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?