Midtown : Features

Even as demographics shift and preferences change, most Metro Detroit developers are sticking with a familiar playbook of detached single family homes. But a few intrepid builders are testing the waters with "missing middle" housing.

Metro Detroiters have been living with urban sprawl for more than a generation. Patrick Dunn dives into one of our region's most controversial topics in this first installment of our series on solutions to regional issues. 

In part two of Biking Lake Michigan, writer Mark Wedel tackles some of the political realities surrounding biking in Michigan.

Pashon Murray, co-founder of Detroit Dirt, has visited the White House, been featured in a Ford commercial, and written about in national magazines. All this publicity has been great for her composting business, but it hasn't come without difficulties.

In recent years, there's been a proliferation of art galleries in Detroit. While that's mostly been a positive, it does come with some caveats. 

Slow Roll, a weekly bike ride through a Detroit neighborhood that attracts thousands of riders, is ostensibly a casual affair meant to engender good will between cyclists and residents. But, as Mickey Lyons writes, recent rides have accomplished the exact opposite. 

As the Green Garage, a small business incubator and coworking space in Midtown, enters its fifth year, it's clear they're doing a lot right. A remarkable percentage of Green Garage residents are still operating or have outgrown the incubator. And the fact that very little has changed demonstrates that their model of sustainability is itself sustainable. 

This year marks an important milestone for Allied Media Conference, a nationally-significant conference that that utilizes media and technology to advance social justice. 10 years ago, AMC relocated to Detroit, a move that ushered in significant changes.

Metro Detroit is home to over 1,000 miles of trails—with even more being planned and built every year. Here's what to expect as you plan your next non-motorized adventure.

Detroit doesn't have many options for a night out at the movies. But the selection that does exist is strong and caters to a niche market of loyal customers who love film. 

Most seasoned bartenders will tell you that the more things change, the more they stay the same. But for these tenured tenders, the view from the bar illustrates the story of Detroit’s dynamic transformations.

The refleX line will link city and suburbs with express bus service. Some see it as a big step forward for regional transit, others say the money could be better spent elsewhere. 

The Brookings Institute has identified areas that contain concentrations of universities, research institutions, and companies as "innovation districts," or places that "supercharge the economy." Many believe Midtown Detroit could be that kind of place -- a nexus of innovative thinking and commercial development for the entire region.

Community organizers and entrepreneurs have more choice than ever when it comes to asking the public for funding. But is the landscape getting 'crowded'? Nina Ignaczak digs in to find out what's going on in the world of civic crowdfunding in Detroit.

How much can you really clean up and restore waterways that have been subjected to more than a century of intense industrialization and urbanization? In the case of the Rouge and Detroit rivers, there has been definite progress.