{"id":19642,"date":"2017-03-14T13:11:29","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T13:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?p=19642"},"modified":"2017-03-14T13:11:29","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T13:11:29","slug":"no-little-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/no-little-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"No Little Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legendary urban planner, Daniel Burnham, famously said \u201cMake no little plans; they have no magic to stir men\u2019s blood\u201d.<\/p>\n

This \u201cdream big\u201d sentiment rings true for aspiring urban planners who want to make a large-scale impact on a city or community. Since Detroit declared bankruptcy in 2013, a cross-sector network of civic leaders has taken on the challenge of creating and implementing an inclusive plan for long-term development.<\/p>\n

At the Detroit Policy Conference<\/a> on March 2nd<\/sup>, a variety of speakers articulated this shared vision. Here are a few snippets:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDetroit is not a blank canvas\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u2014Cornetta Lane, founder of Pedal to Porch<\/a> and Challenge Detroit alumna, on the importance of connecting people to the stories of existing communities and building neighborhood resiliency.<\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n

\u00a0\u201cTrying to build your way out of traffic congestion is like treating obesity by loosening your belt\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u2014Janette Sadik-Khan, Principal of Transportation at Bloomberg Associates and author of Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution<\/em><\/a>, on the need for a fundamental shift towards diverse transit options and accessible communities.<\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n

\u201cAre we suffering from collaboration fatigue?\u201d<\/h4>\n

\u2013Chris Uhl, with Rock Ventures, on the challenges of working closely with a strong network of philanthropic partners in the city.<\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From these panels and discussions on \"\"Detroit\u2019s growth, it was clear that planning and policy do have the ability to create real and lasting change. Improved streetscapes increase accessibility and perceptions of safety. Zoning and tax credits guide development. Green space and transit infrastructure attract investment and lead to job growth.\u00a0 The affordability \u00a0 \u00a0 and availability of housing fluctuates (for better or worse) as the economic profile and culture of a neighborhood shift.<\/p>\n

Of course, plans are only valuable if implemented. Over the course of the day, I heard a lot of \u201cbig plans\u201d that cannot be realized without a variety of partnerships, resources, and civic enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll leave you with one last quote from another urban planning hotshot:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDesigning a dream city is easy, rebuilding a living one takes imagination”<\/h4>\n

\u2013Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The legendary urban planner, Daniel Burnham, famously said \u201cMake no little plans; they have no magic to stir men\u2019s blood\u201d. This \u201cdream big\u201d sentiment rings true for aspiring urban planners who want to make a large-scale impact on a city or community. Since Detroit declared bankruptcy in 2013, a cross-sector network of civic leaders has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":19643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17,12,18,26,407,27,32,90,29,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leaddetroit","category-livedetroit","category-playdetroit","category-workdetroit","category-community","category-detroit-businesses","category-education","category-entrepreneurship","category-featured","category-revitalization","category-thoughts-on-cities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}