Mobility Planning Gets Better

Anyone who has ever been stuck in traffic trying to drive across Traverse City on a Friday afternoon in the summertime has wondered – or cursed – “Who planned this transportation system?” Yes, we have transportation planners in this region. And those planners know that congestion is primarily caused by cars coming from outside the city. [...]

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Feds Looking at New Transportation Bill

The wait will soon be over. In the next month or two, Congress is expected to pass a $112 billion federal highway bill, putting an end to a long delay in setting a six-year transportation strategy for the country. The last transportation bill, titled SAFETEA-LU, expired on September 30, 2009. Over the past two years, [...]

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Taste the Local Difference — Cherry Republic

Meet our Taste the Local Difference Sponsors! We want you to get to know each of the wonderful businesses that are sponsoring our Taste the Local Difference Project. We will be featuring each in a short video clip, so you can learn more about their commitment to local food and farms in our region. Here’s [...]

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FoodCorps: A Day in the Life

This is part of a continuing series about FoodCorps in northwest Lower Michigan, which is working with MLUI, SEEDS, MSU Extension and other area organizations to help schools purchase and serve healthy, locally grown food; build school garden programs; and connect education to nutrition, healthy eating, and a celebration of local farms. If you’re looking [...]

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Taste the Local Difference – Oryana

Meet our Taste the Local Difference Sponsors! We want you to get to know each of the wonderful businesses that are sponsoring our Taste the Local Difference Project. We will be featuring each in a short video clip, so you can learn more about their commitment to local food and farms in our region. Here’s [...]

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Taste the Local Difference – Fifth Third Bank of Northern Michigan

Meet our Taste the Local Difference Sponsors! We want you to get to know each of the wonderful businesses that are sponsoring our Taste the Local Difference Project. We will be featuring each in a short video clip, so you can learn more about their commitment to local food and farms in our region. Here’s a [...]

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Five Reasons to be Optimistic About Growth: A Look Ahead

My wife and I agree with Buffalo Springfield: “There’s something happening here.” Since we moved Up North last summer, I’ve watched this economy become more sustainable, resilient, and attractive to young people. Yes, this region has a long way to go. Still, developers, public officials, non-profits, and volunteers are starting to work together to grow [...]

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2011: A Great Year For MLUI

Reflecting on a year’s worth of accomplishments for an organization of community organizers and policy advocates reminds me of the challenge of measuring our progress. The Michigan Land Use Institute strives to make systemic changes within very complex systems – community growth and development, food and farming, and energy – so it is not surprising [...]

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Press Release: New Seed Saving Workshop Planned

For Immediate Release January 3, 2012 Contact: Jim Sluyter, Get Farming Coordinator Michigan Land Use Institute Phone: 231-941-6584 ext. 15 Email: jimsluyter@mlui.org * Website: www.localdifference.org/getfarming Get Farming! Offers Seed Saving Workshop for Growers Daylong event for farmers and gardeners TRAVERSE CITY – The Michigan Land Use Institute’s Get Farming! program is partnering with Grow Benzie [...]

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New Parking Strategy Could Mean Dollars for Neighborhoods

Need cash for your neighborhood in Traverse City? You might want to consider storing cars. “What? Cars? Really?” It seems like a bad idea. Cars in your neighborhoods? Most people who live in a Traverse City neighborhood, after all, generally want to get away from cars. They like to walk or bike to work, and [...]

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Progress Village Advocates for Poor in Northern Michigan

Maureen Robinson was at the Garfield Township Hall in Traverse City on December 8 because she wants to give back to her community. Mrs. Robinson, of Mancelona, recalls how, at age 22, she was a single mother raising three boys in Northern Michigan and facing the difficult reality of providing for her family in a [...]

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Your Crucial Role

This is a momentous time. People are taking action around the world to gain meaningful access to democratic freedoms and economic opportunity. The movement shows that no matter how daunting the challenge people from all walks of life adhere to a fundamental belief that change is possible, that circumstances can improve. Here at the Michigan [...]

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Ag Sector Alliance: Learning what Works

Bartlett Durand and Tim Metcalfe each believe there’s a better way for our food system. Mr. Durand is the managing member of a small-scale meat processor in the Madison, Wisconsin area called Black Earth Meats. His business sells locally purchased beef and locally processed meats that are 100 percent organic to Madison residents, and he’s [...]

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The Regional Rider – 12/6/11 – “A Longer One”

The Regional Rider is a monthly email newsletter that highlights efforts to coordinate transit service in the 6-county Grand Vision region. It’s published by the Michigan Land Use Institute. Contact James@mlui.org if you want to be added to the email list. Hey transit fans! Can you believe it’s already December? It was only one year [...]

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Double Up Program Helps Many Locals

Editors Note: This article first appeared in the Traverse City Record Eagle on Saturday December 3, 2011. During the holiday season we often think about food, and about giving. These days, I’m thinking about local food, and local giving. That’s because the Northwest Michigan Food & Farming Network is fundraising for a new program that [...]

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