Green :
Featured Stories
Matthew Naimi
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Recycle Here! is packed every Saturday and there is curbside recycling in Rosedale Park, East English Village and Palmer Woods/University District, servicing nearly 50,000 households. Matthew Naimi says that's only the beginning of the Bee Green movement.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sustainability and hair styling go hand in hand, says Green City diarist Matt Piper, who visits the Social Club Grooming Company this week and Curl Up and Dye next week to find out what they are doing to positively impact the environment.
Tunde Wey
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
He started Hamtown Farms, a plot of land nestled between Kowalski Sausage, Lumpkin St. and an alley, after eating a strange-tasting fruit with the equally strange name of paw-paw. Tunde Wey introduces us to Michael Davis.
Veronica Gracia-Wing
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Affordable energy, reliable energy, and protecting our environment were part of the governor's recent 'Ensuring our future' message. Veronica Gracia-Wing digs into the details with the governor's deputy legal council and senior policy advisor.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
In this month's entry, Matt Piper gets people thinking about the empowering simplicity of health, quality, freshness and convenience when it comes to the food we eat. Not to mention advocacy for a better way of life.
Amelia Kanan
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Erik Nordin, who partnered with his brother on design work at the Madison Building and 24 Grille, has made a century old building his project made from passion. Amelia Kanan tells us how renewable resources play a part in the story of the Charles.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Detroit city kids are into transformational change, getting turned on by green living science projects, taking positive ownership of their own neighborhoods. Matthew Piper likes what he's hearing. Bonus video by Matt Dibble.
Dennis Archambault
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Ideas for a non-motorized future are rolling forward, cycling businesses are forming and improving the quality of life. This looks like another "wow" Detroit enterprise trend gaining traction. Dennis Archambault reports from the fast lane.
Tunde Wey
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Rebecca Salminen Witt is president of Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit whose mission is to guide and inspire others to create a greener city through planting and educational programs, environmental leadership, advocacy, and community building.
Marvin Shaouni & Matthew Piper
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Matthew Piper has been producing the Green City Diaries since the beginning of the year. This installment collects the best of the series' visual work by his project partner, Marvin Shaouni.
Amelia Kanan
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Thanks to the Recovery Act, a few local programs are recruiting unemployed residents, training them with sustainable construction skills and then helping them find work; all for free. Amelia Kanan reports with words and pictures.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The bad news is that we've lost buildings to neglect and disinvestment. The good news is that we're not going to take it anymore. There are new strategies to repurpose Detroit properties. Matthew Piper hunts down some more sustainable solutions.
Tunde Wey
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Meet urban agriculture pioneers the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, a group advocating for food justice for Detroit’s majority African-American community. Writer Tunde Wey takes it all in for Model D.
Denise McGeen
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Cobo Center's $300 million renovation project is well under way. We take a look at long overdue infrastructure upgrades that are cutting costs and energy consumption while also transforming Cobo into a model for efficiency.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Green projects are sprouting up all over the city. In part 2 his latest diary entry, Matthew Piper finds common ground in Hamtramck and Palmer Park.
Francis Grunow
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Detroit may seem like the last urban stronghold for the car-in-every-driveway ideal, but less than a year after Wayne State introduced a car sharing program, Detroiters are proving that car ownership is not the only way to get around. Francis Grunow steers the conversation.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
In Detroit, stories about people successfully taking ownership of neglected space abound. And they keep coming. Matthew Piper found a few more in the North End, in Corktown, and in Midtown for this week's Green City Diaries entry.
Melinda Clynes
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Along with educating Detroit sophomores and juniors about agriculture-based sciences, the Golightly Agriscience Program also contributes to making the community more livable by raising transplants for community gardens and providing educational workshops to the public.
Tunde Wey & Claire Nelson
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Matthew Naimi is known around town as the "green guy." As founder of Detroit's neighborhood recycling program, his mission is to make Detroit more sustainable. Tunde Wey and Claire Nelson give us a status report on the man and his project.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
In this two-part story, our Green City diarist Matthew Piper examines transportation options that don't include getting behind the wheel of a car. This week: bus transit and walking the walk in the post-motorized city.
Model D staff
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Join us tonight at Willys Overland Lofts for our next Model D Speaker Series and the debut of two short films about Avalon and City Living Detroit before their nationwide release.
Zak Rosen
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Dig into our second installment in a loose series on global visionary leadership and how we can apply it to Detroit. Zak Rosen talks to a man who was part of the urban sustainability movement before the term even had traction.
Claire Nelson
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Getting the right look for our new HQ was important. So we went with old new stuff. Or is it the other way around? Let Claire Nelson tell us how we furnished our new pad and what it takes for you to do the same.
Claire Nelson
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Our new headquarters has some great bones -- architecturally and historically. It's also on a great Midtown block that includes neighbors the Green Garage and Bronx Bar. Cheers from us to you.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Green City diarist Matthew Piper talks to gardeners and farmers to learn the reasons why they do what they do, their insights into local resources available to support their efforts, and the preparations they’re making for the growing season.
