Economists know that Michigan’s future, including Traverse City’s, is inextricably connected to the fate of Detroit. And Detroit cannot succeed if Michiganders don’t stop the terrible, twin trends of public disinvestment and population loss from our state’s largest city.
On March 20, a group of us embarked on an Odyssey of our own. We spent three days using only buses and trains to travel to and around our state’s largest metropolitan regions.
The Michigan Land Use Institute is launching a new Know Your Farmer marketing tool as a companion to the successful Taste the Local Difference Food and Farm Guide that is a directory to more than 200 of the region’s farms and their products.
A recent merger between TC-TALUS and another transportation planning agency, the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments (NWMCOG) Regional Planning Division, will create an opportunity for regional transportation planning that can include more comprehensive solutions.
Sure, this region has a long way to go. But developers, public officials, non-profits, and volunteers are starting to work together to grow in ways that align with citizens’ values.
What if neighborhoods allowed anyone to park on their streets, charged a fee, then used the money to make improvements in their communities? The money could be used for sidewalk repair, installing streetlights, or making changes to roadways to encourage safer, slower driving.