think Detroit = RethinkDetroit.org

Introducing RethinkDetroit.org

2010-01-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

After two years blogging at Think Detroit, I’ve decided to start fresh with a new blog hosted at its own domain: Rethink Detroit <http://www.rethinkdetroit.org/>.

The focus will again be on the revitalization of Detroit, but I’ll be taking a more personal approach, writing about life in Detroit as well as the emerging trends that promise to transform it, from creative enterprise to rightsizing. As a young person living in Midtown and a serious student of Detroit present and past, I hope I can offer a fresh perspective on the city, at once honest and optimistic.

Thank you for reading Think Detroit. I've appreciated every visit and comment I've received, and I hope you'll follow me to the new location as the blog continues to evolve!

Two healthy ways to reclaim vacant lots

2009-11-20T01:42:00.004-05:00

Vacant lots aren't just good for urban gardens and art installations. These two projects are the kind of simple, low-cost solutions that anyone in Detroit -- with or without the help of outside volunteers -- can carry out in their own neighborhood with some courage and imagination.

Looking for the "real" Detroit

2009-11-18T02:22:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been struck by the almost schizophrenic portrayal of Detroit in the national media. The story we hear most often is that of the dying auto town. Detroit is cast as poor, segregated, abandoned and doomed. Inevitably, photos of the Packard Plant and Michigan Central Station figure prominently. Then there's the quieter but insistent counter-narrative. Detroit is called a hot-bed of creativity; an urban frontier; a city of urban gardens and resilient neighborhoods.

The two story lines are so different it's jarring. In Toby Barlow's world, Detroit is a city of unparalleled potential. Artists are snapping up $100 houses; entrepreneurs are biking to work and banding together to open new businesses. In Shika Dalmia's world, Detroit is terminally ill. The government is a farce, jobs are scarce, and the city is unlivable for "most ordinary folks with families, children and regular jobs" who'd rather not live with "rats, fires, garbage, druggists, prostitutes and weirdos."

So who has it right? Both, to some degree. Like any big city, Detroit is a completely different place for different people. At Third and Peterboro, a desperate crowd of drug addicts and the long term homeless gather on Detroit's skid row to collect aid. Just a few blocks up the street, the neighborhood is being transformed. Just this fall, four new businesses catering to the young and creative have opened in Midtown: Good Girls Go to Paris, Leopold's Books, the Burton Theatre, and City Bird. Both groups occupy the same Cass Corridor, but for all effective purposes, they are in different worlds.

I personally find Detroit inspiring and sobering at once. The hardship the city faces is raw and undeniable: 27% unemployment, 70,000+ vacant lots, $100 homes. Yet the sense of community is palpable, and the struggle to revitalize the city goes on, whether that means drawing young people to Midtown or planting community gardens on the East Side. To be clear, Detroit is emphatically not a "blank canvas" or a lawless frontier. As the Let's Save Michigan blog emphasizes, Detroit is better than that. It is a deeply troubled city but also one with unique assets, a rich history and culture, and, for those willing and able to see Detroit anew, incredible opportunities.

Thus the schizophrenic news coverege. Detroit can't be reduced to a single narrative. It's a messy, complicated, fascinating place, at once depressing and inspiring, and that's why I continue to write about it, whether the wider media can figure out its story or not.

Woodward Avenue in 1917

2009-11-13T13:17:00.001-05:00

I've been staring at this amazing photo of downtown all day. It's like a completely different city. Almost all of these buildings were later replaced with skyscrapers, and those skyscrapers now mostly stand vacant, or in the case of Hudson's, demolished. Also, note the sign on the Hudon's Building: "Hudson's Grows With Detroit." Now we know it also shrinks!

(Hat tip: Detroit Yes!)

Talking rightsizing

2009-11-01T14:59:00.002-05:00

There were two good interviews this week with leaders on land use. The first, posted at the new Let's Save Michigan blog, is with Dan Kildee, the founder of Genesee County's innovative landbank. The second, a two-part interview on Time's Detroit Blog, is with Deborah L. Younger, the executive director of LISC. She's the treasurer of Detroit's new land bank and an influential voice on community development.

Both speak to the growing consensus that Detroit needs to rightsize itself -- not just by streamlining city government but by consolidating neighborhoods. The Free Press endorsed the idea for the second time today, and half the candidates in Tuesday's election expressed support in a Model D survey. The big question is how. Should the city actively vacate its most depopulated neighborhoods? Or will that only usher in further decline elsewhere? Can the city openly target resources to its stronger neighborhoods without writing off the rest? How do you make rightsizing fair? No one has the answers yet, but Kildee and Younger's thoughts are both worth listening to.

Some Detroit inspiration

2009-11-01T14:42:00.001-05:00

The opening montage makes me think of the 80s-era educational videos I had to watch in high school, but the message is right on:

Talking with Time

2009-10-08T15:01:00.000-04:00

The Free Press hosted a great conversation today with Dan Okrent, author of Time's much-criticized cover story on Detroit. Even John Dingell signed on to ask questions (I take it Okrent's criticism stung). The transcript's worth reading.

The wrong way to rightsize

2009-10-07T00:38:00.005-04:00

Every week it seems someone new writes a column on rightsizing Detroit. Darrell Dawsey at the Time's Detroit Blog is the latest to endorse the idea:

So since the city is shrinking and de-industrializing anyway, why not attempt to exercise some control over the contraction, make money from it even? Target areas that have been largely abandoned and provide incentives for those who remain to move elsewhere in the city. Then fence off giant swaths of Detroit. Turn huge portions of the land over to nature, create preserves and parks and lease other portions to farmers who could use it to grow the fresh, affordable food -- and jobs -- that many of our communities could sorely use.

I, too, think it's something the city needs to seriously consider. But a drive through the "I-94 Industrial Park" -- the city's euphemism for the neighborhood where St. Cyril Parish once stood -- makes the dangers of any such proposal vividly clear.

In 2003, the few remaining homes in the declining area were demolished to make way for a suburban-style industrial park. Unfortunately, the industrial park never developed beyond the first phase, creating the city's largest urban prairie in the heart of a residential neighborhood. Many of the streets are blocked off with concrete slabs, but that hasn't stopped illegal dumping of tires and trash, making some of the streets left open unpassable.

The simple truth is that no one in America should have to live with such blight, and the city's hand in creating it is shameful. That doesn't mean Detroit shouldn't pursue rightsizing, but if it's going to clear land, it needs to do something with it as it awaits redevelopment. Detroiters deserve better than this.

Update: For better photos of the neighborhood, go to Sweet Juniper. The contrast from the 1950s to the present is shocking.

The right pitch to suburbanites

2009-10-02T00:15:00.008-04:00

The words "white flight" are rightly found in every story on Detroit's decline, but the parallel phenomenon of black flight (mostly of the middle class) is routinely ignored. Yet it's the latter phenomenon that's driving the city's present population loss. Just look at the numbers*. In 2000, there were 775,772 African Americans living in Detroit. In 2008, there were only 651,762. That's a decrease of 16% in just 8 years.

If the city hopes to stem the tide, it needs to assuage the concerns of people like John Simpson. In a column on Gotryke (recently posted to DYes), he explains why he lives in the suburbs despite his love for all things Detroit, from Aretha Franklin to Faygo to Coleman Young. In three words: he had kids. So he moved to a better school district with safer streets. Sure, he'd love to be back in the D, and he might pitch in if the city were really on the rebound ... but until then he'll sit on the sidelines and watch from the suburbs.

For a committed Detroiter, it's a frustrating sentiment to hear. If he cares so much, why doesn't he move back now and work to make the city better? But the unfortunate truth is that the burden lies on the residents and leaders who remain -- not to fix all the city's ills, but to change the trajectory of the city from unremitting decline to hope and rebirth. Johnson writes, "I would move home in a heartbeat if I believed that Detroit was moving in the right direction, was meeting those challenges head-on, and was on a path toward better schools, safer streets and 'a better quality of life.'”

He's not a lost cause. He's not harboring racial animus. He's not pining for the return of Hudson's and other relics of the past. He just wants a good neighborhood where his kids can learn and play safely, and there are many others who only ask the same.

What the city needs to do -- what residents and leaders need to work toward -- is proving, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, that Detroit's becoming a better place to live. Not that it's perfect, not that's it the same as the suburbs, but that it's moving in a direction worth committing oneself to. Then Detroit will have a story worth telling to all the people who'd like to live in Detroit, if only.

*The estimate for 2008 comes from the American Community Survey. I note this because it pegs Detroit's current population at 777,493 -- far below SEMCOG's estimate of 830,000 and even farther below the U.S. Census estimate of 912,062. If the ACS is lowballing the population, then it's also exaggerating the extent of black flight. The phenomenon is still real, but the rate of flight may be less than 16%.

Everyone files a Detroit story

2009-09-26T19:32:00.002-04:00

The wall-to-wall coverage of Detroit this week isn't limited to Time. NPR's "On the Media" added two stories: an interview with Time journalists and a critique of so-called "ruin porn," photos that glory in Detroit's destitution. The New York Times also published two: one on Time's Detroit project and one on Dave Bing's sober realism. The Wall Street Journal, alas, only mustered one: a precis of the city's history through the prism of one home on Boston Boulevard.

If you're a national jounralist without a Detroit story yet, don't fret. Detroit Gorilla wrote the perfect primer on how to go about it. You'll be up to speed in no time.

