Weaver – Winter 2024

The People Over Parking Act: A Double-Edged Sword David Weaver Minimum Parking Regulations (MPRs) are provisions within municipal zoning codes that require developers to build a minimum number of parking spaces to receive permission to build, expand, or change a building’s primary use.[1] While MPRs are designed to reduce traffic congestion, they actually create worse… Continue reading Weaver – Winter 2024

Raffaele – Winter 2024

Zoning Impacts on Vehicle Miles Traveled: The Cases of Fayetteville and Birmingham Aidan Raffaele As the discourse and research around climate change and its effects develops,[1] city governments have emerged as an increasingly useful agent of change.[2] The federal government and state governments are seen more and more as slow-moving in regards to the climate… Continue reading Raffaele – Winter 2024

Magrath – Winter 2024

The Power Is Down (Again) in Tree Town: Examining Electric Utility Municipalization in Ann Arbor Nathaniel Magrath Over the last several years, Ann Arbor residents have organized a push to municipalize the city’s power grid.[1] While similar efforts to municipalize electric utilities have also gained momentum across the country, motivations for these efforts vary.[2] Efforts… Continue reading Magrath – Winter 2024

Lyon – Winter 2024

Biden’s Reinvigoration of Environmental Justice in the Administrative State Nate Lyon The nation first turned its eyes to environmental justice when an African-American community in North Carolina protested the siting of a hazardous waste landfill in its neighborhood.[1] When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People staged a massive protest, the concept of… Continue reading Lyon – Winter 2024

Lavoile – Winter 2024

Sierra Club, the EPA, and the Fight over Detroit’s Air Gio Lavoile In May of 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a clean data determination for the metro Detroit area[1] and determined that the area had achieved attainment status in accordance with the 2015 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This… Continue reading Lavoile – Winter 2024

Khoury – Winter 2024

Banning Coal: Feasibility and Constitutionality Elias Khoury Abating the accelerating climate crisis will require drastic measures. Countries like the United States, with its outsized contribution to environmental breakdown, need to do the most. One major driver of American ecological impact is coal. America runs on it. In 2007, coal was responsible for a whopping 49%… Continue reading Khoury – Winter 2024