcoin Mining Uses– And Abuses- Local Power

September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments bitcoin, bitcoin mining, bitcoin mining rig, blockchain, brightridge, crypto, cryptobros, cryptocurrency, dresden ny, economic developer, economic development, environmental impact of bitcoin, greenidge, industrial bitcoin mining operations, market capitalization of bitcoin, rural economic development, the taste that kids crave, upstate new york

Economic development is good, right? Well, perhaps not so much if it involves infuriating local residents with noise or point source air or thermal pollution.

Business & Economics Tech Rural Issues

Amazon, Lifeline or Scourge For Retail-Starved, Rural Communities?

September 21, 2021September 21, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments amazon, amazon prime, Amazon Web Services, distribution facilities, economic development, fedex, free shipping, georgetown maine, jeff bezos, jeff bezos blue origin, logistics, rural, rural economic development, rural juror, sagadahoc county, shipping, ups, USPS, usps dejoy, warehouseing, westport maine, why is fedex so bad

Amazon is committed to a money-losing strategy to try and cop rural market share. But it’s not exactly a great deal for consumers, either. Looking at some examples from Maine and an example from California, we can learn a bit about the challenges facing retail in rural communities as well as how Amazon is (maybe) thinking about this issue.

Detroit, The World’s Racetrack: My First Time At The Belle Isle Grand Prix

June 17, 2021June 17, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments beaubien, belle isle, belle isle grand prix, brooks patterson, bud denker, cars, chevrolet, collision course, dave gifford, daytona prototype international, department of natural resources, detroit tigers, DPI, economic development, fast cars, find new roads, grand prix, huski, huski chocolate, indy 500, indy cars, indycar, jay leno, leigh diffey, little caesars, mdot, michigan department of transportation, nascar, particulate emissions, pat morita, people mover, QLINE, race cars, racing, racism, really fast cars, renaissance center, roger penske, suburban racism, sweden, tragedy of the commons, vroom, vroom vroom, vroomvroom

At the Grand Prix, presented by [Car Company] on Belle Isle, we enjoyed pulled pork nachos, sunshine, and a haze of particulate emissions.

Real Estate Policy

Study: Detroit CBO Is Not Quite There Yet

April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments CAYMC, CBA, CBO, commercial development, commercial real estate, community benefits, community benefits agreement, community benefits ordinance, community development, community economic development, community engagement, community engagement strategies, community engagement strategy, corktown, corktown detroit development, detroit community benefits, detroit housing, detroit housing market, detroit local economy, detroit mayor mike duggan, duggan administration, economic development, housing, lending, mayor mike duggan, metro detroit, mike duggan, northside regeneration, paul mckee, rashida tlaib, real estate, real estate developers, St. Louis, sugar law center, sugar law center detroit, sugar law detroit

An academic paper looks at the Detroit Community Benefits Ordinance, or CBO. Conclusions? It’s had mixed success. We can get beyond this if we stop thinking about public policy in the simplistic terms of “pro” or “anti” development.

Detroit Public transit Michigan Transit infrastructure

What If We Can’t Wait? Public-Private Partnership Solutions for Infrastructure

February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments amtrak, Amtrak NEC, augean stables, austerity, ben stupka, brooks patterson, BRT, bus, chicago parking meters, dave coulter, Detroit, economic development, FRR, l. brooks patterson, macomb county, MBA, mba capstone, megan owens, metro detroit, michigan, mikel oglesby, mobility infrastructure, new york fear city, oakland county, philanthropic capital, PPP, private sector, public sector, public transit, public-private partnership, regional infrastructure, regional planning, regional transit, regional transit authority, robert moses, RTA, ryan friedrichs, stephanie farmer, transit, transit infrastructure, transportation, transportation riders united, TRU, why is macomb county awful

The RTA is planning on returning in 2022– again- to revisit a ballot measure to fund regional infrastructure investment in Southeast Michigan. Can we wait for 2022? Should we explore alternatives in the meantime?

Urban Planning Government Vacancy

Why Is Detroit Giving Industrial Slumlords Like Moroun A Free Pass?

January 11, 2021January 11, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments ambassador bridge, BSEED, building department, building inspections, building inspector, corktown, dan gilbert, Detroit, detroit international bridge company, DIBC, economic development, enforcement, gordie howe, gordie howe international bridge, green dot stables, logistics, manuel moroun, matty moroun, Mike Ilitch, moroun, northern border transit, rosa parks blvd., southwest detroit, trucking, UST properties, UST Properties of Michigan, ust properties of michigan llc, Vacancy, warren, west side industrial

The owners of the Ambassador Bridge, their trucking empire, and a plethora of shell corporations own many acres of prime real estate close to Detroit’s downtown. Why have they avoided regulatory scrutiny?

Entrepreneurship Burgerbanism Food

Yum Village Will Bring The Fire In Detroit’s Takeout Dining Scene This Winter

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments afro-caribbean, APX interactive, art deco, black-owned business, COVID19, crowdfunding, Detroit, economic development, entrepreneurship, food, godwin ihentuge, joe robinson, milwaukee junction, new center, nigeria, north end, restaurants, storefronts, we run 313, yum village

Experience all three dimensions of Yum Village– and then get you some jerk chicken.

Detroit: Vote No On Proposition N

October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments community development, demolition, Detroit, distressed property, duggan, economic development, mike duggan, proposition N

Detroit’s Proposition N, on the ballot next week, is a terrible idea for a few reasons, and Handbuilt recommends you vote no.

Business & Economics Historic preservation Urban Planning Transit infrastructure

Detroit Fairgrounds Site: Alternatives to Permanent, Monumentally Bad Decisions

October 6, 2020October 5, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 8 mile, adaptive reuse, brooks patterson, brownfield, dave coulter, DDOT, Density, Detroit, duggan, economic development, eight mile, francis grunow, historic preservation, mike duggan, preservation, QLINE, redevelopment, RTA, SMART, state fairgrounds, state fairgrounds site, transit, transit infrastructure, woodward, woodward avenue

The State Fairgrounds site is centrally located, and it’s huge. Too huge to make some monumentally bad decisions about permanently turning it into a Shelby Township-style strip mall.

Detroit Historic preservation Mobility Transit infrastructure

Tour of Ford’s Michigan Central Station Project

September 22, 2020September 21, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments adaptive reuse, biking, corktown, dearborn, Density, Detroit, detroit international bridge company, economic development, Ford, ford motor, historic preservation, land use planning, matty moroun, Michigan Central Station, micromobility, mobility, Mobility Corridor, moroun, multi-modal transportation, new mobility, public transit, regional transit authority, RTA, scooters, southeast michigan, speculation, train station, train stations, trains, transit, transit infrastructure, trump, urban living

Michigan Central Station, the iconic, hulking, centenarian structure that has sat vacant for decades, is perhaps the flagship redevelopment project

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