Mini Ranches

Here is an excerpt from an article in the Christian Science Monitor about the next step in the shrinking of detroit.

The challenge to Detroit stems from the fact that its population has been shrinking – and continues to shrink. During the auto industry's golden years, the city boasted nearly 2 million people. Now the population is not even half that. Bing says the 2010 census will show about 800,000 to 850,000 residents, but the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments says the city is sparser, estimating the remaining population at below 775,000.

Outmigration over the past half century has left Detroit pockmarked with empty land, about 50 miles' worth, or about one-third of the city's total area. About 78,000 vacant homes, or 27 of the total, are within city limits, officials estimate. About 1,700 abandoned homes were razed last year as part of an antiblight initiative. Another 1,300 are expected to be demolished by March.
The consolidation projects are “unprecedented” in the US in their scale and ambition, says Margaret Dewar, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan. “The key is how to make it happen so people are treated fairly, have choices, and have a say,” she says.



Despite the acres of blight, some residents living far from the city center have bought up their neighbors' properties and expanded them into mini ranches. “They’ve made their own place a more  comfortable place to live and they are caring for the property, which is positive for the city,” says Ms. Dewar.
For these outlying residents, Dewar says, some city services, such as water and sewer, may remain, but other services, such as streetscaping or weekly garbage pickup, may be changed or eliminated.

Dewar says the city is being led by an administration that is finally grasping its plight, a crucial first step to real change. “At long last in Detroit, the attention is turning to the realization we’re not going to fill the place up again with development,” she says.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Early November and putting together some new images for the project. I'm also looking to photograph some people for a specific element to the project. Message if your interested or know someone who is. The city tends to have a barren, desolate feel this time of the year. November; cold, achey and bleak.

STARBUCKS (5 BUCKS)

In Malcom Gladwell's book "the Tipping Point" he describes how the "broken window" principal helped clean up the mean streets of NYC. The basic idea is that when the police bust criminals for every small misdemeanour it creates social conditions wherein the public has restored faith in services (the law) that allow the greater community to develop the sense that they can "take back" their community. The Tipping Point is that while the actual circumstances may not have changed, people's perceptions do. The "collective belief" in change actual helps propel change. Often this collective belief comes from person to person conversation.

In a recent book, journalist John Gallager illustrates what may be one component to the new Detroit:

"Cocktail party conversation is likely to change, too. Back in the 1980s, every social gathering I attended resonated with the talk of automotive workers, mostly engineers, and the gossip about Ford and General Motors and Chrysler was inevitable....As the city's economy evolves into more community-based enterprises, those conversations will range over a broader spectrum of topics, including (if we're lucky) the life sciences and other entrepreneurial ventures.
If lawmakers retain the state's lucrative movie incentives, which already have brought swarms of movie crews to the city, Detroiters may even be chatting up filmmakers at block parties and Sunday brunches."

The concept is that more evolved conversation allows for greater collective belief.

In most great cities around the world, there is a history of "cafe culture" and urban meeting spots that foster this type of discussion. Street talk and having a rallying point (cafe, barber shop, church)  is essential in developing relationships and establishing a system of collective belief.

One of the side effects of Detroit's decline and "ruralization" is the increasing LACK of this locales. There are few cafes and only 5 Starbucks in all of the 313 Detroit area. 


For some this would be a welcome thing. 


However it points to the broader issue of no community rallying point. Opinions and critical thinking don't have a venue to be voiced and so ideas and inspiration remains fragmented; tucked away behind locked doors and terrified citizens. With unemployment as high as it is and the economy battered, people cannot afford $5 for a coffee and a muffin. Instead they remain at home, along with their ideas

"If you take my house, you gone have to kill me, and I mean it,"

There have been 5 different community meetings in Detroit in the last month to discuss the master plan at relocating residents from blighted neighbourhoods and then downsizing the city. As expected there is resistance from residents.

Virginia Pearson, president on the Bewick Block Club on the east side, said she had lived in her home for 61 years was adamant about not moving.

"If you take my house, you gone have to kill me, and I mean it," she said to applause.

Brittany Galisdorfer said she moved to Detroit three years ago from Ann Arbor "because of the authenticity and the character of the people."