Artists may not save Detroit ...

2009-09-26T01:05:00.005-04:00

See this smart and biting column in Forbes for several reasons why. But if the Heidelberg Project weren't proof enough, these awesome videos show yet again the power that artists have to reinvent ruins and bring life back to dead spaces. Check it out:

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Hello, media. Please be kind.

2009-09-24T15:46:00.005-04:00

It has begun. On Monday, Time Inc. debuted Assignment Detroit, a yearlong series of stories to be published in Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, CNN Money, and Fortune. There's a cover story in Time this week on the city's decline and another on Dave Bing. There's a cover story in Sports Illustrated on Illitch and the Tigers. There are video interviews on CNN Money and a daily blog on Time's website.

The level of coverage is impressive -- almost unseemly. Although so far, though solidly written, it's mostly been said before. Daniel Okrent's cover story in Time isn't terrible, but it repeats some common misconceptions on the city's decline (i.e., the riot caused white flight, when in fact, it began fifteen years before) and is generally inferior to the excellent story on the city's revival that Time published back in March. The blog (which, surprisingly, seems aimed at local readers) has a wide-eyed post on the city's dropout rate, news that has long since circulated nationally.

But the project has a year to go, which means these journalists will have to get digging, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with. I know many have doubts about all the attention Detroit's getting (this essay on Gotryke explains the discomfort best), but frankly, we could use some national sympathy, not to mention some local drive. This year Detroit will not be ignored.

MCS cleanup backfires for Moroun

2009-09-14T14:39:00.003-04:00

Back in July, I interviewed the organizer behind a student-led cleanup of Michigan Central Station. With the owner's consent, dozens of Summer in the City volunteers entered the station to sweep and clear out debris. Unfortunately (but to no one's surprise), WXYZ now reports that some of that debris was laced with asbestos. The cleanup has stopped, and so has the good PR for Moroun.

Visiting Detroit's urban gardens

2009-09-02T15:35:00.005-04:00

On August 5, I was one of more than 800 people who set off by bus or bike from the Catherine Ferguson Academy to see some of Detroit's urban gardens and farms. The Detroit Agricultural Network hosts the sold-out tour every August.

My tour group hit the West Side. First stop: D-Town Farm. Run by the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, D-Town Farm is a 2-acre farm located in Rouge Park in northwest Detroit. The farm includes "organic vegetable plots, two bee hives, a hoop house for year round food production, and a composting operation" and "is grown using sustainable, chemical-free practices, and sold at D-Town farm, Eastern Market, and urban growers markets throughout Detroit."

Then we stopped at the Brightmoor Community Garden, a market-garden operated by thirteen youth ages 9-17. Last year they earned $1,500 selling some 1,200 lbs of produce. The photos are from a beautiful family/community garden just down the street, complete with a hen house!

Our last stop was Eden Gardens, a pair of large gardens on either side of Strathmoor Street.

Finally we returned to Catherine Ferguson Academy for a delicious vegetarian meal made from all local ingredients and cooked by chefs from Detroit restaurants. I wandered the grounds as the sun went down, admiring the goats and horses.

It was a remarkable tour. All told the Garden Resource Program now supplies 244 community gardens, 517 family gardens, and 48 schools, and it's changing the face of Detroit.

The D's Next Decade

2009-08-24T14:16:00.002-04:00

Crain's Detroit published a great set of articles this morning on the revitalization of Detroit. "The D's Next Decade" looks at ten major factors in the city's redevelopment, including urban farming, greenways, mass transit, historic preservation, and right-sizing. Most of it has been discussed before, but it's always encouraging to see the full sweep of efforts underway in the city. And there are some great new initiatives in Midtown, including coordinated efforts to lower crime and get 15,000 young professionals to move in.

Some essential reading

2009-08-21T11:55:00.001-04:00

I've been preoccupied with other projects in the past few weeks, so I haven't been updating nearly as often as I'd like. I likely won't get back to blogging full-time until the start of September, but in the meantime, here's some informative and/or provocative reading:

In a thought-provoking post, the Urbanophile sums up many of the themes I focus on, calling Detroit an "Urban Laboratory and the New American Frontier."

Conservative writer David Frum published an editorial recently analyzing Detroit's decline. He makes a few good points (especially about the city's tragic disregard for historic preservation) and a few points that are so far off as to be offensive (i.e., "The second factor in Detroit’s decline is the city’s defiant rejection of education and the arts." What city is he talking about? Yes, DPS is in shambles now, but it was once a model district, and we've always championed the arts.)

The Detroit News counted 48 vacant buildings in a useful, well-researched inventory of downtown Detroit. I just wish they hadn't maligned many of our best skyscrapers as "blight" and "eyesores." They may be empty, but they're still beautiful.

Vice Magazine notes (hypocritically, and with insufferable smugness) the media fatigue many are feeling around town as one journalist after another comes to town to do a snapshot portrayel of the city's struggles. But one media outfit seems prepared to go in-depth: Time Inc. will embed a group of journalists in Detroit for a year.

Can farming save Detroit?

2009-08-07T14:06:00.000-04:00

Link Drop - July 29, 2009

2009-07-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

The Metro Times thinks Bing is bluffing when he talks bankruptcy.

Model D points to an article that commends Wayne County for deconstructing abandoned homes (and salvaging the parts) rather than demolishing them.

Buffalo's amazing Central Terminal (its answer to MCS) is being considered as a high speed rail hub. Could it happen here, too?

Link Drop - July 27, 2009

2009-07-27T13:00:00.001-04:00

In an editorial published Friday, the Free Press urges Mayor Bing to pursue right-sizing -- shrinking the city to better serve its remaining population. Currently, the city has no plans to do so, but the new Detroit Land Bank Authority has begun meeting to better manage the city's vacant land (Crain's).

A column in the News raises a critical concern about DPS fiscal manager Robert Bobb: "His decisive and rapid reform plans make great sense, but they may very well fail if he does not build more community support for them."

Link Drop - July 24, 2009

2009-07-24T11:00:00.002-04:00

"There's a reality that we all have to live with, and the reality of the City of Detroit is that we are broke and we are in a financial crisis." - Mayor Bing (Free Press).

The News sees little sign of regional cooperation in Metro Detroit (indeed, quite the opposite) except among non-profits.

David Landsel writes (tongue-in-cheek) about how Detroit became his go-to vacation spot (Hat tip: D-Tales).

Here's a bonus travel article on Detroit from a tourism website. This one's refreshingly positive.

Michigan's Urban Depression

2009-07-23T21:12:00.007-04:00

Michigan's economic downturn is well known, but in the state's aging industrial cities, the crisis has reached a level comparable with the Great Depression. According to Michigan's Department of Labor & Economic Growth, twelve cities had seasonally-unadjusted unemployment rates above 20 percent in June. The two worst-off, Highland Park and Pontiac, had unemployment rates above 30 percent.

Even during the most recent economic boom, times were tough in Michigan's big cities. As the rest of the nation experienced an economic expansion this decade, Detroit's unemployment barely budged, hovering near 14% from 2003 to 2007.

Now that the nation has plunged into recession, the local crisis has deepened dramatically. Unemployment is not only rising but accelerating across the state of Michigan, especially in older cities like Detroit.

I think these statistics underscore the fact (yet again) that we need a comprehensive strategy -- at the local, state, and national level -- to stabilize Rust Belt cities. No city in the United States, however troubled or corrupt its institutions, should have to contend with thirty-percent unemployment.

Link Drop - July 23, 2009

2009-07-23T12:00:00.026-04:00

The News profiles John Hantz, the business man who hopes to build a commercial farm on vacant property in Detroit. Few details here, but lots of anecdotal praise.

Esteemed local architect Michael Poris is blogging this week at Metro Mode about historic preservation and revitalizing Detroit.

The conservative columnists at the Detroit News come out swinging today: Daniel Howes on state politics, Nolan Finley on Detroit. The editorial board also endorses a slate of pro-business candidates.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, longtime Detroit activist Grace Lee Boggs recently marked her 94th birthday with a column on the evolution of her revolutionary vision and the announcement of a new school to open in her name.

Link Drop - July 22, 2009

2009-07-22T13:00:00.003-04:00

CNN writes about the always shocking absence of chain grocery stores in Detroit.

Fiscal manager Robert Bobb is making 2,600 employees at failing schools reapply for their jobs.

The state is giving Quicken $42.7 million in tax abatements for a Detroit headquarters projected to be built in 2013 (Free Press). A business reporter at Crain's expresses outrage.

Mayor Bing promises more cuts to services to decrease the deficit (Free Press).

Link Drop - July 21, 2009

2009-07-21T11:00:00.006-04:00

The Wall Street Journal writes about the probable bankruptcy of Detroit Public Schools. Today the district officially lost its first-class status, meaning more charter schools may open in the city, perhaps hastening the district's decline (Free Press).

This Thursday, Net Impacts of Southeast Michigan will host a discussion on "Critical Topics in Sustainability: Land Use and Urban Agriculture" (GLUE).

Since 2005, the number of vacant addresses in Detroit has doubled to an astonishing 78,000, prompting community development groups to change strategies just to keep their neighborhoods intact (Model D).

Link Drop - July 20, 2009

2009-07-20T12:00:00.003-04:00

The Free Press makes its endorsements for City Council.

In a blow to recycling efforts, the city will keep using the incinerator for at least a year and likely much longer (News).

