The counties in Southeast Michigan cannot agree on a regional transportation plan. Regional unity, as is well known, is an uphill struggle in the state.
A new report, recently completed for Michigan Future, Inc., discusses another Great Lakes state that has had major success in creating a unified regional transportation for its citizens, among other things.
The new report by journalist Rick Haglund is called Regional Collaboration Matters: How Metro Minneapolis has forged one of the wealthiest and most livable metropolitan areas in the United States.
Haglund joined Stateside to talk about the report, and what he learned by researching politics, transit, business, and education in Minneapolis.
Listen above to hear more about why a regional collaborative body worked so well in Minneapolis, and how Metro Detroit and the Grand Rapids area can learn from the Twin Cities' success, not just with developing mass transit, but also with improving education, housing, and general livability.
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