"We should keep that in the forefront of our minds as we have these discussions," she said.

More interestingly, there are also all kinds of citizen proposals on what to do with the 'remaking" of Detroit. People talking about the complete altering of the urban idea.

He also suggested the city "become the recycling capital of the world," adding, "We can clean up this city and give everybody that doesn't have something to do on a daily basis something to do."

Read more: Detroiters' relocation fears grab hold of forum | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20100923/NEWS01/9230603#ixzz10N4u4TX0

MORE TO COME?

This week there was a devestating series of fires that ripped through Detroit.

 Fuled by high winds there were 85 homes and structures that burned in different part of the city. Various official claimed that it was an act of God and therefore should be determined to be classified a "natural disaster". However questions have arisin about the response time and coordination of Detroit's fire department. It becomes obvious that 988 firefighters and 66 companies are too few for a city that still covers 140 square miles and has 800,000 people living in and around 2-million-people worth of buildings.

Also, how did all these fires start simultaneously on a not-so-unusual windy night? Reports have surfaced that some could have been arson and many were started when downed power lines, which were spliced by residents stealing power in underpopulated and blighted neighbourhoods, came down and sparked fires near vacant wooden houses.

Are the fires a result of the Detroit circumstances? and more importantly what happens when a "disaster" of this magnitude happens in terms of response?

Reports after the fact revealed that some fires were never even attended by response crews. Other fire and police services took over an hour to respond and crews from 6 nieghbouring cities had to be dispatched to assist Detroit responders. Sadly, the 911 system all suffered near catastophic failure and seemed to be abandoned entirely.

"It didn't have to be like this," said Sharon Kelso, who said she dialed 911 several times to report a small fire in the alley behind her northwest Detroit home, which eventually escalated into a blaze that destroyed several homes.


"I called 911 and the phone rang and rang," Kelso said. "Finally, the call was disconnected. Then I drove to the fire station a few blocks away; nobody was there. A Detroit traffic officer came up and saw the fire, and he was trying to get through to someone, but he wasn't getting anybody, either. So we just stood there and watched while this thing got bigger and bigger. Finally, an hour later, they sent one truck."

What happens when it's a real disaster.?

"RIGHT SIZING"

There has been more and more news lately it seems on the intended transformation of Detroit from it's current state to a "Utopian" city of the future with urban farms, sustainable resources and forward thinking residents. A recent article in the New York Times proclaimed that Detroit was "back on track". However the article was speaking of General Motors; not the city itself. Therein lies one of Detroit's problems that it is irrevocably linked to the failures and successes of the auto industry. Detroit often is used as a symbol for the Big Three auto makers and as a result media coverage can mistake the city for the industry that built it.

The question, as raised in a recent article in the "Next American City" is will this media coverage benefit Detroit in the long run or will messages that Detroit is "back on track" create a collective fatigue where people move on to another issue. NGO's often encounter this with disasters, especially those that closely follow other natural events; known as "donor fatigue". The changes that are required in Detroit are something that requires focus and stamina and very long term commitment.

Right now, the vision for Detroit’s future is myopic, not necessarily in intent, but in scope. Converting abandoned neighborhoods into farmland could actually be an economic and social boon, but without being presented as part of a larger vision for the city, it’s easy for such a plan to sound like a massive step backward, or even a waving of the white flag of surrender. But contrast the image of today’s Detroit with one where a network of compact neighborhoods stretches out between large agricultural tracts, and parents walk their kids to neighborhood schools in the morning on their way to the trains that take them to the hydroponic greenhouses where they work. Americans seem to have a fixed idea of urban fabric as looking something like a quilt, but there’s no reason it can’t look like a web instead.

If there is the political will and the financial might in Detroit to privately fund a light rail line (which would take a miracle in almost any American city, much less one with Motown’s reputation), there should certainly be enough energy to create a broad, forward-thinking vision for the region to tie various initiatives together into a narrative that the whole city can rally behind.  Detroit has everyone’s attention; now it’s time for the city to decide what story it’s going to tell.

YOUTH IN REVOLT?

In two years, Detroit will look nothing like it does now. The changes have already begun, and if you live here, you should have a say.