Marvin Shaouni
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
OK, we admit it: we simply can't get enough of Avalon International Breads. Not to mention the cherry cream cheese brioche. Or the peanut butter brownies or any of the cookies. Photographer Marvin Shaouni takes the snaps that look good enough to eat.
Dennis Archambault
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Establishing a sustainable and vibrant market for local food is a challenging mix of production, distribution, community engagement and entrepreneurship. Dennis Archambault wanders Detroit's Eastern Market and finds it expanding into a regional food hub, and much more.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Avalon International Breads is great at organizing its Earth-friendly values. But if the owners did it over again they would be more strategic in setting up waste reduction goals. Matthew Piper reports on how improving sustainability practices leads to, you guessed it, better business practices.
Claire Nelson
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Lights, camera and plenty of film and video action has publisher Claire Nelson going to screenings at museums and alternative retail spaces or finding the works on YouTube and Vimeo. Good thing for us she collected all the links and put them in this story. Enjoy the show.
Melinda Clynes
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Connections are being made in Detroit classrooms between the science curriculum, growing and eating good foods, creating better nutritional habits that lead to healthier lifestyles. Melinda Clynes puts her garden gloves on for this report.
Tom Hendrickson
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Our cameras were rolling as the ideas continued flowing at last Friday's Idealab in Ann Arbor. Tom Hendrickson captured the presenters on stage and tracked them down backstage for this episode of Model D TV.
Francis Grunow
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Few topics in Detroit resonate historically like transportation. In particular, the current debate about Woodward Light Rail (scaled down but still alive) and a proposed rapid bus transit system. Francis Grunow tracks down visionary change-maker Enrique Penalosa for insight and guidance.
Matthew Piper
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Our first new series of 2012 is going to be a good one. The Green Garage and Model D combine forces each month to talk about sustainability, one story at a time. Matthew Piper reports from a bike lane near you.
Tom Hendrickson
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Don't change that dial. It's time for another great episode of Model D TV. Our series on Detroit leaders of color in the LGBT community continues with this video interview with social activist Adrienne Maree Brown.
claire Nelson
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Claire Nelson finds the wisdom in seeking "a common destiny in which we all play different but valuable parts" in Detroit. This is just part of her resolution for 2012. The rest is just as good. Read on and get inspired to shape the future now.
Jim Boyle
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Jim Boyle is an optimist who regularly doses himself with reality. He's not really afflicted with the acute Detroit schizophrenia blues, but a keen observer of the changing cultural landscape. Follow the bouncing ball as he puts the year behind in perspective.
Model D staff
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
For our second IdeaLab collab with the University of Michigan, we've invited people building stronger communities and addressing social needs in Detroit. The event is Jan. 20. Register now.
Walter Wasacz
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Expect both deep dives and the lighter side of "politics and art and books and food and sex," says co-founder of arguably the most successful web-based media project ever. Walter Wasacz tracks down the busy Arianna Huffington and asks how the virtual road led to Detroit.
Dennis Archambault
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Lending philanthropic and organizational support to one of the nation's most unique green spaces just got stepped up several notches with the creation of the Belle Isle Conservancy. Dennis Archambault reports there is synergy in the air and the promise of restorative efforts to come.
Walter Wasacz
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
On the eve of its local launch, Huffington Post editor Simone Landon talks about her Hubbard Farms roots, and a trajectory that led her from Detroit to the east coast and back again. Walter Wasacz gets a sneak peak on what's coming.
Patrick Crouch
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Model D urban agriculture activist Patrick Crouch wraps up the season with thoughts on where Detroit farming culture is at and where it needs to be going. Or should we say growing? Dig in, dear reader, and let us know what you think.
Jon Zemke
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Jerry Paffendorf is an idea man. Not the typical idea man with grand ambitions and little execution who thinks his ideas would be great for other people. Paffendorf actually turns his dreams into reality. Jon Zemke asks all the right questions.
Noelle Lothamer
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
As Hamtramck grows more culturally diverse, so grow options for foods with origins across the globe. Noelle Lothamer tells us where she shops for Eastern European, Middle Eastern and South Asian specialties.
Marvin Shaouni
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hamtramck neighborhoods are filled with hidden gems spelled out in multiple languages. Marvin Shaouni zooms in on the exotic food scene in this Model D photo essay.
Claire Nelson
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
These ideas, both real and imagined, demonstrate the importance of public space -- not just for a "pretty" city, but for a city that values civic engagement and the exchange of ideas. Claire Nelson reports from the margins.
Ashley Woods
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
These four panelists say they came to do various kinds of business in Detroit with eyes wide open and because they want to matter. Now they are changing the entrepreneurial landscape, one idea, one action at a time. Inspired, Ashley Woods reports.
Sarah F. Cox
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
They're coming from New York, and from Ann Arbor and the 'burbs, to live in downtown Detroit. They're coming for the food, making friends in elevators, walking to ballgames and begging for more coffee. Sarah F. Cox meets three of the hundreds of new residents choosing a vertical lifestyle.