A pilot program in Wayne County is deconstructing homes to salvage the parts rather than flat-out demolishing them.

Violent crime is both undercounted and rising in Detroit (News).

Link Drop - July 19, 2009

2009-07-19T12:00:00.019-04:00

The Free Press writes at length today about the possibilities and challenges of right-sizing, or shrinking, the city of Detroit. This one's a must read.

Sweet Juniper returns to the abandoned zoo on Belle Isle -- a great scene for that Detroit Wildlife film.

Speaking of wildlife, the News also reports that red foxes have been spotted roaming downtown!

The News (taking a step into digital media) also has a video up on the renowned graffiti in the Dequindre Cut.

Mayor Bing interviewed on C-SPAN

2009-07-17T13:30:00.003-04:00

Hat Tip: Detroit Yes.

Link Drop - July 17, 2009

2009-07-17T13:00:00.002-04:00

The city's only Home Depot is also the region's most profitable, proving national chains can thrive in Detroit if they learn to adapt (Free Press).

The Cobo deal is pretty much a sure thing now, but opposition is still alive and strong among some Detroit activists (News).

In a Guliani-like move, new Police Chief Warren Evans aims to reduce violence by towing the car of anyone driving without a valid license. DPD is also in the news for its continued lack of compliance with federal decrees on civil rights issues, six years after the fact (News).

The new issue of City Journal, a right-leaning magazine on urban issues, attributes New York's long-term success to its constant economic innovation. Something to think about for Detroit.

Detroit Wildlife: Picturing the city post-people

2009-07-16T23:22:00.002-04:00

Detroit Wildlife from florent tillon on Vimeo.

A French filmmaker is in town shooting a documentary on the return of wildlife to Detroit. Above is a long teaser he filmed a year ago in seek of financing. It's filled with long clips of an empty downtown, abandoned buildings, and pheasants prowling the urban prairie. It's definitely not an accurate picture of the city -- he goes out of his way to hide any sign of human life, effectively erasing the 900,000 people still here -- but he does admit in the comments that "my work is not exactly a realistic one." Rather, it's a vision of the city post-people -- a vision all too real in some areas on the East Side.

Link Drop - July 16, 2009

2009-07-16T13:00:00.003-04:00

An op-ed in the Detroit News says university research will be key to reviving Michigan's economy. The Metro Times says local beer will be, too.

Everyone is writing about right-sizing and redeveloping shrinking cities. The USA today is the latest with an article on Flint's innovative land bank.

An exhibit on Belle Isle opens tomorrow at the Detroit Historical Museum, where admission is free for the rest of the month (News).

Link Drop - July 15, 2009

2009-07-15T13:00:00.007-04:00

An offshore wharf is being added to the dock being built near Hart Plaza, enabling ferry service along the Detroit River (Free Press).

Sam Riddle and Mary Waters have been indicted for corruption, and more indictments may still be on the way (Free Press).

The DPS board is going to court to limit fiscal manager Robert Bobb's control over academics (News). The Free Press has a good editorial on the matter, wondering whether the board is being ignored because the city plans to switch to a mayor-led school system when Bobb's one-year term is up.

Mayor Bing wants to reduce city employees' pay by 10%, just as Cockrel originally proposed (Free Press).

A new Brookings Institution report says traffic patterns don't justify twinning the Ambassador Bridge, yet the authors still support the proposed public span (News).

Link Drop - July 14, 2009

2009-07-14T13:00:00.002-04:00

NPR is the latest to look into the idea of shrinking Flint's urban footprint to fit its smaller population.

Detroit keeps drawing journalists and filmmakers from around the world who want to showcase our decline and transformation (Free Press).

Boosters hope the renovated CCS Argonaut Building will anchor the northern-end of a creative corridor along Woodward.

Model D writes about coming improvements to Belle Isle. They also point to a New York Times article on a hip entertainment district in Cleveland that a developer would like to mimic here.

Link Drop - July 13, 2009

2009-07-13T13:00:00.004-04:00

DPS is demolishing abandoned homes near schools and hiring private management firms to fix its 17 worst performing high schools (News).

John Gallagher writes about the ongoing debate between preservationists and DECG (the city's development arm) over whether to save or demolish abandoned, historic structures (Free Press).

Stephen Henderson explains what municipal bankruptcy would mean for Detroit Public Schools (Free Press).

Quicken is moving into the Compuware Building downtown rather than building a new headquarters (News). Better than nothing, right?

Interview: Saving Michigan Central Station

2009-07-12T16:51:00.016-04:00

On June 30, crews of volunteers from Summer in the City began clearing debris from Michigan Central Depot in a summer-long effort to beautify the decaying train station. Photos from the clean-up were posted on Flickr, and news leaked out on different blogs, sparking questions and criticism on the Detroit Yes forums and elsewhere about the use of volunteers, the role of Manuel Moroun, and the project's ultimate aim. As someone who has advocated saving the station, I wanted to learn more. So this weekend, I emailed the organizer, John Mohyi, a Wayne State undergrad and budding Republican politician, to learn the details behind the project. Here are my questions and his responses:

1. What type of work are volunteers doing at Michigan Central Station? How much of the station is being worked on? To what final end? How often and for how long will volunteers work at the station, and what will they have accomplished when the project is complete?

Phase 1 of the volunteer effort has focused on debris removal. In only four days time a mixture of volunteers and employees from the Ambassador Bridge Company (ABC) have been able to clear the two main rooms, a significant proportion of the second floor, as well as many other key areas inside the station. As a result we have filled four dumpsters worth of debris and scrap metal.

I personally will be working on this project from beginning to end. Phase 1 is now nearing completion and we have already began exploring phase 2. Phase 2 consists of removing the broken glass and installing new windows and doors. ABC employees have already began sandblasting off graffiti on the exterior and will continue to do so as we progress. Phase 2 will rely on a more skilled group of volunteers. In addition to the well seasoned volunteers we already have, Home Depot corporate has expressed interest in the volunteer effort and with a little luck will jump on board.

I suspect the Michigan Central Station grassroots volunteer effort will be a never ending community project. Although at one point I hope to see the station completely restored I expect to always see volunteer artists and the youth in general leaving their mark on the MCS for years to come.

2. What is the genesis of the project? In postings online, you have mentioned Senator Brown and a meeting you had with Manuel Moroun. What was Senator Brown's role? What was yours and how are you two affiliated?

It all started when the Detroit City Council voted for an "expedited demolition" of the Michigan Central Station on April 7, 2009. Shortly after I was invited to a Facebook group to save the station. Until that moment I was not aware the building existed. As I scanned the breathtaking photos of the MCS I was compelled to save something beautiful.

I had recognized the situation before. You could sense the passion and the determination to save the station, but the efforts were devoid of leadership. I stepped in and centralized the effort. I started with an electronic petition to demonstrate the massive community support to the station owners, Detroit City Council, and the community itself. Next I created www.SaveMichiganCentral.com as a hub for the grassroots effort. Once I established a solid base of support a stroke of luck put me in the right place at the right time. After a drawn out conversation regarding the MCS, Senator Brown invited me along on a tour of the station with fellow senators, ABC President Dan Stamper, and other high profile individuals. This gave me the opportunity to get the station owners on board with the grassroots effort. Essentially Senator Brown provided the missing piece to the puzzle and has continued to provide his support in any way possible.

3. How is the effort being coordinated and paid for? Why use volunteers?

Summer in the City is the core organization for the volunteer effort thus far. They provided both experience and an established infrastructure that we were able to tap into. The station owner has paid for everything. In addition to all the supplies, they have provided a BBQ for the volunteers, paid for us to go to City Fest, and given us everything we have requested.

To answer your question "why use volunteers?", as a volunteer myself I wanted to be apart of something great. When I look back and see what the Michigan Central Station has become I will be able to say with pride that I helped make that happen. Mr. Moroun may own the station, but at the end of the day it belongs to each each and everyone of us and I feel a responsibility to do my part. As we have progressed I have watched with my own eyes what the people of Michigan are capable of and I want to show that to the world.

4. What is Manuel Moroun's and the Detroit International Bridge Company's specific role in the project? How have they contributed, monetarily or otherwise?

They pay for everything and do everything we ask of them. The station owner's wife also helped us plant 1,000 flowers in front of the station.

5. Is there anything else people should know about the effort?

Visit www.SaveMichiganCentral.com to sign up to become a volunteer.

(Photos provided by John Mohyi and taken by Bruce Griffin.)

Restoring Detroit from the bottom up

2009-07-10T16:22:00.001-04:00

Certainly, there is a committed corps of bright, dedicated business people who wear themselves out trying to fix Detroit's problems. But they're too few in number, and too few of them can be called giants. The erosion of Detroit's industrial base has left it without the concentration of wealth and power that produces world-class leadership ... But leadership of the Ford/Fisher caliber is what it will take to save Detroit.

- Nolan Finley, Editorial Page Editor of the Detroit News

In his column published yesterday, Finley laments the diminished power of Detroit's business titans. Once upon a time, he writes, big names like Henry Ford II and Max Fisher had the clout to raise millions of dollars and build city-saving institutions like the Renaissance Center. Without leaders like those today -- super rich and super powerful -- the city will never turn around.