This was what was written about all over Detroit with the announcement from Mayor Dave Bing that the city council would begin to strategize over the next while what the plan is going to be to rework the current city infrastructure and essentially devise a whole new urban map for the city. Here's what he said"   "Such a plan would be revolutionary for a large, urban metropolis. Creating swaths of green space or farmland would mean less infrastructure to maintain, fewer streets to patrol and less garbage to pick up."

Here's more from what came out of the announcements: There also is no better moment than now to take a look at what Detroit is: The city's median household income is about $37,000; only 14.7% have bachelor's and higher college degrees. Sixty-one percent of its households are families, but one in five is headed by a single mother. And here are two kickers, one a surprise, one not: A quarter of the city is unemployed -- that we knew -- but only 11% of city residents are 65 and older. So we've got plenty of strong young people to work a city that, even divided, has plenty of jewels.

Read more: Rochelle Riley: Detroiters must join conversation on city's future | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20100822/COL10/8220658/1003/NEWS01/Detroiters-must-decide-citys-future#ixzz0xOhshr7k

REVERSE FRONTIER?

Out of destruction comes renewal and out of fire comes rebirth. That has been a tenant that city boosters and politicians have long championed as the key to the city's future. However things have remained in a state of (worsening) decline over the decade. Detroit can't rebuild and then sustain itself unless there is an influx of new people and more importantly, new ideas.

This it seems is in fact possible. Terrifying to most and insane to others, the idea of actually "moving" to Detroit is something that most people would never contemplate. Especially those locked into a middle class lifestyle. However for people who have no serious roots, no overburdened lifestyle and a keen sense of curiosity, ingenuity and adventure, Detroit offers a true, inexpensive and potentially lucrative urban opportunity.

"A guy like Kevin Putalik can arrive alone from Montana with an interest in urban agriculture — a booming part of life in Detroit, where grocery stores are scarce —“I moved here blindly,” Mr. Merkel said. “I was an artist in Portland and I became more interested in food. I decided that when I moved here I would be a butcher. Within the first two weeks we had a charcuterie club.” People move to Detroit, he said, “because they have a sense of purpose.”

Much like the frontier days of people moving west for opportunity and a new life, there are people who have moved to Detroit despite the blight and violence and decay. They see this as "potential" rather than a detriment. However, as a recent NY Times article suggested:  “You can’t change a city of 800,000 with 200 people,” said Phil Cooley, an owner of the popular Slows Bar BQ in Detroit. “There’s so much work to do.” .......That includes diversifying: a largely white creative class stands out in a largely black city; integration remains rare. Some worried about the image of the city. “People think it’s a blank canvas; it’s not,” said Corine Vermeulen, 33, a Dutch artist who has documented Detroit’s community farms.

GRASS, SNOW AND FIRE

As Detroit continues to lose population and taxpayers, Mayor Dave Bing has been struggling to control a budget deficit in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He cut roughly $100 million in spending from his latest budget, but tried to avoid cutting into city services such as grass cutting and street cleaning, which tend to shape people's perceptions of neighborhood quality and safety.

A article in the Wall St. Journal recently profiled some Detroit residents who have taken helping out the city into their own hands. Mowing lawns and clearing weeds, they are trying to help with the upkeep of their neighbourhoods.

Is this just prolonging the inevitable reclamation of urban prairie?

"Mr. Edwards and his neighbors say it has been several years since the city provided many maintenance services on their far East Side block. In the winter, he also pays out of pocket for snow removal for most of his tiny block. Another neighbor has agreed to cover the rest of the block. That keeps residents from being snowed in at home, neighbors say."

Although it's a noble concept and a community rallying point; taking pride in one's surroundings increases the "social investment" of residents. The bigger question is; "is this a precursor to other elements of urban life that will transition from city service to community driven?

How far off would volunteer fire services be?

With the intended contraction of the city and the redeployment of neighbourhoods, the complexion of the city will take on a more rural feel and just like in rural areas, services and communities tend to become more insular and services become more inverted. What is next for Detroit?

10 HOUSES A DAY

Detroit is finding it easier to tear down homes than to make property owners pay for the demolition.
The city has sent invoices totaling more than $2.2 million to owners of abandoned homes razed as part of Mayor Dave Bing's massive demolition project.

