Land

Re-leaf Duluth seeks to restore the environment

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By Daniel Badhwa

The city of Duluth, Minn. has launched a new program to restore and plant more trees in urban neighborhoods. Trees have disappeared from Duluth due to higher energy costs, pollution and unhealthy growing environments. The city of Duluth established the Re-Leaf program three years ago after setting aside a $5,000 annual budget to re-leaf the city. Urban trees provide shade for houses and businesses and soak up rainwater to lessen polluted runoff into lakes and streams. To many people though, urban trees simply provide a more pleasant living environment.

Recreation

Duluth man rebuilds city’s trails

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Dan Procter has spent seven years restoring Duluth’s Chester Park Trails using nothing more than hand tools. After recent flooding, Procter was the only man up for the task of repairing the damage. The main trail has since been named after him, and members of the Duluth community reflect on his hard work and inspiring attitude.

Land

Book explores Detroit’s unreal estate

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What do you do with urban territory that has fallen out of the literal economy?

A University of Michigan architecture professor suggests community gardens flourishing in empty lots, artists using fire-damaged buildings as palettes and neighborhood fairs in alleys.

Land

City Recycling

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Great Lakes cities recycle brownfields into urban hope
Abandoned urban lots are community eyesores that increasingly represent economic opportunity.These so-called brownfields carry social ills, but finding a way to reuse them is more important than ever. Local officials tap jobs programs, private investment, bond sales, tax incentives, cultural history and other measures for what might be the ultimate city recycling projects. Buffalo’s industrial past linked to economic future
The Lake Erie shore is scarred here with remnants of another time. But amidst the eyesores is evidence of Buffalo’s exciting future. Eight wind turbines hint at a broader redevelopment.

Land

Looking for Great Lakes region city recylers

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One of the first things Michigan Gov.-elect Rick Snyder noted in his victory speech Tuesday is the need to restore his state’s central cities. That’s hardly news. And it’s hardly the first time a politician highlighted the need.  Who could oppose such a thing? But who can make it happen? Better yet, who is making it happen now?

Land

New film on urban gardening in Detroit uses creative marketing strategy

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Detroit native Mark McInnis is giving away seeds to help introduce his new film on the explosion of urban gardening in his home city. In Urban Roots, McInnis connects  the decline of the city’s auto industry to the rise of  vacant lots that now provide space for gardens. McInnis’s mother worked for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit throughout his childhood. “That job put braces on my bother’s teeth, paid for our skateboards and our weekend trips up north,” he said.