What he ignores, of course, is that the city fell apart on their watch. Since the 1950s, one "city-saving" project after another has been pushed by the region's business elite. Highways, museums, stadiums, hotels, casinos, the Renaissance Center -- each new project was heralded as the key to the city's revival. And each one, in its way, failed. Even as downtown has improved, the neighborhoods have kept declining, rapidly. And even downtown the pace of demolition has exceeded the pace of development. And go figure. With a few praiseworthy exceptions, the movers and shakers Finley expects to save the city have almost uniformly abandoned it. They might bankroll the cultural institutions (and deserve gratitude for that), but most of them long ago moved their own homes, their offices, and their factories outside the city's borders, draining it of the one resource it needs most: jobs.

So pardon me if I don't sit around waiting for a handful of wealthy patrons to save the city. They have a role to play, certainly. The new light rail line being built from downtown to New Center is a great example of what private philanthropy can do, and there are some pretty big names behind all the region's major foundations, which have funded great, publicly-oriented projects like the RiverFront and the expansion of the DIA. But if the city's neighborhoods ever turn around, it'll be thanks to the small businesses, non-profits, and community activists that are planting trees, building community gardens, opening businesses, restoring historic buildings, fighting government corruption, and otherwise committing themselves to the city's restoration on a day-to-day basis. A few business titans, acting alone, can't save us. A community can.

Link Drop - July 10, 2009

2009-07-10T13:00:00.001-04:00

It looks increasingly likely that Detroit Public Schools will be the first major school district to declare bankruptcy (News).

The Free Press does a feature on land banks, a redevelopment tool that other declining cities, like Flint, have used with much success.

The Rosa Parks Transit Center, Detroit's great new transit hub downtown, is set to open Tuesday (Free Press).

Link Drop - July 9, 2009

2009-07-09T13:00:00.000-04:00

Detroit's Children Museum has been cut out of DPS's new budget, which may force it to close (Free Press).

Metro Mode points to an AP article on Greening of Detroit's efforts to reforest the city.

Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium recently received a grant to fix the roof of the closed facility and are holding a fundraiser on July 25 in an effort to reopen it.

Link Drop - July 8, 2009

2009-07-08T13:00:00.001-04:00

The Metro Times keeps following the incinerator story, which now has as much to do with government transparency as it does with the specific question of what to do with the city's trash.

While the U.S. slowly spends its stimulus funds on highway construction and other pork, France is investing billions to renovate historic buildings and keeps its cultural patrimony vibrant (NY Times). I wish we had such foresight here.

An op-ed in the New York Times argues Detroit is the next great biking city.

A well-known developer wants one last look at the Lafayette Building before it's demolished to see if he can save it (Crain's). No word yet on whether DECG will grant his request.

Link Drop - July 7, 2009

2009-07-07T13:00:00.001-04:00

Detroit Public Television and U of M Dearborn teamed up to interview all the candidates running for Detroit City Council or the charter commission (Michigan Messenger). You can watch the videos at MiVote.org. Great way to weed through the candidates.

Does Obama have an urban agenda? If so, it's not a priority (Politico).

Next American City questions the economics (and aesthetics) of convention centers. Prescient given our protracted struggle to renovate Cobo to save one flagship event.

Link Drop - July 6, 2009

2009-07-04T13:00:00.000-04:00

Volunteer crews are cleaning up Michigan Central Station (John Cruz), but not everyone is happy (Detroit Yes).

Amtrak service will likely be cut in Michigan's next budget (News).

In a "non-political" decision, Bing is making Warren Evans, perhaps his main political rival, the chief of police (News).

The New York Times Magazine profiles Will Allen this week. He's the founder of Growing Power, one of the nation's leading urban farms.

Link Drop - July 3, 2009

2009-07-03T13:00:00.003-04:00

The May/June issue of Preservation Magazine has a story on Detroit's preservation community. The magazine has also written about the city's vote to demolish the historic Lafayette Building.

A commentator in the Free Press worries "right-sizing" or "shrinking" cities will ruin them.

DRIC, the public bridge plan, will soon have the rights to riverfront land in Windsor, bringing it one step closer to reality (Free Press).

Link Drop - July 2, 2009

2009-07-02T13:00:00.003-04:00

Lessenberry makes the case for electing city council members by district (Metro Times). To support the ballot initiative, go to Detroiters for City Council by District.

Volunteers are sprucing up a section of Roosevelt Park across from Michigan Central Station (News).

Link Drop - July 1, 2009

2009-07-01T13:00:00.013-04:00

Seven teens were shot in broad daylight yesterday on the West Side of Detroit minutes after summer school let out (News). The Free Press is demanding a response from the mayor and the Warrendale Blog is following the tragedy closely.

Mayor Bing finally spoke in public yesterday on the need to reform the culture of City Hall (News). You can watch the speech here. (He speaks from the 4:25 mark to 45:10.)

A curbside recycling trial starts today in select neighborhoods (Crain's). The Council is still trying (likely in vain) to end the incinerator contract to ensure the program's a success (Free Press).

Kresge Arts in Detroit is keeping the city's art scene afloat almost single-handedly (Metro Times). The Kresge Foundation also funds the Riverfront Conservancy, the M1 light rail plan, and every major art institution and non-profit in the city. They deserve our endless praise.

Link Drop - June 30, 2009

2009-06-30T13:00:00.003-04:00

A non-profit coalition is trying to open a community grocery store in an empty Farmer Jack to help alleviate Detroit's "food desert" crisis (Michigan Citizen). The Free Press has more.

Detroit Public Schools may declare bankruptcy (News).

A micro-loan program is helping to grow small businesses in Detroit (Model D).

Link Drop - June 29, 2009

2009-06-29T13:00:00.009-04:00

Sam Riddle dishes more dirt on Monica Conyers (Free Press) and Ken Cockrel plans to force her off the City Council (News). The sooner the better, I'd say.

Detroit Make It Here gives some much deserved press to Going Home, a community blog that's helping to revitalize the struggling neighborhood near City Airport.

Is the Packard Plant -- the always-burning, forever-abandoned, 43-building dumping-ground on the city's east side -- Detroit's greatest absurdity? Bill McGraw makes the case (Free Press).

Update: Monica Conyers resigns from office effective July 6 (Crain's).

Link Drop - June 28, 2009

2009-06-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

Meijer might sign on as the anchor tenant of the Shoppes at Gateway, a long-rumored outdoor mall to be built at 8 Mile and Woodward (News).

The New York Times Magazine takes a deep look this week at how the downsizing of the auto industry has affected Metro Detroit's black middle class.

The Free Press weighs in on the bridge battle.

Link Drop - June 26, 2009

2009-06-26T13:00:00.010-04:00

The Lafayette Building is coming down (Free Press). The Downtown Development Authority voted unanimously to demolish the historic, 1920s-era structure, preservationists be damned.

Eastern Market Corp. may open a non-profit grocery store downtown just off Campus Martius (Free Press).

DPS is cutting 1,766 employees, but a $285 million deficit still remains (News).

A new Cobo deal is headed to Detroit for the council's approval (Free Press).

The Ilitches will renegotiate the lease on Joe Louis Arena (Crain's). It's not clear yet whether the goal is to renovate the stadium or buy time before building a new one.

Monica Conyers pleads guilty

2009-06-26T10:14:00.004-04:00

Monica Conyers pleaded guilty this morning to conspiring to commit bribery. No word yet on her sentence (she could get up to five years), but if there's any justice in this world, she'll go to prison for a long time and never return to public office. Thanks to the hard work of the local media and the FBI, the Kwame Kilpatrick era of corruption -- in City Hall, in the school system, and on the Council -- may finally be ending. We have a new, principled mayor. We have a responsible and driven fiscal manager cleaning house at DPS. And now we need a new council, elected by district, operating on a rewritten city charter.

In honor of the King of Pop:

2009-06-26T00:05:00.000-04:00

Link Drop - June 25, 2009

2009-06-25T13:00:00.000-04:00

A final bill to expand Cobo is actually expected to pass (Free Press).

Last month, the American Institute of Architects released a report (PDF) reimagining Detroit as a series of interconnected "urban villages" and green spaces. Rooflines, a blog by Shelterforce magazine, has an interesting post on the proposal, as does the Landscape + Urbanism blog.

And the bridge battle goes on

2009-06-24T13:29:00.003-04:00

The fight over twinning the Ambassador Bridge keeps getting messier. Yesterday the bridge company accused MDOT of dumping 10,000 tons of dirt onto a new truck ramp out of spite. The company filed a lawsuit in May seeking to block construction of a rival, publicly-funded span, and they say the dirt was dumped in retaliation. MDOT says no, the dirt is temporary, but the bridge company may have jeopardized federal funding for the massive Gateway Project by unilaterally changing the design of the bridge plaza, among other infractions. The same issues were cited by the U.S. Coast Guard last week when they ordered the company to stop all work on the new, unapproved span.

To say this spat is getting complicated is to greatly understate the case, but the most surprising development to emerge in the last few weeks is that Matty Moroun, the Grosse Pointe billionaire who owns the Ambassador Bridge as well as Michigan Central Depot, may finally be getting boxed in. The odds have always favored Moroun--he's got the money and the track record to do what he wants, public opinion and the law be damned--but it looks like he may have overplayed his hand. The company has cut off part of Riverside Park without title to the land, shut down access to part of 23rd Street without permission, built the ramp to a new bridge without a permit to do so, and so far failed to divert truck traffic from neighborhood streets.

