municipal government - The Handbuilt City

Policy Public Safety

Police Reform: Imagining New Roles For A Safer, More Functional Society

April 23, 2021April 23, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 1312, abolish the police, acab, angie schmitt, austerity, black lives matter, BSEED, budgets, building department, building inspections, building inspector, building officials, community engagement, community meetings, cycling, cycling safety, dave bell, defund the police, democracy, Detroit, detroit police chief james craig, detroit police department, detroit will breathe, fuck the police, james craig, jessica parker, legal aid, municipal budgets, municipal government, nonmotorized transportation, pedestrian fatalities, pedestrian safety, police, police abolition, police brutality, police brutality lawsuits, police departments, police reform, policing in the united states, prison abolition, prison reform, public funding, reform the police, safe mobility, safe streets, social justice, social safety net, social welfare, social work, social worker, social workers, traffic safety, traffic violence

We expect police to respond to, well, everything. And they’re not suited for it. Rethinking policing in the United States will require us to figure out alternatives for who is responding to what issue.

Public Health Public Safety Transit infrastructure

Lethal Projectiles: Car Culture, Gun Violence, and Police Shootings

April 19, 2021April 19, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments adam toledo, black lives matter, BLM, brian calley, brooklyn center, chicago, city government, department of transportation, detroit police, detroit police chief james craig, detroit will breathe, diane cross, gun violence in chicago, james craig, jeff cranson, lane miles, level-of-service, LoS, mdot, michigan department of transportation, municipal government, officer-involved shooting, police abolition, police abolition movement, police brutality, police brutality lawsuits, police reform, police shooting, police shootings, public health, public police, traffic violence, violence, what about chicago, what about gun violence in chicago

Matthew Lewis points out that departments of transportation and police departments are two of the least democratic institutions in American society right now– and are two of the biggest threats to public health.

Urban Planning Government

Netflix’s ‘Tread’ Is A Good Indictment Of Municipal Bureaucracy

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments building code, building department, bureaucracy, city bureaucracy, city government, code, code compliance, customer service, energy code, municipal government, Zoning

Marvin John Heemeyer bulldozed a few buildings before shooting himself dead after a years-long dispute with a municipal government. While an extreme example, it’s a credible indictment of city governments that embrace inflexible paths to things like code compliance.