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.

Land

The Michigan State University crew for The Greening of Flint

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Troy Hale: 11-Time Emmy Award winning television producer and filmmaker. Producer for the Big Ten Network as well as executive producing and host for a TV program for Michigan PBS stations. Geri Alumit Zeldes: Assistant Professor at Michigan State University and producer of the documentary film “Arabs, Jews and the News.” AJN is the winner of a 2010 Award of Excellence from the Broadcast Education Association, 2010 winner of Best Documentary from the Virtual Film Festival, as well as other awards. The work was uplinked March 2010 for national distribution and has already aired in northern California, Montana and other stations in Michigan. Students:

Kirk Green, Journalism

Quincy Hodges, Journalism (master’s)

Matthew Law, Telecommunications Information Studies and Media

Kristina Marks, Telecommunications Information Studies and Media (2010 graduate)

Anthony Siciliano, Telecommunications Information Studies and Media (2010 graduate)

Mike Tetrick, Telecommunications Information Studies and Media

Yang Zhang, Journalism (master’s)

Land

Ann Arbor residents question removal of massive maple tree

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(MI) Ann Arbor News – Several residents on Ann Arbor’s west side are angry a massive silver maple tree they believe was healthy was cut down by city foresters. More distressing, they say, is that the 4-foot diameter tree on Charlton Street in the Virginia Park neighborhood was a casualty in a larger pattern. The group believes trees are being removed by default, rather than after efforts to save them. More

Land

Metro businesses go green with designs

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – Clinton Township lawyer Greg Buss imagines walking out the back door of his office to picnic under the trees along the Clinton River. “I’d like to be able to look out there and see the deer. You do see some fox down there,” said Buss, who practices real estate law from an office about a mile from the planned site of a new eco-friendly office building he plans to build. “It’s pretty cool to do something that’s good for the environment.” More