That's led to doubt or outright opposition from nearly all Southwest residents and community groups, all levels of government in Canada, the City Council, MDOT, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the state representative for the area, Rashida Tlaib, as well as most media observers. Moroun still has a few backers -- a handful of community groups, who co-signed the lawsuit against the public span, and some Michigan lawmakers, mostly Republican, who'd rather see a bridge built at private expense. But the opposition is growing, and for good cause.

Update: MDOT sues the bridge company for disregarding its contract. This is getting intense.

Link Drop - June 24, 2009

2009-06-24T13:00:00.043-04:00

Confusion reigns on the incinerator question. From what little the public knows, it looks like it's here to stay -- meaning no landfills and little or no recycling in the city's future (Metro Times).

Construction begins soon to link the Dequindre Cut to the riverfront (Crain's).

Jack Lessenberry continues to sound the alarm over the state budget crisis (Metro Times).

On Tuesday, the Ilitch family will announce whether it's renewing its lease at Joe Louis Arena or building a new stadium (Detroit News). Bill Shea has the best breakdown of what it means for the city (Crain's).

Link Drop - June 23, 2009

2009-06-23T13:00:00.001-04:00

The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy formally lists its grievances against the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (Crain's). Worth reading.

Richard Florida of "creative class" fame and urban economist Ed Glaeser discuss a recent Telegraph article on shrinking cities: Glaeser says we should stop investing in declining cities as places, investing in people instead so they have the education to get out if they wish (NY Times); Florida concurs but argues that demolition and smart infrastructure investment can make shrinking cities better places to live for those who remain (Atlantic).

Bill McGraw notes how little Mayor Bing has been seen or heard since taking office. The Free Press editorial board calls his silence on every major issue "awkward" and "troubling."

First Tiger Stadium, now the Lafayette Building. City Council denied a historic designation for the downtown building today (Crain's). Expect demolition imminently.

Link Drop - June 22, 2009

2009-06-22T14:00:00.002-04:00

Right-sizing or shrinking the city has become an issue in Flint's mayoral campaign. Of the two candidates, one is more open to the proposal than the other, but both express skepticism (Michigan Messenger).

A new Census Bureau report confirms the rapid sprawl of Metro Detroit (Free Press). Since 2000, Wayne County has shrunk by 5.4% while Livingston County jumped by 16.3%. Ever outward we go ...

The transfer of government responsibilities to non-profits and corporations continues. The state can only afford to mow Eight Mile's median once a month, so the Eight Mile Boulevard Association is getting cities to do it themselves (Detriot News).

Link Drop - June 21, 2009

2009-06-21T15:00:00.002-04:00

Detroit's been tapping library and school funds to meet payroll (Free Press). That's illegal and could mean a state-imposed fiscal manager is in the city's future.

After months of debate over whether the city should keep using the incinerator, residents were told Thursday that the city actually has no choice (Detroit News). If the incinerator matches the best price offered by the landfills, the city's contractually obligated to keep using it (Metro Times).

Over on Detroit Yes, a poster (tangerine) makes a persuasive case that Woodward Avenue, from downtown all the way out to Pontiac, is the region's best hope for a dense, urban core. Downtown and Midtown Detroit would be just two anchors among many along the route (as is the case, in reality, now).

The Free Press backs Wayne County's plan for an aerotropolis today, but regional mistrust might kill the project. Not only does L. Brooks Patterson oppose tax incentives to get the project going, he created a rival four-county alliance last month to compete with it (Crain's Detroit).

New feature: Link Drop

2009-06-21T14:33:00.000-04:00

Every week, at least two-thirds of the material I plan to comment on slips past me. In recognition of the fact that I just can't keep up, I'll be posting a quick list of links every day to the most interesting articles and blogs I've come across in the last 24 hours. The first Link Drop will be up today at 3 o'clock. Regular posts with more commentary will keep coming once or twice a week, too.

Bobb promises deep changes to Detroit schools

2009-06-18T13:33:00.007-04:00

Detroit Public Schools won't be the same when Robert Bobb's one-year tenure as fiscal manager is up. That much is clear from his forceful, honest interview with the Metro Times and TV appearance this morning. He has an ambitious, five-part plan, and he says, "I'm going to get it done in a year. This plan will be done come hell or high water." Not everyone will be happy when he does it. Here are three passages that are bound to provoke:

1. On security:

We want our public safety personnel to be able to press a button to a camera and see everything that is happening in and around the schools. There are cameras around schools but we want to be able to have cameras so we can see up and down corridors into dark spots — we want to be able to see where our kids are. We’ll have a crime camera that will look up and down the streets onto our playgrounds that will be able to capture people with sensors who come into our buildings at night when they shouldn’t be there.

2. On charter schools:

Bobb also said he has entered discussions with Doug Ross, founder of University Preparatory Academy charter school, to possibly turn over management of Mumford High to Ross’s charter school management company. Other charter school companies met with district officials Wednesday, just weeks after Bobb announced that some of the 40 schools that will be reformed next year may become charter schools or may be managed by companies.

3. On the elected school board:

They're over there, I'm over here.

Accountability returns to DPS

2009-06-03T15:10:00.003-04:00

The results of a district-wide audit are in and they're as bad as anyone feared. Just five DPS schools out of 194 had a "clean" audit. The rest had accounting errors or outright theft, including "misappropriation of cash, loans made to officials using school funds, funds diverted to personal accounts, and missing money from dances and sports activities."

And no surprise: the district eliminated its internal audit department four years ago. Of course, that didn't stop widespread petty theft a decade ago, when according to the Detroit News, "auditors found nearly $2 million in missing or misspent money during a review of the 270 schools, including a principal accused of buying booze and sending a son on a trip to Italy with school funds, another accused of taking school money as loans, while others used the money for cell phones, staff luncheons and fraternity dues."

This time, the wrongdoers need to be fired and/or prosecuted, and protocols must be put in place to prevent abuse at this scale from repeating itself yet again. Let's hope Emergency Financial Manager Robert C. Bobb is up to the job. He can't just expose past problems; he has to fix them for the future, too.

Consolation prize

2009-06-02T18:44:00.002-04:00

So, yes, GM is bankrupt, but the feds are still looking out for us. The city of Detroit will get 100 new police officers courtesy of the federal government to combat "a possible rise in crime brought on by the economic fallout from the auto industry crisis."

Tiger Stadium going, going, gone

2009-06-02T18:07:00.005-04:00

Time to pay your last respects. The board of the city's Economic Development Corporation voted today to demolish what remains of Tiger Stadium within the next few weeks.

Why the sudden urgency? A spokesman cited "safety and security concerns" and the desire to make the site "more attractive to potential developers without the leftover structure." This rational would hold more water if a) the city were paying for security or b) there were potential developers. In fact, there are no developers lined up, and the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has been covering the security costs for the past eight months. The city just prefers an empty lot. And with Michigan Central Depot scheduled to be torn down too by summer's end, there'll be no shortage of empty lots on Michigan Avenue.

Update: Crain's reports that the conservancy is surprisingly close to financing the renovation of the stadium, making the urgency of the demo vote all the more baffling. Why rush to kill the only serious proposal for the site when nothing else will likely emerge for years?

Detroit: City on the Move

2009-05-29T00:35:00.002-04:00

Here's a video promoting Detroit's bid for the 1968 Olympics. Mayor Cavanaugh sounds so optimistic about urban renewal. If he only knew ...

Light rail plans (not) reconciled

2009-05-24T09:49:00.009-04:00

Light rail is a go. That was the word on Thursday, when Matt Cullen told reporters that Detroit's two proposed rail plans -- one public, one private -- had reached an accord, freeing the private group to begin construction on the first leg, from downtown to New Center.

Now the city's saying not so fast. If construction begins on the private M1 rail before DTOGS (the public plan) finishes its environmental review, then the federal government can't accept the $125 million behind the private effort as part of the local matching funds that the city will need to qualify for federal funding. In other words, DTOGS would be dead, because neither the city nor the state is likely to come up with that kind of money later on.

As it is, the two plans don't exactly mesh. They use different vehicles, run at different speeds, and have different alignments (curbside vs. center of the street). Naturally, they also have different operators. So even if both are built, the ride up Woodward won't be seamless. Riders will presumably have to get off at New Center and switch trains. Still, I'd gladly take two systems over none. I just fear that soon we'll be settling for just the one -- and waiting half a decade or more to see any progress on its expansion.

Cause for cautious optimism

2009-05-18T15:21:00.006-04:00

Detroit's economy may be moribund, but thanks to some new initiatives, it may not remain that way forever. To start with, the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan, a consortium of ten foundations formed last year, is putting $5 million behind a new training program for entrepreneurs that will lead to 400 new start-ups a year. The sessions will be hosted at Wayne State's TechTown and run by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the nation's leading foundation on entrepreneurship.

Three smaller initiatives are also getting great press. TechTown itself has been exceptionally successful, attracting eighty businesses and a long waiting list to its New Center location. Open City, a monthly meeting of Detroit business owners, was recently profiled by CNN for the remarkable collaboration and community it has sparked. Quicken CEO Dan Gilbert's Bizdom U has also gotten recognition for its free, two-year training program for select entrepreneurs. None of these are quick fixes for the ailing economy, but by focusing on the fundamentals, they should spark more job growth in the long run than ineffective tax incentives or the usual splashy projects, like stadiums and casinos, ever could.

