In 2015, from June to November, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University conducted its fifteenth annual VoiceGR community survey. On March 3, 2016, Grand Valley released the results of the survey, clearly gauging public opinion, attitudes, and perceptions about various aspects of the Grand […]
As Grand Rapids works to revitalize the Grand River from bed to bank, the riverwalk has become a prominent project focus. Both GR Forward and the Green Grand Rapids Master Plan lay out proposed alterations to the trails bordering the Grand River. “Through GR Forward, what we uncovered was that […]
By Joel Campbell Environmentalists and Evangelicals are increasingly finding common ground. One issue where the alignment has blossomed into a full partnership is advocacy for clean and efficient energy. For the last several years now groups like WMEAC and the Christian Coalition of Michigan have been working together to ensure […]
By David Porte and Natasha Strydhorst Climate change is advancing and its effects are already widespread. How these effects will influence the health of the public is a critically important but often overlooked aspect of climate research. Aaron Ferguson, WMEAC alumni and current Climate and Health Adaptation Program Manager at […]
Grand Rapids has one of the highest rates of crashes involving bicycles in the state of Michigan. The fatal bicycle crash rate here is nearly three times greater than the state average of around 25 fatal crashes per year. Last year alone, Kent county had five fatal bicycle crashes, the highest […]
Photo courtesy Dan Taber In the summer of 2010, City Commissioner James White proposed a concept that would soon become a common preliminary stage for construction projects in Grand Rapids. That concept—today known as Design Team—is now a fully-fledged procedure that influences many of the developments underway in the city. […]
As Grand Rapids’ river restoration project continues, a common question is where citizen engagement can find its niche in the overall process. The river is a public resource—its fate concerns not only this city, but also residents and businesses along the river’s banks throughout West Michigan. Back when the Green […]
The city of Grand Rapids was named for the Grand River’s once-iconic whitewater rapids, which have been conspicuously absent for decades. Now, plans are trickling forward to restore the Grand River’s whitewater. The idea came about through the efforts of Grand Rapids WhiteWater and the City’s Green Grand Rapids Master […]
The plan to restore the rapids to the Grand River has long been in the limelight, but the concomitant resolution to restore the river’s banks and riparian buffers has unassumingly occupied the shadows. Yet the latter guidelines are integral to aquatic habitats and flood mitigation strategies, and could also contribute […]
Human communities around the Grand River—and ecosystems within it—are expected to face increasing challenges in light of projected climate changes in the region. WMEAC met with Nichol DeMol, Project Manager for the Rogue River Home Rivers Initiative of West Michigan Trout Unlimited, to discuss climate change effects in the Grand […]