The total collected so far: $13,024.

The plans is to tear down 10,000 homes over 3 years, adding another 10,000 vacant lots to the city total. This is an ambitious project that amounts to 10 houses a day, 365 days a year for 3 years. Some of the money earmarked for this has come from Federal incentives and this money runs out this year. So, who ends paying for this when it's obvious that many of the property owners have no money, are no longer in the area or the paperwork is long gone? Many of the homes already torn down have been abandoned for many years and former owners are long gone.

"With less than half the population of its peak in 1950, Detroit neighborhoods are pockmarked by empty homes. Vacant buildings often pose a danger to neighborhood children, are used as drug houses and drive down property values. "

“Things that were unthinkable are now becoming thinkable,” said James W. Hughes, dean of the School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, who is among the urban experts watching the experiment with interest. “There is now a realization that past glories are never going to be recaptured. Some people probably don’t accept that, but that is reality"

RUIN PORN

Detroit has an interesting image predicament. The majority of media coverage on Detroit's "situation" tends to focus on the obvious urban decay and blight. Especially for foreign audiences, seeing images of this once great city, long a model for American might and power, and now festering with abandonment, is an irresistible draw. People are voyeurs and the images of destruction and discard provoke amazement.

 Detroiters often complain that the way their city is portrayed is often through a narrow scope and does not tell the entire picture. This begs the question would Detroiters feel the same sense of surprise and amazement visiting other cities as people visiting Detroit feel for the first time? In other words, do people living in Detroit realize that things are so remarkably stark and different and would then understand the fascination with the level of decay in their city?

In an article in Vice magazine a local Detroit photographer and writer James explains the barrage of inquires he receives from press wanting to cover the decline of Detroit:  “At first, you’re really flattered by it, like, ‘Whoa, these professional guys are interested in what I have to say and show them.’ But you get worn down trying to show them all the different sides of the city, then watching them go back and write the same story as everyone else. The photographers are the worst. Basically the only thing they’re interested in shooting is ruin porn.”

Here is an article in the Detroit Free Press that expands on this:   RUIN PORN

URBAN HOMESTEAD

There has been some media buzz lately about Detroit's program to demolish thousands of blighted and abandoned properties. Mayor Dave Bing has argued that razing these dilapidated houses will force people to move to more stable neighbourhoods and prevent criminals and squatters from using the abandoned homes. Here is a excerpt from a NYT piece from Bob Herbert:

'The city of Detroit is using federal money to destroy thousands upon thousands of empty homes, giving in to a sense of desperation that says there is no way to rebuild the city so let’s do the opposite: let’s destroy even more of it. Lots more of it.There are plans aplenty for demolishing large parts of what’s left of Detroit, which in its heyday was the symbol of an America that was still a powerfully constructive force, a place that could produce things and improve the lives of its people and inspire the rest of the world.

Referring to an aspect of one of the plans, The Times’s Susan Saulny wrote in an article in Monday’s paper: “An urban homestead — one of the more popular parts of the plan — would be tantamount to country living in the city, the plan says, with homeowners enjoying an agricultural environment and lower taxes in exchange for disconnecting from some city services like water.”

Black Flight?

One of the well covered social phenomenon's in Detroit's history was the "white flight" of the 50's and 60's where white people fled the city for the outlying suburbs as more African Americans moved into the city; lured at the time by the booming economy. As a result, the city of Detroit today is 82% black (census info). A recent article in the Wall Street Journal here:    "black flight in Detroit" tells of a new development in the Detroit epoch. Young professional black residents who are fleeing the city because of crime, blight and fear. The article chronicles the story of Johnette Barham and her story of continued and relentless roadblocks in trying to have a stable urban life. She is described as being the last in a group of about 40 friends to finally leave the city.

"Ms. Barham's journey from diehard to defector illustrates the precarious state of Detroit today. The city—which has shed roughly 1 million residents since the 1950s—is now losing the African-American professionals who had stayed steadfastly, almost defiantly, loyal. 

