GSI Archives - The Handbuilt City

Mobility Public transit Michigan Transit infrastructure Government

MDOT: Rebrand And Replace. Some Ideas From The MAP Conference.

October 28, 2021October 28, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments aicp, ambassador bridge, american planning association, auto industry, automotive, car culture, cars, chrysler, dan gilbert, dan gilbert industrial complex, EGLE, f150 super duty state of mind, Ford, ford motor company, fossil fuel subsidies, fossil fuels, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, highways, land of the rising f150 super duty, mami, MAP, matty moroun, MDEQ, mdot, MEDC, MEGA tax breaks, michigan, michigan association of planning, mike duggan, moroun, public transit, rick snyder, road, stellantis, transit, vehicle miles traveled, vmt, vmt reduction, wendy rampson

Nat is attending the Michigan Association of Planning’s annual conference. It’s going great– especially with regard to figuring out new ways to refashion state agencies that aren’t doing their jobs.

Transit infrastructure Ecology Streetscaping

Greener Streets, Safer Streets: Less Flooding Through Better Transportation Infrastructure

July 27, 2021July 27, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments albedo, bioretention, bioswale, black locust, buffer, climate, climate adaptation, climate change, climate resilience, detroit flooding, detroit street grid, flooding, floodwater, floodwaters, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, hardscaping, impervious, mdot, MDOT engineers, pervious, rain, rainwater, rainwater detention, rainwater retention, resilient, resilient infrastructure, riparian buffer, road engineering, safe streets, shade trees, storms, street grid, street grids, street trees, streets, traffic calming, urban heat island, vision zero, water infiltration, water treatment, weather, woonerf

In the aftermath of a catastrophic flooding event a few weeks ago, Detroiters cleaned out their basements of water-damaged and

Urban Planning Tech

NPC21: The Rapid Evolution of Virtual Conferencing

May 6, 2021May 6, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 2U, aicp, american planning association, apa, avocado toast, big dig, black-eyed susans, boston, city planners, coneflowers, conferences, consulting, consulting engineers, gen z, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, katy shackelford, mail-order MBA, millennial, millennials, national planning conference, npc21, online MBA, parsons brinckerhoff, philadelphia, planners, stardew valley, tareq wafaie, urban planners, vacant lot management, vacant lots, viaduct, wsp, zoomer

Nat is attending the National Planning Conference “in” Boston this week, and reflecting on growth in the planning field alongside leaps and bounds in progress made in virtual conferencing.

Ready For The Warm Weather? Spring Into Native Plants!

March 12, 2021March 12, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments alex zorach, andropogon gerardii, are lawns bad, backyard ecology, biodiversity, bioregional, bioregions, bplant, chasmanthium latifolium, coreopsis, daisy family, ecological restoration, erigeron canadensis, fleabane, gardening, gardening 101, gardens, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, habitat restoration, horseweed, lawns, native ecology, native grasses, native plants, native wildflowers, nursery, prairie grasses, prairie moon, prairie moon nursery, root systems, schizachyrium scoparium, shortgrass prairie, tallgrass, tallgrass prairie, toledo, toledo prairie restoration, upper mississippi, upper mississippi country, why lawns are bad, wildflowers

A couple of weeks ago, we received our Prairie Moon Nursery catalog of native plants and seeds in the mail.

Detroit Adaptation & Resilience Urban Planning

An Evening Stroll Down Bagley’s New Streetscape

September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments alexander vlachos, bagley, Detroit, detroit homecoming, greater alexander, greater impact house, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, matterport, mexican village detroit, mexicantown, rainwater, southwest detroit, stormwater, stormwater infrastructure, streetscaping, xochimilco

Bagley St., between I-75 and 24th St., has undergone a charming streetscape renovation. It is now modeled in 3D for your viewing pleasure!

Environment Infrastructure

Green Stormwater Infrastructure And You

April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 Nat Zorach 0 Comments combined sewer overflow, CSO, CSS, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, infrastructure, infrastructure funding, urban heat island

I made a GSI Alignment Chart to help explore– perhaps with some levity- different approaches to green stormwater infrastructure.

Alleys: The Back Road To Sustainable Development

January 13, 2020February 10, 2020 Nat Zorach 0 Comments Accessory dwelling unit, ADU, affordable housing, alleys, Cadillac Escalade, combined sewer overflow, CUBA, currently unsubsidized but affordable, Density, Ford F150, garages, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, infrastructure, naturally occurring affordable housing, NOAH, residential construction, southwest detroit, stormwater infrastructure, stormwater management, stormwater retention

Alleys, an oft-forgotten component of the urban fabric, have transformative potential for infrastructure and real estate.

Environmental Justice Urban Planning Environment

What’s More Expensive Than Spending On Climate Change? Not Spending On It.

September 12, 2019September 11, 2019 Nat Zorach 0 Comments alabama, bahamas, cap and trade, carbon tax, climate adaptation, climate change, flood management, florida, GSI, gulf coast, houston, hurricane dorian, hurricane harvey, hurricane maria, louisiana, miami, mississippi, new orleans, puerto rico, resilience, resilient infrastructure, Sprawl, stormwater infrastructure, texas, urban growth

One morning last fall, I found myself standing in the basement of my 1895 home, watching a waterfall cascade off

Urban Planning Transit infrastructure Environment

On The Banks of the Mighty Maumee

August 29, 2019August 29, 2019 Nat Zorach 0 Comments amtrak, economic development, gary, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, habitat loss, habitat restoration, johnstown, manifest destiny, maumee river, native landscaping, ohio, parks, prairie grasses, public space, rail infrastructure, stormwater management, tallgrass prairie, toledo, trains, youngstown

In anticipation of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s imminent assumption of her role as supreme socialist ruler of the cosmos, in which she

Cities & Urban Planning Environment

April Showers Bring May Combined Sewer Overflows

May 1, 2019May 1, 2019 Nat Zorach 0 Comments climate adaptation, climate change, combined sewer overflow, CSO, Detroit, drainage, flooding, french drain, green stormwater infrastructure, GSI, home rehab, rainfall, Renovation, stormwater

I woke up several times last night to the sound of torrential rain drumming on the roof. The attic roof