Condos vs. rentals

Metromode questions the peculiar absence of rental options in (Metro) Detroit. Developers only turn to rentals when condo or loft units aren't selling; there has been little push to further develop the rental market as such. But doing so might be the key to creating density and attracting more young people to the city who don't necessarily want to commit to living there longterm.

The city to the south

Windsor, that is. Easily overlooked by we on the other side of the river, Windsor is struggling with some of the same issues as Metro Detroit, especially in the past decade as the downtown has declined. I recently found a blog called Scaledown Windsor that advocates its revitalization, envisioning "a sustainable framework that leverages safe, attractive walkable neighbourhoods, dynamic public spaces, and local independent businesses and artists as cornerstones of our social, cultural and economic prosperity."

Food Stamps contribute to poor nutrition

Last night Mari Gallagher presented her report, "Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Detroit," at a community meeting at the UM Detroit Center. The findings are alarming, especially with regard to the USDA Food Stamp program:

The greatest contributor to the heavy concentration of fringe food options and to the negative diet-related health effects of food imbalance is not fast food, as we originally suspected, but USDA Food Stamp retailers. In Detroit, USDA Food Stamp retailers are primarily fringe food locations, such as gas stations, liquor stores, party stores, dollar stores, bakeries, pharmacies, and convenience stores. Only 8% of all Detroit Food Stamp retailers are small, medium, or large grocery stores or supermarkets by our definition. These fringe locations appear not to specialize in healthy foods but, instead, in the sale of 1) alcohol, 2) tobacco, 3) lottery tickets, and/or 4) a comparatively small selection of prepackaged and canned food products high in salt, fat, and sugar.

Many Detroiters depends on Food Stamps for grocery money, but that money is primarily being spent at gas stations and liquor stores on prepackaged and canned foods. This in turn has a measurably negative effect on Detroiters' health. The program needs to be reformed so that all Food Stamp retailers provide healthy food options. As it is, 92% of the retailers who accept Food Stamps sell primarily junk food and little else.

Hamtramck Blowout footage

In case you missed it or want to relive it, MyFoxDetroit has 33 videos of Hamtramck Blowout performances.

105 Detroit non-profits lose federal funding

The Free Press reports that 105 Detroit non-profits will be denied Community Development Block Grants because of a new residency requirement passed by the Detroit City Council in July. To be eligible for federal funding, at least half of an organization's board members must now be residents of the city. That means dozens of non-profits are currently ineligible. Focus: HOPE, for example, will lose $205,000 in CDBG funds; Greening of Detroit will lose $125,000.

This is a disaster. The City Council had good intentions -- city residents should control city funding -- but the rule is too demanding and gave no time for non-profits to react. Charities can't overturn their boards overnight. Hopefully the Council will find a way to amend the rule or delay its onset. In the meantime, smaller, community-based non-profits may rejoice -- with most major non-profits ineligible, the pool of CDBG funds leftover for everyone else just grew immensely.

Retail on Livernois, Downtown

According to Crain's, business owners along Livenois hope to restore the Avenue of Fashion. With the help of the Independent Retailers Association of Detroit, a new nonprofit, and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, they are working to fill vacant storefronts and create a blueprint for revitalization that can be replicated in other areas of the city.

An editorial in Crain's co-authored by leaders of the Urban Land Institute Detroit call for a public-private effort to bring more retail Downtown. A similar approach is now being taken in the development of Eastern Market.

Good news in Gratiot Woods

The Free Press has a positive story on the turnaround of the Gratiot Woods neighborhood on the city's east side. The effort has been led by the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, one of the dozens of community development groups working with little fanfare to empower residents and revitalize neighborhoods (some, due to limited funding and capacity, with more success than others).

Can Kwame just go?

This isn't getting any better. The Free Press has the scoop.

To be fair, though, this doesn't really compare to the original scandal. Everyone who works with city government has a friend on the inside. This contractor is just lucky that his friends are Christine Beatty and Kwame Kilpatrick. And Kwame's right about one thing: this report is indeed a "fishing expedition." And the Free Press will keep on fishing until they find a keeper. Maybe a few.

Another test of regional cooperation

The Detroit Zoo is trying to create a regional authority with the power to levy a millage in Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb counties to finance the zoo's operations. It won't be easy:

Patterson acknowledged proponents face a tough sales job on a tax increase during a down economy, especially when property values are falling. They also face the challenge of trying to unite a fractious region that has struggled to cooperate on other important economic issues like expanding Cobo, control of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and the divvying of Homeland Security money.

Can the region cooperate to preserve this "cultural gem" (as all the politicians rush to call it)? The answer may portend whether we're ready for more important moves later on, in particular the creation of a regional transit authority and the passing of a local sales tax to finance a rapid transit system.