Through decades of white flight and economic distress, these diehards have sustained the city's cultural institutions and allowed prime neighborhoods such as Indian Village and Palmer Woods to stave off the blight that infects large swaths of Detroit. 

WHERE DO YOU GET FOOD?

A really weird and distinct anomaly of living in Detroit is the lack of grocery stores. There are virtually no large commercial grocery stores in downtown Detroit. People often have to get food through other means; corner stores and local liquor and convenience marts. Really though, what kind of food is offered? There is virtually no access to fresh and local food. Everything is processed and packaged. What does this mean for the residents, in particular the kids. How are people getting proper nutrition?......Can this change? Here is a quote from  a recent article: "

"While there are neighborhoods with good small grocers, residents in many areas are reduced to buying whatever their local convenience or liquor store is willing to stock.  Alecia Beck, who gets around her Midtown neighborhood on a wheelchair scooter, says to get fruits and vegetables in this neighborhood, "We went to the store two blocks over and you'd touch an orange and your finger goes into it because it's rotted. Or all the vegetables are all dried out or all rotten. ... This is what I'm supposed to eat in my neighborhood."

There is some sense of change. The Eastern Market in Detroit is a hub for Michigan produce and there is a large number of articles and interest in the concept of urban farming; born out of new ideas on how to utilize the large areas of Detroit that are no longer habitated. Read this excerpt from a recent article and see what you think:

"The growth in agricultural production within the city limits has been astounding. The 2009 growing season provided enough produce to keep six farmers markets operating year round. During that same season, the Grown in Detroit Cooperative sold over 23,000 pounds of fresh produce and donated 1,100 pounds to the local soup kitchen. Besides providing residents with fresh food, these farming endeavors are providing employment opportunities for the city's young people and restoring dignity to some of its elders. Grandmothers teach techniques in canning and preserving. Domestic arts that were almost lost during the heyday of industrialization now add value to the garden produce..........The sound of urban renewal in post-industrial Detroit is the sound of roosters crowing and bees buzzing. The city is in the process of changing its ordinances to allow for more community and institutional gardens -- already 600 and counting -- easier permitting for livestock, and fewer obstacles to the distribution of local agricultural products to schools, residential facilities, and hospitals. The Detroit Urban Garden Education Series offers over 50 workshops each year for both novice and seasoned gardeners. Want to know how to compost? There's a workshop nearby. Interested in how you can extend your growing season? There's a Web site with useful information".

Detroit school closings

This week Detroit announced they would close 32 schools in the city at the end of this month. This represents almost a fifth of the districts entire school system. It also is part of a larger series of closings that will total 166 school closings from 2001 until 2011. Additional statistics that were just released reveal that 47 Detroit schools are within the lowest achieving 5 percent of all schools in the state of Michigan.

Detroit closed 29 schools last fall and shut down an additional 35 buildings about three years ago. The district reported an enrollment of 87,700 earlier this year. Enrollment is projected to dip to 56,500 in 2014-15.

What does all this add up to? If you look at the information behind the closures it overwhelmingly is reported as due to "declining enrollment" or premises not suitable; meaning the school is in disrepair.

In what ways does this effect the mood of the students? Is the concept of  "higher learning" diminished because of the neglect and lack of resources. Who are the teachers that have decided to remain in Detroit and teach there? It would be interesting to see the stats on teachers who are passionate and want to teach through struggle and adversity; inspiring and dedicated; and those who teach in Detroit because there is no other option and therefore approach the conditions with an apathetic, benign point of view.

Either way, this can't produce a positive environment that fosters excellence. So, does the downward spiral continue and at what point do counter measures actually create a turnaround? What happens to the kids?

Show me the (tax) money?

In a conference to discuss ideas for the future of Detroit this week, one of the featured speakers was former "Speaker of the House", Newt Gingrich; who oddly enough is from Georgia and has no connection to Detroit. Nevertheless, he proposed that in order for Detroit to survive it had to adopt some extreme measures. Gingrich believes that the problems of Detroit are sufficiently large that " we ought to have a ten year tax holiday".

The mayor and others are considering this as a viable option. The idea being that it would attract business and industry and create an "insourcing" strategy where by companies that would otherwise have their operations in developing countries may be enticed to relocate in Michigan at similar cost levels. One tech firm reports that they could operate in Detroit within a 5 percent margin to working in Brazil.