Restructuring DPS

2009-05-14T16:49:00.004-04:00

Big changes are coming to Detroit Public Schools -- and just in time. The News reports the district has now lost a shocking 44% of its enrollment since 2000 to charters, the suburbs, and other areas of the country.

On Tuesday, the state-appointed emergency financial manager, Robert Bobb, announced the closing of 29 schools and the restructuring of 40 others deemed "miserably failing." On Wednesday, he took the unprecedented step of asking President Obama to issue a special emergency declaration to allow the district to receive emergency funding. (If granted, it would be the first emergency declaration not tied to a natural disaster.)

Obama's Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, has promised to send millions of dollars to the district if it pursues fundamental change. Speaking in the city on Wednesday, he called Detroit "ground zero" for education in the United States. "Detroit is New Orleans two years ago without Hurricane Katrina," he said, "and I feel a tremendous sense of both urgency and outrage." He supports copying the model used in Chicago and letting Mayor Dave Bing take control of the district.

Both can be heard on Wednesday's edition of Detroit Today. Also worth watching: Geoffrey Canada at the New Yorker Summit. Liberals and conservatives alike (see David Brooks, for example) have championed his Harlem Children's Zone as the single best model for fixing urban education -- something Bobb and Duncan are surely looking at.

Thoughts on Bing

2009-05-07T00:30:00.007-04:00

So Bing is the new mayor. Now that Cockrel's trial-run is up, Bing gets his own six-month shot at the job. I greet this news with cautious optimism. Bing is confident and competent, and he seems to get that revitalizing Detroit requires both a big vision and a business-like focus on all the basics. Almost better yet, Cockrel is back at the helm of City Council, meaning Monica Conyers loses her soapbox and both sides of government are run by competent, serious people.

Yet I have my doubts. He's a member of the business elite and plans to govern like it. With any luck, that will translate into streamlined government and new investment. But it might also mean yet more emphasis on big downtown projects -- like stadiums and casinos -- at the expense of neighborhood revitalization. I'm also unconvinced he gets what urban life is all about. He lived his adult life in the suburbs (gated ones at that!), has little to say on preservation, and has called for suburban-style "cities within the city".

Does he get what Detroit is all about? Is he in touch with community groups and the concerns of ordinary residents? I sure hope so.

Taking a cue from Braddock, PA

2009-05-01T01:05:00.015-04:00

If Braddock can do it, so can we. That's the message out of Metro Mode this week, which profiles a dying industrial town just downriver from Pittsburgh that's trying to reinvent itself as a dirt-cheap refuge for artists, urbanists, and environmentalists. The mayor, John Fetterman, who looks like he just stepped out of the Old Miami, has set up a website, www.15104.cc, that sells the ruined city as "an unparalleled opportunity for the urban pioneer, artist, or misfit" to "create amidst destruction." He seems to be getting some traction, too, at least in the press and academy. He's been interviewed by the New York Times, the Colbert Report, the Daily Show, PBS, and NPR, and he recently spoke at U of M's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

I haven't read/heard it all yet, but I'd definitely like to learn more. What do the current residents really think of this all? Do they buy it? Are outsiders actually moving in? And, as Metro Mode asks, what can Detroit take away from this?

The photo, by the way, is taken from the gallery of "Ruins" on the city's website --- probably the only municipal website in the United States that not only openly acknowledges its urban decay (and its Crips affiliation!) but embraces it, too, as "malignant beauty."

Urban gardening continues to grow

2009-04-25T10:48:00.005-04:00

The News has a great review of urban agriculture in Detroit. In the past decade, dozens of community gardens have been planted across the city, like the inspirational Georgia Street Garden on the city's east side. And now, Model D reports, the movement has state backing. The new Garden for Growth program lets neighbors lease state-owned vacant land for one year tax-free if they create a park or garden on the lot. More than 6,000 parcels are eligible in Detroit alone!

Right-sizing the Rust Belt

2009-04-24T06:12:00.011-04:00

The New York Times reports on proposals to "right-size" the city of Flint. Since the 1960s, the city has lost nearly half its population, and a third of those remaining are in poverty. To restore density and make city services more efficient, the County Treasurer would like to shrink the city's footprint by shutting down the city's least populated blocks and neighborhoods. “Decline in Flint is like gravity, a fact of life,” he says. “We need to control it instead of letting it control us.”

As I've written before, Youngstown, Ohio, has already adopted a plan to right-size the city as its population drops. Many believe Detroit should do the same, though it's a matter of considerable debate. Also sure to spark debate are mayoral candidate Dave Bing's recent remarks to the Detroit News's editorial board on rebuilding Detroit's vacated land:

Estimating there are about 70,000 parcels of vacant land citywide, Bing said his first priorities are to clear land near and around schools, churches and senior citizen complexes. He would eventually create areas similar to what people have come to expect in some suburban communities. "A lot of people who moved out of the city are middle-class people, and I don't think a lot of them feel we've got the communities they like to live in," Bing told The Detroit News editorial board. "Wouldn't it be great if we could look at some of this vacant land to build a city within a city?
"It would be great to have a city like Birmingham in the city or to have a (place) like somewhere in Grosse Pointe so that those middle class people have an option to come back."

Something tells me Bing will have some explaining to do.

Jobs, please

2009-04-20T01:13:00.003-04:00

Rochelle Riley has a telling column on a Renaissance High and Harvard grad who chose to move back to Detroit but can't find a job in his field of choice, urban planning and development. The point here is pretty obvious. In a state rapidly losing population and half of its own college grads, shouldn't local businesses and agencies do everything they can to recruit and retain the local talent that actually wants to stick around? Yes, Detroit has a small, thriving do it yourself culture, and young entrepreneurs regularly kick off cool new businesses and non-profit projects, but let's be honest, that path is for the courageous few. Something needs to be done to keep the other 95% in town, starting with a clear path to whatever good, steady employment remains in our post-auto economy.

City going full circle

2009-04-15T19:38:00.009-04:00

I'm still not sure what I think of the Hantz Group's plans to bring full-scale commercial farming to Detroit. There just aren't enough details yet, though this web chat with Matt Allen answers a lot of questions.

On the plus side, a large farm will put vacant land back to use, generate tax revenue for the city, and draw positive publicity from around the world. Best yet, it could help break the stigma that mars Detroit's abandoned lots. Most of this vacant land would be fairly easy to build on (red tape and taxes aside), but developers don't even consider it because of its fallen history. Vacant land in Detroit is just presumed worthless. A successful reuse project could change the perception of Detroit's vacant lots from an albatross to an opportunity.

Now for the caveats, mostly based on speculation:

A third of the city's land is vacant, but most of it isn't contiguous. Will a farm displace people? By what process and for what compensation? In the web chat, someone asked if "people [would] be asked to move or relocated, or would the farm just go up around them? " Matt Allen responded, "... both. Our intention is to have the area inside the farm site empty."

How much tax revenue will it really generate? When asked, Allen wrote, "well that is to be determined but we cant pay 81 mils, we are at the point where that is being discussed along with other issues." That is to say, Allen wants a special lower tax rate for the farm -- "an ag rate." Will other businesses get to pay this new lower rate or just them?

What about pesticides and other runoff? Allen says MSU Extension is partnering with the farm to monitor the environmental impact, but it's worth worrying about. This won't be an organic farm. Allen says they'll be using "conventional ag methods" -- and conventional agriculture methods are toxic.

How will the farm be secured? Are we talking cornstalks surrounded by barbed wire? This could look great or look terrible depending on the measures they take.

And what about Matt Allen? I don't advocate guilt by association, but he is Kwame Kilpatrick's former Press Secretary after all (and he's been publicly arrested for domestic abuse). That does invite a certain level of scrutiny.

In short, I eagerly await their business plan.

Save Michigan Central Station

2009-04-08T16:39:00.016-04:00

As most know by now, City Council has voted to demolish Detroit's most iconic landmark, Michigan Central Station, and if the mayor's request is approved, federal stimulus funds will pay for it.

We need to save this structure. Yes, it's in bad repair. Thanks to the neglect of its owner, billionaire Matty Moroun, the building is a shell of its former self, torn apart by scrappers and the elements. No, no one knows what to do with it. The size of the structure, its distance from downtown, and the prohibitive cost of rehabbing it have so far killed all the proposals to save it. Yet it should be left to stand.

MCS is a national landmark, a Beaux Arts marvel, and an icon of Detroit -- broken down, abandoned, but still beautiful. It embodies the history of the past century and should remain as a testament to those times. Ideally, MCS would be rehabbed, but even as a ruin, it will draw interest and attention for decades, like the ruins of old Europe. Perhaps, as a Detroit Yes poster suggests, just the facade could be saved and serve as the centerpiece of a renovated Roosevelt Park. Regardless, preserving some or all of this historic structure will be better for Detroit than the certain alternative -- another rubble-strewn, vacant lot.

Remember, nothing will replace MCS, not for many years. Many say the station stands in the way of new development, but there are no viable plans to reuse the space. Once destroyed, the lot will join the network of urban prairie spreading across the city. And at what expense? The city will not only lose its history and sense of self, it will waste its federal stimulus dollars, not on creating jobs, as they're meant to do, but on permanently destroying the urban fabric. This money should go toward creating the next economy, not destroying the remnants of the industrial past. Knocking down MCS is a mistake we'll long regret.

7/17 Update: Read about the volunteer effort to clean up and save Michigan Central Station.

