Grand Rapids is on a roll. From booming tourism to a revitalized riverfront; from its famous ArtPrize competition to its wildly popular lip-dub video of a sing-along downtown parade, this onetime fine-furniture manufacturing capital is roaring back to life after surviving a near-death experience as a Rust Belt city.
A big plan’s small steps changed how city operates…
How is it that Sierra Club and other national environmental groups advance smart growth campaigns for urban growth because it reduces carbon emissions, but when density projects are proposed here in Traverse City, we lack organized support from the environmental community? The answer, unfortunately, is clear: it’s harder to advocate for something than it is to oppose something – and that’s a real problem.
Traffic is a hot issue in Traverse City, yet much of the debate focuses on how to move traffic from one area to another, rather than ways to actually reduce it. Unless we give visitors and workers more options for getting around, congestion will increase.
Young people and young families want to live where they can bike downtown, walk to schools and parks, and shop at a nearby grocery store. But high rent prices are forcing them to the outlying areas where they have no choice but to drive to meet their basic needs.
A national expert in land use believes northern Michigan can greatly enhance its economy by designing walkable, urban communities that offer an experience unlike anywhere else in the world.