Michigan

Mayor Dayne Walling on Flint, MI's new comprehensive plan

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Flint, MI
Residents of Flint, MI, at one of the many community meetings that informed the city’s new comprehensive plan. Image via Imagine Flint.

The last time Flint, Michigan approved a master plan for the city’s development, Dwight Eisenhower was president and the city’s population was nearly double what it is today. Now, for the first time in over 50 years, Flint has a comprehensive plan to guide future growth that accurately reflects the opportunities and challenges facing the city today.

The city of Flint was a 20th century boomtown, but decades of job losses, disinvestment and population decline took a hard toll on the community. Flint mayor Dayne Walling, a member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, knew the city needed a new comprehensive plan that would update city policies and guide future public investments in a way that acknowledged these changes.

Local Leaders Council

Smart Growth America, MDOT and MSHDA release findings of year-long projects in five Michigan communities

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Downtown Grand Rapids, MI. Photo by Keith Caterino. Downtown Grand Rapids, MI, one of five communities included in Smart Growth America’s work. Photo by Keith Caterino.

Smart Growth America is pleased to unveil a new resource today with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). The report, “Leading Livability: Pilot Transportation Demand Management and Mobility Management Programs of Five Michigan Communities”, is designed to help local leaders in Michigan learn how transportation and mobility improvements can strengthen their local economies and create more livable communities.

Technical assistance

Vice-mayor Hannah McKinney on saving municipal budgets through smarter growth in Kalamazoo, MI

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Hannah McKinney believes that to create strong metropolitan areas in this country we have to focus on creating strong neighborhoods. As Vice Mayor of Kalamazoo, Michigan; she’s working to make that happen in her region.

“That sense of being tied to a physical location is something that, for many people doesn’t exist anymore,” says McKinney, “We need to create neighborhoods that are unique, that are livable.”

An Advisory Board member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, Hannah McKinney has served on the City Commission for 16 years. She has a long history of working to make Kalamazoo a great place to live, work, and visit. In 2003, McKinney co-chaired the Convening our Community project; a community-building initiative focused on creating a smart growth report to guide land use decisions. McKinney worked on the city’s Comprehensive Plan update, Downtown Plan, and the creation of a 2010 Master Plan to guide future growth and development, all while protecting Kalamazoo’s unique character – – and that’s only part of it.

Local Leaders Council

Mayor Bryan Barnett on fostering a liveable Rochester Hills, MI

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RIbp

Located 25 miles north of Detroit, the city of Rochester Hills, MI may seem like an unlikely place for smart growth to be taking hold. But local residents have taken to smart growth concepts on multiple fronts—from transportation, to preservation of open space to economic development. Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett, a member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, is committed to advancing them even further.

“To me smart growth is a philosophy and it’s a lifestyle,” Barnett says. “It’s not all economic development, it’s not all transportation. It’s about stepping back and looking at how our decisions impact where we want Rochester Hills to be a few years down the road.”

Local Leaders Council

M-1 streetcar project a sign of hope for Detroit amidst municipal bankruptcy

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M-1 Streetcar in downtown Detroit. Photo via The Architects Newspaper.

Despite Detroit declaring bankruptcy earlier this month, the city’s M-1 RAIL streetcar project is pressing forward and bringing with it hopes for a stronger local economy in downtown Detroit.

We’ve written before about the M-1 RAIL project and how it is expected to support economic development along Woodward Avenue. The good news is that the City’s ongoing financial troubles are not expected to impact the project’s progress.

Uncategorized

Buena Vista Charter Township looks to address long-term fiscal and economic goals during smart growth strategy workshop

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A rendering of streetscape plans for Buena Vista Township. Image via MLive.com.

Smart Growth America will meet with residents and leaders of Buena Vista, MI next week to help identify new strategies that could attract business investments and stabilize neighborhoods in the township.

Buena Vista Township residents are invited to join the workshop’s first day for a public presentation on March 5, 2013 from 6-8 PM at the Buena Vista Community Center, 1940 South Outer Drive, Saginaw, Michigan.

Technical assistance

Roundtable series in six cities this spring will discuss federal real estate issues and their solutions

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LOCUS members at 2012’s Leadership Summit.

LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors is proud to announce a new series of industry roundtable discussions about improving the federal government’s role in today’s real estate market.

The discussion series will gather leading real estate developers and investors from across the country to address the federal government’s role in real estate, and create solutions to align federal involvement in real estate to better support walkable development across America.

LOCUS

Introducing LOCUS state chapters

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LOCUS is proud to formally announce that we are expanding our efforts to six key regions across the country with LOCUS state chapters. LOCUS state chapters, working closely with LOCUS members in these states, will complement and enhance our ongoing national work to promote walkable development through education, advocacy, and technical assistance.

We have already begun work in the chapters states of Alabama, California, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and Washington. Thank you to the LOCUS members and allies who have met with us in these states thus far.

LOCUS members are invited and encouraged to join the work of these state chapters. If you are not yet a LOCUS member and are interested in joining, submit a membership application today.

LOCUS
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