Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

Foreign correspondence from Ethan Kent at Project for Public Spaces:

I was working in Flint, Michigan the first part of this week. Remarkably, for a city that was planned for everything but people, there are still some great people working to create a genuine "Steets Rennaissance." Flint originally built itself around the car and, after General Motors left town, rebuilt itself around large "economic development" projects. Yet, today, "Vehicle City" barely generates a trickle of downtown traffic.

Though there are few reasons for people to come downtown, city planners remain focused on  parking availability as their major concern. As we often see in other places, New York City included, a narrow focus on parking is an indicator that a community has no larger vision for itself.

The Rennaissance Center in nearby Detroit is an icon to the Renaisnace of the automobile and the anti-human architecture and land-use policies that came with it. 

Not a friendly building close up either.

On a more hopeful note, Project for Public Spaces developed the vision for what could be the start of a Streets Renaissance for Detroit in the fomerly asphalt and car-dedicated Campus Martius Park.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Are Charged Up for the Fourth

The Republican megabill is bad for the electric vehicle industry, but it could be worse.

July 3, 2025

Why is the Secretary of Transportation Begging Americans to Take More Road Trips?

Instead of making America easier to see on all modes, the US Department of Transportation is encouraging U.S. residents to just get in their cars and drive.

July 3, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Are for the Children

From mothers with babies in strollers to preteens on bikes, much of the U.S. is hostile to families just trying to get around without a car.

July 2, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025
See all posts