Patrick Crouch
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Art and urban agriculture are a match made in, you guessed it, Detroit. Compost bins double as canvases for painters; funky sculptures adorn community gardens. Patrick Crouch hits the Northend to show us how one neighborhood gets it done when inspiration meets perspiration.
Tom Hendrickson
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Dutch filmmaker Mascha Poppnek fell in love with Detroit while making the documentary Grown in Detroit. We can relate. She discusses the movie and the city that inspired her in this classic episode of Model D TV.
Patrick Crouch
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Patrick Crouch visits the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, where vegetable crops, mushroom gardens and social justice are all being cultivated. And they are not alone in doing crucial work at the intersection of class, race, economics and the future of the city.
Dennis Archambault
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
This far East Side Detroit neighborhood is making strides as a combo commercial-residential area, expanding beyond the business district at Jefferson and Chalmers to include the Conner Creek Greenway, which will extend from the river to 8 Mile when it's completed. Dennis Archambault reports on the progress.
Patrick Crouch
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Earthwork's Patrick Crouch is a busy guy, serving on food policy councils and collaborating with other players in Detroit's growing agricultural networks and projects. But not too busy to write about developments here getting attention around the world. Welcome aboard, friend.
Natalie Berg
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
When it comes to thinking about how to move cities and regions forward, Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution knows what he is talking about. We're happy to re-run this eye-opening Q&A originally published by our colleagues at Lansing's Capital Gains.
Walter Wasacz
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
If it was happening in Detroit during the last 12 months, we were all over it. Looking back at the features and news stories we published it's hard to limit the number of greatest hits. Oh, well. We'll just do 10 in each category to honor the year 2010. Pour yourself a shot of spiked eggnog and enjoy the year in review.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
CreateHere, a nonprofit from Chattanooga, Tennessee, crunches good
ideas and puts them to work. The group shot up to Corktown for a civic
intervention in and and around Roosevelt Park over the weekend. Video
producer Tom Hendrickson chased down co-founders Josh McManus and Helen
Johnson for this episode of Model D TV.
Kelli Kavanaugh
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
How do we remake and remodel Detroit using innovative ideas and projects, never losing sight of social equity for all? Urban planner extraordinaire Mitchell Silver shows us an outline for doing it right. News editor Kelli Kavanaugh reports from the inside.
Kelli B. Kavanaugh
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
John Hantz wants to put $30 million over 10 years and create in Detroit what would be the largest urban farm in the world. The plan has critics, but it's also got a lot of people the world over watching Detroit.
Tom Hendrickson
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
71 Garfield is one of the coolest rehabbed buildings in Midtown. The live/work spaces are in a newly renovated, green building in the heart of the Sugar Hill District. Check out the before and after shots and look around inside in this video clip.
Walter Wasacz
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
There's no party like a Detroit party. Especially when the people behind it are dedicated to raising the quality of neighborhood life through community action. Read about a special project Team Detroit is up to in high places in the heart of residential Midtown. Walter Wasacz meditates on the meaning of it all.
Marvin Shaouni
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Bwok right over to this multimedia presentation from Model D photographer Marvin Shaouni. Detroit had its first chicken race recently, and he captured the quirky display of the city's ag side.
Monday, August 09, 2010
NYC-based PSFK is all about big ideas for creatives, and they are hosting a salon-style discussion in Detroit on Thursday. Read about it here.
Tom Hendrickson
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Green is the color at the nonprofit WARM Training Center: green
building, green renovations, green jobs, green resources. The
organization makes everything it touches a little greener.
Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
When 3,000 gallons of milk enter the kitchen at the corner of Canfield and Second, something magical happens. With a mix of science, art, and TLC, Traffic Jam & Snug makes amazing raw milk, artisinal cheeses. We got to watch, learn and taste.
Kelli B. Kavanaugh
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
A group of Belle Isle activists have a message for plant invaders of the
islands old growth forest and idyllic natural areas: Get out and stay
out. Those that don't listen get the loppers.
Dennis Archambault
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Searching for a plan for rightsizing, downsizing, resizing, shrinkage, or whatever you want to call it? Detroit community development professionals have detailed a road map for transforming the face of Detroit.
Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Detroit's most celebrated insect mascot -- BEE Green of Recycle Here! -- talks with us about why the bug has been buzzing around the city's schools.
Andre Brumfield
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
When we re-imagine Detroit, can "right-sizing" be an opportunity for the city to be innovative and to attract investment? Urban planning expert Andre Brumfield, who is working on a master plan for the Northend neighborhood, shares some of his thoughts.
Ryan Kelly
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Detroit will be the center of the biofuel industry, if TechTown entrepreneur Oliver Baer and associates at Clean Emission Fluids have their say.
Kelli B. Kavanaugh
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Especially since Mayor Bing brought it up recently, Detroiters are weighing in on what to do with Belle Isle. A gate with a toll? Make it a Metropark? Leave it be? What's a city with limited resources but a lot of love for its beautiful island to do?