Detroit one step closer to transit

From yesterday's press release: DTOGS is "recommending a light rail transit (LRT) line along an eight-mile stretch on Woodward Avenue as the best opportunity to begin building a regional rapid transit system in the Detroit area."

The estimed cost is $372 million with 11,100 riders per day. Federal funds would pay for about 50-60% of that; the remainder would have to come from state, local, or private sources. Ina best case scenario, construction could begin in 2010!

DTOGS will be holding public meetings next week to get input on the proposal. Go voice your support! Transportation Riders United, as always, has more info.

The state of the music scene

The Free Press invited a few notables to discuss Detroit's music scene ahead of this weekend's Blowout. This is so true:

Becki: ... You can't go to a (rock) show in Detroit and see anyone dancing. ... People here, they want to look cool, stand up there with a beer.

Rachel: People from the outside, the statewide media, when people talk about Detroit, they always say it's a really critical crowd. You notice that when you go to a show: People will stand in the back and watch. You won't think that anybody's liking it, then afterwards they're like, "Oh, man, you were so great!"

Upcoming events: food deserts, sustainability

The Skillman Foundation will host "Eliminating Food Deserts in Detroit: A Community Discussion" at UM's Detroit Center (3663 Woodward Ave.) on Monday, March 10, from 5 to 8:30 pm. Speaker Mari Gallagher will discuss her report, "Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Detroit," and other panelists will discuss community efforts to increase access to healthy food in the city.

The Model D Speaker Series will present "Building a Green City: Sustainable Urbanism in Detroit" on Wednesday, March 19, at 5 pm at the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle (1 River Bank Road). Speakers "will discuss the principles of sustainable urbanism, and examine how areas like Detroit's Midtown are actively utilizing the ideas."

Eastern Market's future

Check out the draft of Eastern's Market ambitious new master plan at DetroitEasternMarket.com. If followed through, the plan will create a thriving urban area to rival Midtown, Downtown, and Southwest Detroit as the most vibrant districts in the city.


Hat tip: Model D.

Last week's news

Here's a quick rundown of some stories I missed from the News and the Free Press:

• A convention of 2,500 mayors won't be coming to town thanks to Kwame.

• The Free Press profiled Southwest Detroit and the Majestic Theater Complex

• A new public bridge to Canada, if built, will damage Delray

• Wayne County's TURBO program seems to be fostering development (but not without some controversy)
  

• The Kerner Commission found (as anyone from Metro Detroit should know) that we've made little progress reducing racial disparities in the past 40 years
  

Light rail rumors

Crain's Detroit reports again on rumored plans to build a privately-financed light rail line along Woodward. They first broke the story last week. Most of the details are still secret -- like who might foot the bill -- but it's exciting nevertheless.

This semi-secret proposal differs from the study currently being conducted by the Detroit Department of Transportation to bring rapid transit to the city. That study, called Detroit Transit Options for Growth, is following federal guidelines and would be publicly financed. My hunch is that DDOT's study is still the city's surest bet.

Guide to the Blowout

Detour has a useful guide to the Hamtramck Blowout complete with streaming audio and Myspace links. Metrotimes has the final schedule. Also worth seeing: the Black Lips on Thursday at the Magic Stick. A good week for music in Detroit.

Update: Motor City Rocks and Five Three Dial Tone also posted guides to the Blowout. Good luck deciding who to see.

Tax suburbs more than cities

Harvard economist Ed Glaeser (whose previous work I criticized) argues that the suburbs should be paying higher taxes for two reasons: 1) suburbanites pollute more and 2) don't contribute as much as city-dwellers to the welfare of the poor.

His point about urban poverty is worth noting. Some urban poverty is cyclical, denying opportunities to generation after generation, and society is to blame for not working to prevent this cycle from continuing. But urban poverty also results from urban success:

Urban poverty does not reflect urban failure, but rather the enduring appeal of cities to the less fortunate. Poor people come to cities because urban areas offer economic opportunity, better social services, and the chance to get by without an automobile.

Cities shouldn't be punished for this by paying higher taxes to care for the poor. Providing social services is a universal responsibility and the suburbs should share the burden.

Hat tip: Greg Mankiw.

Reflections on NYC

New York City was great: the diversity, the neighborhoods, the transit, the culture. But I also left with hope for Detroit. We can have what New York has in miniature: a thriving downtown, hip urban neighborhoods, immigrant enclaves. But we also have one great advantage that city lacks: space! Detroit has a chance to rethink and rebuild itself to a degree unparalleled in the world because it has both urban infrastructure built for millions and open land in every corner.