In a number of cities, there are certain derelict streets that are nearly denuded of dwellings or businesses. Desolate and forlorn, these streets resemble something out of a post war apocalypse. Detroit may be the poster child du jour of such stark and sad emptiness, but there are many other examples across the Rust Belt and elsewhere. What to do with neglected streets has long been a source of planning discussion and conjecture.  In some instances entire abandoned neighborhoods have or are being converted to urban agriculture or community gardens.  …

The growth of car-share has helped people forgo the expense of car ownership in major cities like Washington and Seattle, where it’s been widely adopted. But not every city has the market to sustain car-share services from companies like Zipcar or Hertz. In his book Walkable City, Jeff Speck writes that your city might not be “ready” for car-share if, when you stick out your hand downtown, a cab doesn’t stop.

Now an organization in Buffalo, New York, is working to open up car-share to new markets and new demographics. The non-profit Buffalo CarShare has grown to serve 500 members since it launched four years ago in one of the poorest cities in the country.

Warren-based volunteer group gregg’s gardens (www.greggsgardens.org) announced today that we have received $10,000 in funding from the Trumbull 100 (www.trumbull100.org ) – the largest singular gift we have received to date.

Gregg’s gardens are named for the late Gregg Snyder, a lifelong Warren resident who was tragically killed in a 2011 bicycling accident. It is a land re-use strategy that seeks to convert derelict post-demolition residential lots into native plant and wildflower gardens. It is a passive land re-use tool meant to complement other strategies for repurposing the glut of vacant lots in Warren, including residential yard expansion as well as gardens and food production sites.

Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo recently installed a bank of 15 solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in one of its parking lots at Miller Auditorium. What a great idea for making green driving greener.

Source: openpr.com

Utilizing the sun for recharging eliminates the need for electric infrastructure upgrades, uses Mother Nature as the power source instead of fossil fuels, and in theory eliminates the need for the property owner and/or the vehicle owner would have to pay a utility for the electric charge since it is derived from sunlight.
Here is a brief …

Video after the jump

 
Tweet

Hello, Rustifarians! We at Rust Wire have an assignment for you, should you choose to accept it.
We’d like to put together a series of travel guides to Rust Belt cities, written by those that know them best: you guys!
We’re looking for something vaguely along these lines: your favorite local spots, with a little bit of your personality thrown in. Be creative! Tell us what are the best spots in Buffalo, in Detroit, in Pittsburgh. Where do that locals — the hip, avant guarde blog reading locals — hang. Email your …

My friend Dennis Litto shot this video of the annual New Year’s Day polar bear swim at Huntington Beach in the Cleveland suburb of Bay Village Edgewater Park in Cleveland.

This video starts a little slow, but it’s well worth the wait, I promise. The swimmers make their plunge at noon on New Year’s Day.
You’ve gotta be tough, as they say.
Tweet

Video after the jump

 
Tweet

In what may be a first for the nation, Michigan Governor Snyder recently signed legislation establishing a “Dark-Sky Coast” on 21,000 acres of State-owned land in Emmet County, located north of Petoskey and west of Mackinaw City. An aerial photograph of the newly designated Dark-Sky Coast is shown.

Combined with the existing Headlands International Dark-Sky Park, it is hoped the two sites will increase tourism while also literally displaying the numerous benefits of protecting the night sky from sources of light pollution, particularly sky glow or the urban halo effect created by communities which do not require downshielded lighting and shut-off fixtures.

I had my first opportunity to attend ArtPrize in Grand Rapids last Saturday. My oh my, have they ever hit upon a huge economic development success. Touted as the world’s largest open art competition, covering more than three square miles in the city’s central business district, ArtPrize is simply mind-boggling, inspiring, amazing, and entertaining all at the same time.
 
 
 
 
 
 
-
All told, in 2102, you could see 1,517 entries (from 45 states and 56 countries) on display at 161 venues by walking the entire nine mile trail. It is quite amazing. ArtPrize offers a …