Elm Street Writers Group
Collected Essays

Some of nation's most talented writers explain the Smart Growth movement's significance, defend it from critics, and report on new and promising trends. Elm Street commentary has been published in more than 60 major newspapers nationwide, more than 40 Web sites, and in dozens of magazines and newsletters.

1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-32 Recent Articles
West Michigan's fifth annual Local First Street Party Thursday, June 26, 2008 Herbie the Love Bug Rides Again! It’s 1974, I’m 10, and my sister and I are watching Herbie the Love Bug Rides Again, the hit movie about a lovable Volkswagen who saves a little old lady’s historic home from the wrecking ball of “progress.” The loud crashes and daring escapes thrill us, but it is the movie’s message—people and place matter—that’s kept that VW zooming around my mind through the years. ...[More]
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Sunday, May 18, 2008 Michigan Needs a Marshall Plan Sixty-one years ago, the United States realized that it was in its own best interests to help Europe rebuild after the utter devestation of World War II. So our country launched the Marshall Plan. The situation in Michigan today may not be too far from the conditions existing in Europe after World War II, and may require the same kind of help. ...[More]
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Michigan’s economic crisis Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Michigan Needs a Plan As Michigan’s terrific economic crisis worsens, it is crystal clear that the state badly needs a widely embraced statewide plan that points us to a brighter future. Perhaps we could learn from New Jersey, a state with an impressive track record for looking ahead and planning for the future at a very broad level. ...[More]
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Michigan’s economy Monday, May 12, 2008 Michigan’s Disaster: Washington’s Opportunity Over the last four years, I have observed the glaring statistics about Michigan’s economy on TV, radio and my local newspaper—and it’s keeping me up at night. That’s because I’m a “just do it” kind of guy, always eager to put my ideas and experience to work to make things happen. But, even though I’m always ready for action, nothing happens. ...[More]
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Sunday, October 08, 2006 Don’t Try This at Home It all started when I got a summer job in the suburbs. I thought biking to work would be great exercise, but it was awful. Semi-trucks. Highways. Dead-ends. No wonder everyone else was driving—and missing out on a chance to save money, exercise, and help the environment. Half of America’s population is stuck behind the wheel, because biking to work, school, and shopping just isn’t safe in most suburbs. ...[More]
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St. Johns Sunday, August 06, 2006 True Adventure, Happy Ending Your car’s engine is lurching. You’re three hours from home. It’s after closing time, and you have no idea how to find a trustworthy mechanic or anyone else in this unfamiliar town along this busy highway who might help a stranger. ...[More]
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The Boardman River Monday, April 17, 2006 The Boardman's Eagles: Evidence of the End of Carelessness? On this Earth Day, we should be immensely encouraged by the fact that the values, principles, and citizen involvement that protected the Boardman River valley from unwise development are securing wild and human habitats in many other places across northwest Michigan. The era of exploitation is gradually being replaced by a powerful new ethic driven by a fresh set of economic and environmental priorities. ...[More]
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This sign alone is sinking Michigan Saturday, March 18, 2006 Trapped in the 20th Century Except for a brief period when auto sales soared and the state’s manufacturing sector employed 908,000 people, Michigan has been sinking since the late 1970s. This is happening because of Michigan’s wasteful patterns of spread out development, reckless neglect of cities, foolish disregard of the new, 21st century economy, and political gamesmanship. Each offers a vivid warning about the futility of defending the obsolete cars-fuel-highways-parking lot-drive-through economic development strategy. ...[More]
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A way to stay slim Friday, February 17, 2006 Out of the Car and Into Shape Me. I like to walk. Yeah…it’s all my mother’s fault. When my family moved from the Deep South to the Upper Midwest almost 20 years ago, my mother shocked our Carolina relatives by taking the baby ice skating and making my sister and I walk to school in all weather. Unless the wind chill dipped below zero, we walked a mile to Randall, a handsome red brick elementary school built in the early 1900s. My grandmothers worried that we would get frostbite or hypothermia. Instead, we got the first glimpse of snowdrops, purple crocuses, and little blue scillas each year. ...[More]
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Governor Timothy M. Kaine Saturday, January 21, 2006 Could Smart Growth Tip the Next Presidential Election? Virginia’s new governor is stirring the state, and perhaps the nation, to rein in sprawl. Governor Kaine’s Smart Growth platform garnered support from the fast-growing, conservative counties that decide elections, and political strategists say these issues may affect presidential elections as early as 2008. Already, Democratic and Republican candidates from Michigan to Massachusetts are winning elections by promising transit instead of traffic, scenery instead of sprawl, downtown businesses instead of drive throughs. ...[More]
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Elm Street Writers Group Publications

Collected Essays TEXT A collection of stirring articles by the Elm Street Writers Group

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Elm Street Writers Group: Collected Essays 2003-2004 TEXT | PDF | ORDER This third collection of stirring articles by the Elm Street Writers Group continues chronicling the decade-old national Smart Growth movement, which is doing so much to make America a better place.

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Elm Street Writers Group: Collected Essays 2001-2002 TEXT | PDF | ORDER This collection of commentary, the second by the Elm Street Writers Group, takes in a year in the life of America starting with the September 11 calamity and ending with the November election results. Throughout, perceptive writers provide discerning perspective on how old and basic civic ideals — natural resource protection, neighborhood preservation, economic competitiveness, local control — are being expressed in new ways.

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Elm Street Writers Group: Collected Essays 2000-2001 TEXT | PDF | ORDER Some of nation's most talented writers explain the Smart Growth movement's significance, defend it from critics, and report on new and promising trends. Elm Street commentary has been published in more than 60 major newspapers nationwide, more than 40 Web sites, and in dozens of magazines and newsletters.

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