The D's Next Decade

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

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?

Link Drop - July 29, 2009

• 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

• 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

• "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

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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

Hat Tip: Detroit Yes.

Link Drop - July 17, 2009

• 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

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

• 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

• 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

• 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.