Here in Michigan, where the automobile is religiously worshiped like an expensive and ever-demanding deity, this concept might seem absurd. Luckily, there are compelling studies for other cities to seriously ponder as we inevitably ignore or dismiss them. Excerpt: But here's the thing about the "studies on possible economic impacts" requested by retailers on Polk Street, or really wherever bike-lane plans emerge—they've been done. And done. And done again. And they all reach a similar conclusion: replacing on-street parking with a bike lane has little to no impact on local business, and in some cases might even increase business. While cyclists tend to spend less per shopping trip than drivers, they also tend to make more trips, pumping more total money into the local economy over time. So to put these debates to rest we've compiled an annotated, chart-filled guide to every major study we know of conducted on the subject to date. Here they are, in no particular order, for your public meeting pleasure. Read the rest here... if you dare.

Health-related programs, the Honors College and student housing are all on the docket for investment from Eastern Michigan University beginning later this year. The Board of Regents approved a $8.9 million capital budget last week, which includes earmarking $2.8 million for academic facility upgrades, mostly for additional renovations to the Rackham Building, which houses EMU's Physician Assistant Program and other health and human services programs. More than $1 million is budgeted to continue to grow space for the Honors College program, which had its largest class (500) this year, and Wise Hall will close for a year at the end of the semester for a $2 million renovation to improve its student housing facilities. Geoff Larcom, Executive Director of Media Relations for Eastern Michigan University, explains that the university is always working toward aligning its buildings and facilities with the needs of the students, and that includes reinvesting in student housing. He says the health-related programs in Rackham, for example, have experienced a good deal of growth alongside health-related fields in general. This helps EMU "align its academic programs with high-job growth, which health care fields obviously are," he says. EMU boasts a faculty who has a strong relationship with students and a science complex that teaches students job skills for high-demand STEM fields, Larcom says, “so it’s very important to have a marquee facility where students can work comfortably in labs and interact.” "(This) ongoing investment continues the direction of emphasis on student and academic facilities -- the center of the university’s mission," Larcom says. Renovations are budgeted for the 2015-16 fiscal year but preparations may start as early as the end of the current semester. Smaller-ticket items include security upgrades, improvements to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, additional Automated External Defibrillators, and classroom and facility enhancements. Source: Geoff Larcom, Executive Director of Media Relations for Eastern Michigan University Writer: Kristin Lukowski Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ever been stuck in a courthouse wading through the mundane and time-consuming process of challenging a traffic ticket? Court Innovations thinks it has an answer for that soul-crushing experience. The downtown Ann Arbor-based startup has created a software platform that enables litigants to navigate the local court system online for things like civil infractions. The idea is to eliminate the need to stand in line at a court house when an issue can be resolved with the click of a mouse pad? "We are moving from weeks and months (of time spent on small legal matters) to days," says MJ Cartwright, CEO of Court Innovations. The fledgling startup spun out of the University of Michigan Law School a little more than a year ago with the help of $3 million in seed capital from the university's Third Century Initiative. It has since launched in three district courts in Ypsilanti, Highland Park and Bay City where it has been used by hundreds of litigants. Bay City started off using it for traffic court and civil infractions, but has since moved it to more areas. "That's where they has the highest volumes of traffic," Cartwright says. "In Bay City we were able to expand it to the warrants, like failure to pay or show for a warrant." The Court Innovations team (seven employees and five interns) is aiming to expand that even further to include people who are pleading down from low misdemeanors to civil infractions. It is also working to establish itself in more courtrooms across Michigan and the Midwest, a task Cartwright plans to begin fundraising for later this year. "We'd like to be in a dozen courts in Michigan and hopefully one outside of Michigan," Cartwright says. Source: MJ Cartwright, CEO of Court Innovations Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Cyber-security startup TowerSec has landed an investment from venture capital firm IncWell, helping bring its technology to the automotive industry. "It's something we see scaling very quickly," Sophia Kahn, project manager for IncWell. The Ann Arbor-based startup specializes in beefing up cyber security for automobiles. The idea is that as cars are becoming bigger targets for hackers now with the advent of infotainment and driverless automotive technologies. So not only could hackers steal a motorist’s identity while driving but even take control of the car. "It's a growing concern with cars becoming more connected," Kahn says. IncWell is a Birmingham-based venture capital firm that invests in technology startups. Some of its other investments include CureLauncher (a Bloomfield Hills-based startup that refers to itself as the Wikipedia of clinical trials) and iRule, a downtown Detroit-based home entertainment startup.  ?IncWell's investment in TowerSec was part of seed round for the startup. Kahn declined to say who led the seed round, who else participated in it, the total amount raised in the round, or the size of IncWell's investment. Kahn also declined to detail much about TowerSec’s platform besides that it is designed as a business-to-business play aimed at commercial and fleet vehicles. She adds that TowerSec's platform is "integration ready" in its development but wouldn't explain further what that specifically meant. Source: Sophia Kahn, project manager for IncWell Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor has been ranked as the 15th most hipster city in America, beating out San Francisco's rank of 16. So, now the question becomes: Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Excerpt: So where are the hipster hubs? Using our places data, we at FindTheHome determined four important attributes that define a “hipster city” and found 19 cities that fit the bill (and surprisingly, Portland is not one of them). We first decided to only look at cities with over 50,000 people that also had a high population of people between the ages of 20 and 34. Then we looked at the cities with a fairly educated population (a high percentage of residents with at least a Bachelor’s Degree), many cafes and yoga studios. We calculated a composite score for each city by multiplying the number of yoga studios per 10K people with cafes per 10K people, and used this final number to rank the cities. Read the list here and cheer… or weep. 

Columbus, Ohio-based T. Marzetti Co. bought the Saline-grown rolled sandwich franchise Flatout for a not-too-shabby $92 million. Excerpt: "Flatout reported $42 million in net sales in 2014. The company has about 150 employees at its factory in a Saline industrial park. The company, one of Washtenaw County's most successful food start-ups, was partially sold in 2010 to private equity firm North Castle Partners and Glencoe Capital." Read the rest here.

A former Ypsilanti landfill could see new life as a solar array, if supporters of solar energy have their way. A petition at Solar Ypsi's website is gathering support to build a solar array on several acres on what was a city-owned landfill, along I-94 near Huron Street. Dave Strenski, founder of Solar Ypsi and solar energy proponent, explained that several years ago, DTE Energy put out a request for proposals looking for places that would be good fits for solar arrays. Through his solar energy contacts, a proposal for Ypsilanti was put together and submitted. A friend helped create an online petition in support of the solar array, which has gathered nearly 800 supporters. "Hopefully this tells DTE that this is a safe place to put solar panels, that it’s supported here," he says. Strenski says although there may be concerns about that property being on a landfill, the solar array design would sit on concrete blocks and not penetrate the ground. "Old landfills are a perfect location for a solar array making use of land that would otherwise sit idle forever," the petition says. "A ballasted solar rack design has no ground penetrations and poses little to no risk of disturbing the landfill’s contents." Projects such as solar arrays are one component of a larger plan to make Ypsilanti a solar destination, Strenski says, as well as developing what has been an unused, undevelopable property. And that's not to mention the eventual cost savings and job creation that will come with creating that new energy source. "I'm convinced that solar power is the future," he says. "I think this would give Ypsilanti a very positive image, that we’re on the leading edge." Source: Dave Strenski, founder of Solar Ypsi Writer: Kristin Lukowski