Unexpected good news

2009-04-01T03:24:00.006-04:00

To my surprise, the News is reporting that plans to build an $80-million outdoor mall at 8 Mile and Woodward are proceeding. Yes, the project has already been delayed for two years, and today is April Fools' Day, but if the developers are to be believed, construction could actually begin as soon as next month. If constructed, the Shoppes at Gateway Park would be the largest commercial development built in Detroit in fifty years.

The mall would also mark a major transformation of the corridor. While the neighborhoods to the west (Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest) are among Detroit's most affluent, the area just south and east of the proposed mall is as desolate as any in the city, with vacant lots and burned out homes outnumbering occupied dwellings. What's more, the major anchor of the area, the State Fairgrounds, is being shut down by the state. So the new mall will truly be a turn of events.

The change we're stuck with

2009-03-31T01:29:00.006-04:00

What a day to stop the presses. As the New York Times rubs in, Detroit's dailies ended home delivery on one of the heaviest news days of the year. General Motors and Chrysler will be forcibly restructured by the White House, L. Brooks Patterson wants to steal the Auto Show, Michigan State made the Final Four, and the fact that both papers stopped home delivery is itself national news.

As the headlines make so evident, Detroit has never needed its journalists more, but the recession is putting one paper after another out of print or out of business altogether. The casualties so far include Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, and Detroit, whose papers have all cut daily delivery, and the Ann Arbor News, which closed outright. If the economic downturn lasts much longer (and it's likely to last quite awhile), there may be no newspapers left standing to tell us about it.

Non-profits retrench

2009-03-23T02:44:00.003-04:00

This weekend the New York Times ran an article on Detroit's struggling non-profit sector. Charities across the region are on the brink of fiscal collapse just as they're needed most, and Detroit's major foundations -- like Kresge, Skillman, and Hudson-Webber-- don't have the funds to save them all. As a consequence, non-profits are being forced to cooperate, combine, or close. Even the symphony and the opera may be forced to share an orchestra to cut costs.

History repeats itself

2009-03-20T17:36:00.005-04:00

The New Yorker's George Packer points out this passage in a history of the twenties published in 1931:

The suburban boom itself did not begin to languish in most localities until 1928 or 1929. By that time many suburbs were plainly overbuilt: as one drove out along the highways, one began to notice houses that must have stood long untenanted, shops with staring vacant windows, districts blighted with half-finished and abandoned ‘improvements’; one heard of suburban apartment houses which had changed hands again and again as mortgages were foreclosed, or of householders in uncompleted subdivisions who were groaning under a naively unexpected burden of taxes and assessments.

Eerie, isn't it?

He also links to Sweet Juniper's haunting photo essay, "School's Out Forever," published recently in Vice Magazine. Definitely worth a look.

State takes over Pontiac's finances

2009-03-20T01:31:00.004-04:00

According to the news, the state is appointing a manager to run Pontiac. Flint was state-run from 2002 to 2006, and other declining urban areas, Hamtramck and Highland Park included, have suffered the same fate. Local leaders have been unable to close deficits that keep growing every year as population and tax revenue declines.

Could Detroit be next? Not likely. The politics would be brutal. But the state has taken control of Detroit Public School's finances for the second time, and the city itself is facing a $300 million deficit -- the latest in a series of chronic, growing deficits that have no easy solution. Every tax hike drives more residents and businesses away, but so long as the city's population continues to slide, the city will continue to have less revenue each year to provide services to the same size area. This is an equation for disaster -- day by day, dollar by dollar.

Habitat switches to demolition

2009-03-18T21:39:00.004-04:00

The New York Times has a report today on how Habitat for Humanity is now knocking down more homes in Saginaw than it's building. In partnership with the city, the group is paying low-income workers to dismantle dilapidated homes and recycle anything salvageable. In essence, the city is co-opting the scrappers, letting Habitat take the valuables instead and use the profits to finance new home construction. Still, it's awfully ironic to see Habitat workers wielding sledge hammers.

Bridge Watch

2009-03-18T16:27:00.002-04:00

Last night the U.S. Coast Guard got more public input than it was anticipating when 500 people showed up to comment on the environmental impact of Matty Moroun's proposed new bridge. This could be a big setback for Moroun, who boldly went ahead and built on-ramps to the unapproved bridge without waiting for public comment or federal approval.

Send in the artists!

2009-03-13T02:21:00.005-04:00

When people hear homes are selling for $100 in Detroit, they momentarily dream of a great deal. Then they see a picture of the property -- burned out, scrapped, and rotting in a dying neighborhood -- and the dream is dashed. Luckily for the city, some artists find that image irresistibly romantic -- and the price can't be beat. The Detroit News has a profile today of a group of artists who are eagerly buying up derelict property just north of Hamtramck. (A local novelist first wrote about them in Sunday's New York Times.) I wish them the best of luck, and I hope they bring their friends!

Capturing the beauty in Detroit's decline

2009-03-13T00:29:00.008-04:00

Time Magazine has some gorgeous photos of Detroit's ruins. They are the work of Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, two talented French photographers who show great respect for our post-industrial landscape. Check out their website for more, including shots of East Germany for contrast. I'm stealing just one; please follow the links for more:

Hat Tip: Detroit Yes!

Paging the Joshua Generation

2009-03-10T20:41:00.011-04:00

In November, the New Yorker published a terrific article on race and the presidential campaign, calling President Barack Obama the foremost member of "The Joshua Generation" -- a new wave of black leaders, like Cory Booker in Newark and Patrick Deval in Massachusetts, whose appeal transcends race. The Breakthrough, Gwen Ifill's new book, has a similar argument, pointing to black leaders who "rely more on pragmatic political coalitions than on racial solidarity."

I think it's time the Joshua Generation makes itself heard in Detroit. The last two weeks have proven, yet again, that politicians across the region suffer from 1967 syndrome -- the delusion that nothing has changed in forty years. Detroit's City Council almost seems to take it as a badge of pride.

Exhibit A: The Cobo Veto. Not only did the Monica Conyers-led Council veto the region's best hope for fixing Cobo and saving the Auto Show, they did it singing "Onward Christian Soldiers" to the region's permanent embarrassment.

Exhibit B: The Leno "Snub". Today, Jay Leno announced a free show at the Palace for anyone unemployed in Michigan. I'm not a fan of his, but it's a great gesture, and I'm glad he's doing it. Not Councilmember Martha Reeves. No, no, no. If it's not in the city limits, she doesn't want it at all. Here she is making an ass of herself on WDIV. Note the refrain: "Auburn Hills isn't Detroit." I got news for you: Yes, it is. No one outside of Southeast Michigan gives a damn whether you're from the city or the suburbs. We're just Detroit. Get some pride and let it rest.

Light rail to run next year

2009-03-08T16:08:00.003-04:00

The proposed light rail line between Downtown and New Center will be operating by late 2010 (says the Free Press). Realistically, the project will be delayed until at least early 2011, but that's still exciting news. Hopefully this privately-funded project will be integrated with DTOGS, the city's own plan to extend mass transit up and down Woodward and eventually the other main arteries of the city. The 2010s will be the decade that mass transit returned to Detroit.

On the foreclosure crisis

2009-03-08T14:51:00.006-04:00

The New York Times Magazine has an epic piece on the foreclosure crisis. The focus in on Cleveland, but you could substitute the word Detroit and never notice the difference. The whole Rust Belt is struggling with an unprecedented glut of abandoned homes, and the rest of the country's on notice.

Foreclosures are a problem all over the country now, but Cleveland got to this place a while ago. Cities, old and new, are looking at what’s occurring in Cleveland with some trepidation — and also looking for guidance. Already places as diverse as Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas and Minneapolis have neighborhoods where at least one of every five homes stands vacant. In states like California, Florida and Nevada, where many of the foreclosures have been newer housing, there is fear that with mounting unemployment and more people walking away from their property, houses will remain empty longer, with a greater likelihood that they will deteriorate or be vandalized. ... “Cleveland is a bellwether,” Immergluck says. “It’s where other cities are heading because of the economic downturn.”

There's an election, I guess

2009-02-23T00:42:00.004-05:00

Prediction: More Detroiters will buy paczkis on Tuesday than vote. For those who do both, Mary Kramer of Crain's Detroit has a thoughtful post on the candidates and the issues. I, too, wish someone would run on her five-point platform:

1. End corruption.
2. Fix the schools.
3. Elect council members by district.
4. Offers primers on business and public policy to city officials.
5. Build regional mass transit.

A grassroots look at the city

2009-02-19T14:22:00.009-05:00

Do yourself a favor, and read this wonderful post on Sweet Juniper. The author walks us through the stops of a tour he just gave to a Time Magazine reporter, showing a side of the city that too few ever see, not just nationally but locally. This is the Detroit that fascinates and inspires me, and I wish more people would get a chance, or rather, take the chance, to experience it.

Creative class guru predicts Detroit's demise

2009-02-12T22:05:00.009-05:00

Richard Florida, the prophet of the creative class, has a new article in the Atlantic, "On How the Crash Will Reshape America." He predicts a reorganization of the American landscape, with power shifting to "mega-regions," like the North Carolina research triangle or the Boston-New York-D.C. corridor, where new economy jobs (think media and information) are most concentrated.