Is there any other city in North America that could even contemplate allowing a "tax free" base for any duration, let along 10 years? Does this measure possibly create a more dire sense of desperation there by sabotaging the intended measure of what this would propose in the first place. How would people in Detroit feel knowing that their city is competing with developing nations for the "cheapest" place to operate?

Further, what does this mean for the future of the already decimated infrastructure of the city?...Where does the money come from?

Here's some commentary on the article:

Tax free detroit..could it work?

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT?

One of the fascinating things about the situation in Detroit is the consideration of ideas that will help transform the city out of it's current blight. Here is an article on one such attempt by an artist collective. The idea is to install 1000 painted "butterfly's" across the city in an effort to stem rampant graffiti and brighten up abandoned buildings.   http://detnews.com/article/20100522/OPINION03/5220353/1460/OPINION0307/1+000+artist-painted+butterflies+to+help+fight+Detroit+blight

The artist dubs it the "papillion effect" and sees it as a metaphor for Detroit coming out of it's current urban decay and rising up. The interesting question is would this project be produced or even considered in other urban areas? Would there not be community meetings and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome in getting the project OK'd? Additionally what are the social implications of "band-aid" solutions to the visual landscape? How is it perceived by the citizens and how should it be perceived. It's a noble idea and can the energy and critical mass that it hopes to achieve spark additional project based ideas that address deeper issues?

Here is an article from the NY times that takes a more broad stroke approach.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/opinion/21herbert.html?_r=1

What is priority 911?

Here's an interesting article that talks about reducing 911 response times in Detroit.
http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2010/04/19/in-detroit-improved-911-response-times/  where "non priority" 911 calls take on almost an hour to be responded too. Comparable stats in other cities is remarkable. Houston averages 5.5 minutes and San Francisco averages around 7-8 minutes. Besides the obvious time difference, what does this mean for a psychological aspect about "emergency" response. Do people not even bother calling in the event of an emergency because they have no faith in the system? What does this mean for the citizens of an urban district when there is little or no confidence in the functioning of the most basic, and essential services? How does this effect people's decisions in critical moments?

This is an excerpt from a Wall St. Journal article about one woman's experience:

"On July 17, 2005, Ms. Barham returned home around 1:30 in the morning to find her front door busted open and what she thought was a robbery in proress. She rushed back to her car to call 911 and waited there for police.
They arrived at 4:41 a.m., according to their report"

Detroit Photos - comparison

This kinda sums up the whole notion of "Urban Prairie". Click on the link and see.

DETROIT THEN AND NOW

If  you run the cursor over the image you'll see the aerial footage from 1949 and then the same aerial in the from 2003. Notice the difference? Where did all of these houses, and more importantly, the people who owned them, go? I know from visiting this neighbourhood that it's changed even more since.

Detroit photos

Here's some initial photos from the "prairie and pavement" project. detroit photos
They are just some early stuff. More to come.

Post #1

Hey all,
I lived part-time in Michigan for over 2 years and spent a bunch of time in the 313 area.  I love Detroit because it's real and visceral and has no pretense of being a "cool" city. It is what it is. This often means that it's a tough place. Physically and emotionally. Detroit broods and when you live there you can't help but be affected by it. It is really unlike anywhere else and offers a starkly revealing picture of all that is wrong with post-industrial America. Through the rubble and the fear, however there is something fascinating that seems to be happening; or is about to happen.

Detroit offers an opportunity to exercise some ideas on urban thinking and social anthropology that would never be possible in another city. The city has "tipped" over to a point where regular urban gentrification is no longer possible. There is simply too much space, too few people, not enough money and jobs and too much decay and abandonment to try and repair things. People are beaten down.

Only radical and inventive measures can change the city. New approaches to impossible circumstances means that Detroit can be the proving grounds for new urban thinking; much the same way it was for the automotive manufacturing that built the city in the first place.

The "Prairie and Pavement" project will consist of a few different photography and documentary projects. Some work on the current urban environment; portraits of 313'rs and some photographs of the people and ideas that are trying to change the city. Come back often!