Who will suffer the most? The Rust Belt. Specifically, Detroit:

Perhaps Detroit has reached a tipping point, and will become a ghost town. I’d certainly expect it to shrink faster in the next few years than it has in the past few. But more than likely, many people will stay—those with no means and few obvious prospects elsewhere, those with close family ties nearby, some number of young professionals and creative types looking to take advantage of the city’s low housing prices. Still, as its population density dips further, the city’s struggle to provide services and prevent blight across an ever-emptier landscape will only intensify.

Hm. That rings a bell. Oh wait, that's what's happening already. Still, I'd rather not hear it from a man who just a few months ago was preaching to the choir at the Creative Cities Summit 2.0.

Retail fund to the rescue

2009-02-11T18:32:00.004-05:00

There's a new $5 million fund for downtown retail, the News reports. The Detroit Investment Fund will give loans ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 to establish new storefronts in the city's five core neighborhoods -- downtown, Corktown, Midtown, Eastern Market, and the riverfront. Together with new greenways and proposed transit projects, this could keep the downtown area on an upward trajectory. What's still missing, though, is housing. If all the condo and loft deals are dead, who will keep these stores in business? Let's hope the real estate market finally starts to rebound soon.

Don't panic

2009-02-10T21:10:00.007-05:00

Lately, it seems another downtown business closes its doors every other day -- Borders, Sweet Georgia Brown, Zaccaro's Market. The Free Press says revitalization has stalled. Even the well received Mercury Coffee Bar shut its doors Monday. Thus began the wailing and gnashing of teeth: downtown is dead, Detroit is doomed.

Let me let you in on a secret. Half of all new businesses fail within four years. And we're in a recession. In fact, the city itself has arguably been in a depression for decades. So while we should celebrate and promote all the new businesses that come on board, there's no need to declare defeat whenever one (or even two or three) shuts down. Just look at the turnover in Royal Oak. A business fails there every month, but no one's writing the downtown's post mortem. It's just the way it goes.

Oh, and Mercury Coffee Bar? It's set to re-open next Friday. It's joined by a fancy new French cafe at Trumbull and Howard in Corktown and a new produce market on John R in Brush Park. Go check 'em out.

Revitalization on hold

2009-02-08T15:12:00.003-05:00

The Free Press confirms the obvious today: the revitalization of downtown has stalled. The proposed Cadillac Centre is dead, condos aren't selling, and Quicken's move downtown is highly uncertain. New hotels have opened and DTE renovated its campus, but those projects were underway before credit dried up. Some existing stores are disappearing, too, like the downtown Borders. Development isn't totally dead -- five new coffee shops have opened recently -- but things have sure slowed down.

The state of our state

2009-02-04T11:10:00.005-05:00

Granholm's State of the State address went something like this: "Michigan. Brutal. Budget cuts. But jobs! Michigan! Jobs! Michigan! Energy! Jobs! Michigan!" By the end I almost felt employed.

But she only devoted a minute or two to the most critical passage of the speech -- the restructuring of state government. The plan is to reduce the salaries of elected officials by 10%, consolidate 18 state departments into just eight, cut off funding to the state fair, and close three prisons. Those are serious changes, but we never heard the details. And as the business press has complained, the savings aren't sufficient to cover the deficit. I guess the federal stimulus will save us.

Still, I thought it was a solid speech. Serious, well delivered, and relentlessly optimistic without seeming deranged -- a tough feat to pull off in an economy as tanked as ours.

Off the radar

2009-02-03T00:26:00.004-05:00

Model D has a roundup of Detroit blogs this week. There are some goodies there, but alas, mine didn't make the cut. So kudos to you, dear readers, for following this blog despite the complete lack of promotion or publicity. The few, the proud, the think Detroiters.

Bad or worse choices

2009-01-26T03:03:00.007-05:00

I don't envy Ken Cockrel's job. Today the News lists his options for balancing the budget. Observers expect 1) the closure of city parks and recreation centers, 2) the selling of remaining city assets at bargain prices, 3) at least 1,000 layoffs, and 4) a new deal to sell the city's rights to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel.

Is he sure he wants to run for a full term? His old job sure is popular. As of Friday, nearly 330 people had taken out petitions to run for City Council's nine open seats -- and the deadline isn't until May 12! Each applicant needs 458 signatures to make the ballot, so they won't all qualify, but a couple hundred might. Good luck standing out in that list. Better hope your last name begins with an A or a B.

No thanks

2009-01-21T16:42:00.005-05:00

As I wrote not long ago, the city needs a better vision for the reuse of its vacant land. Let me add to that. The city needs a vision that is sensitive to the city's history and its current residents.

Let me give an example of a vision that's not. In Dome Magazine, Craig Ruff, a Michigan policy wonk, advocates a total overhaul of the city (Hat tip: Model D). He'd like to build light rail lines, widen the city's main spokes to 12-lanes roads, and line them on either side with public parks 10-blocks wide and miles long. Completing the mass relocation of residents and property in the pursuit of "greatness" will require "(a) a huge investment of state and federal money; (b) willing and involved Detroiters; (c) city policymakers willing to cede control over half their land; (d) extremely bold thinkers in Lansing; and (e) a visionary team of designers and architects who are given wide, even dictatorial, berth."

Thanks but no thanks. Detroit needs revitalization, not to be leveled and replaced with something else entirely.

The battle of the bridge goes on

2009-01-15T16:40:00.008-05:00

Good news. The U.S. Department of Transportation has approved a government-led plan to build a new bridge to Canada a mile downriver from the current one. Just don't expect to see it built any time soon. Matty Moroun, the owner of the Ambassador, has vowed to sue the Detroit River International Crossing Project to prevent it from competing with his plan to build a new, privately-held span directly alongside the Ambassador. DRIC has strong support in Southwest Detroit and Canada, but Moroun is a billionaire and a bully (see Forbes) with many Michigan lawmakers on his side. This will be a long fight.

Transit in sight

2009-01-13T01:39:00.003-05:00

The News has a great essay on the new regional mass transit plan, how it will work, and what remains to be done -- namely, fund it. To get involved and stay up to date, check out Transportation Riders United, the transit advocacy group. (Is three links enough?)

Detroit, media darling

2009-01-13T00:51:00.004-05:00

Now that our main industry is on death's doorstep, the world's media has taken a keen interest in our decline. The Free Press links to ten examples of the booming genre. I'd call the Weekly Standard's piece the most demeaning, but our own Mitch Albom (must we claim him?) didn't do us any favors either when he penned a sob/survival story for Sports Illustrated. Many have commended him -- D-Tales calls it the best story ever on Detroit -- but I'm with Model D on this one. We're not just martyrs braving our bad luck, and there's much more to this city than poverty and blight. It's time to shut up about Hudson's and start talking about the future -- or even just the present.

Land to spare

2009-01-11T16:03:00.010-05:00

Everyone knows Detroit is underpopulated, but the image above sure drives the point home. Detroit's population is rapidly falling below 900,000, but the city has enough land to house three times that many people. Low density has led to widespread abandonment of property to the point where one-third of all city land -- equaling the size of San Francisco -- may now be vacant.

Unfortunately, the vacant land isn't contiguous, so it's not easy to redevelop, and no one has a clear idea what to do with it. When the Free Press asked the mayoral candidates for ideas, none responded. Readers suggested large-scale reforestation or urban farming, as Grace Lee Boggs and others have advocated.. Sustainability experts have recommended focusing on developing seven densely populated urban villages -- Southwest Detroit, Corktown, Downtown, Eastern Market, Woodbridge, Midtown and New Center (see the Power Point). None of these schemes are particularly easy to implement given the actual distribution of vacant lots scattered throughout all the city's neighborhoods, but clearly the city needs a better vision and a real plan to deal with excess property.

DPS gets something right ... or not

2009-01-09T01:14:00.006-05:00

Just a year after it was first announced, the Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies, an arts academy for seventh to twelfth graders, is set to open in the newly redeveloped Argonaut Building. This is public education done right -- a focused curriculum, major institutional backers, a pledge to graduate college-ready students, an architectural gem saved, and an economic boost to the New Center area.

Update: In the comments, a reader points out that this new school is not, in fact, a DPS initiative. Daniel Howes calls it a "public school" in the first sentence, but it's actually a private charter -- one that is free and open to any applicant, but private nonetheless. Oh well, it was nice to imagine for a moment that DPS was capable of reform.

Give to the arts ...

2009-01-09T00:09:00.004-05:00

Because GM no longer will. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Music Hall, the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Detroit Institute of Arts, among others, will all lose major operating support this year. Other foundations are bound to scale back support as well. Endowments have shrunk along with the stock market, and charitable contributions fall as jobs are lost. Some of our most important cultural institutions -- and many of the smaller, more local ones -- could be lost to the economic downturn if new benefactors don't emerge.

Never get too optimistic

2009-01-07T01:53:00.003-05:00

So the year's off to a bad start. Standard and Poors lowered the city's credit rating to junk bond status, requiring the city to pay its creditors $400 million dollars to prove the city's solvency. Bear in mind the city was already projecting a $300 million budget shortfall. This year's budget cuts will be brutal.

Over at the Metrotimes, Jack Lessenberry has a devastating column on Detroit Public Schools. "Detroit's only hope lies in fixing the schools," he writes. "It's as simple -- and as maddeningly difficult -- as that." Mass transit, urban gardens, downtown lofts -- those are all great developments, but without functioning public schools, the city is doomed. DPS is not functional.