July rain

I don't think that people from Detroit really follow news from the outside world with respect to their city, but I would imagine that it would get frustrating to hear the repetitive nature of all the articles. It seems most journalists hit the same 4 or 5 talking points all the time - this goes for the negative and the positive. The reality of spending time in Detroit is very different from parachuting in for a weekend tour of decay and renewal. Big difference between tourism journalism and actual in depth reporting.

woodward

messaging

Some nice coverage of the exhibit up at Brickworks - it's on all summer if your in Toronto and are interested in seeing the installation. Some kind works here about things.

grazing - part 2

As always, there are some novel ideas floated about how to improve the urban experience in Detroit - frontier thoughts on contributing to the resurrection of the city. One outlier (or wacky?) fund manager has an idea to help tame the overgrown natural reclamation in the Brightmour area of the city - check it out here - Detroit goat patrol

It finally appears...

Finally - the exhibit for the Scotiabank CONTACT photography festival is up at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. You can find out more about things here at http://scotiabankcontactphoto.com/events/1523

"At night, all you hear is crickets"

Some great reporting on 6 decades of Detroit and the how and why things have become the way they have. Also some great quotes: "“There’s whole families of deer now and possums. I wouldn’t mind some neighbors, but there’s no more trouble. It’s beautiful.”

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131004/METRO01/310040001#ixzz2hTLUEcJr

grazing

Except for the possibility of being attacked by roving packs of feral dogs, it might just work: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130925/METRO01/309250124/1409/METRO/Detroit-considers-using-sheep-goats-mow-vacant-lots

A place alone

September. It's a time that evokes change and rolling up the sleeves and back to work. It's a weird time in Detroit. Arson declines, the streets becoming a little more empty than they already are and the stillness and isolation of certain neighbourhoods becomes more evident.  There is a certain mood that begins to seep into the city. It makes Detroit feel even more Detroit.

Three hundred and thirteen portraits (313)

Lots (lots!) has happened over the last few months in Detroit. The most obvious is the city has gone bankrupt. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. There is no other exit strategy. However, the fallout will be tremendous and the ones who will ultimately feel the pain are Detroiters themselves. Check back soon for some exciting news on the second part of "The Detroit Project". 313 portraits of people in the city. The real D.

brewing storm?

Today is the start of uncharted territory. The State government has appointed an emergency city manager to oversee the next steps in trying to get Detroit righted again; or at least to stop the civic down slide. The city council doesn't know if it's relevant anymore, the citizens are unsure of what's next and in fact some people, Jesse Jackson, the most vocal, have called for civic unrest and revolt. The next month or so promises to be interesting and possibly a volatile time in the city's history. Stay tuned.

winter

Just got back from a quick, yet intense visit. Had a winter storm which always offers a unique perspective on the city landscape. Things become noticeable you never noticed before and other things become cloaked in a cover of snow and disregard. More photos soon.

back at it

discarded

It becomes immediately evident crossing county lines into Detroit how much garbage there is. Many parts of the city have become dumping grounds for all manner of unwanted stuff. Clothes, tires, boats, cars, paper, shoes, furniture and sometimes, as above...even animals.

help?

The next few weeks will be a crucial period in Detroit's history. The Governor of Michigan announced that he will appoint a "city manager" to tackle the fiscal crisis in the city. It's a lifeline thrown to the city that is important and desperately required..but ultimately may be too late. Nevertheless, it's a start and it might be the ignition that is needed to start the fire of renewal. Let's hope.

47 percent

A recent report revealed that almost half of all of Detroit's 300,000 properties failed to pay their 2011 property taxes. Over $245 million in revenue went uncollected in a city that is at the brink of bankruptcy and has struggled to maintain even the most basic services. This is in addition to all the vacant properties and abandoned homes where no revenue is possible. The city has all but given up trying to recoup this money.


Are people not able to pay their taxes, or..and it seems from the reporting done this may be more of the case, are people  choosing  not to pay what they owe. "Why should I send them taxes when they aren't supplying services? It is sickening. … Every time I see the tax bill come, I think about the times we called and nobody came." is the sentiment from one resident.

At what tipping point is there that the collective action (or inaction) overwhelms the system and disables the ability for the community, or the city government in this case, to respond in a rational or reasonable way. If people just say no and give up, it seems the response from the city is to give up in return.

You can read more about it here.

Dark Matter

For anyone who drives around Detroit, in particular the East side or other scarcely populated neighbourhoods at night, you'll notice that it is incredibly dark and you could be forgiven for thinking your on a rural country road. The difference is that your actually in a tense urban area with lots of real and lurking danger. Some of this is due to crumbling infrastructure, lack of attention from the city and intentional vandalism that then gets neglected amongst the other things to deal with. Recently it has become apparent that scrappers have targeted the copper (of course) in transformer cabinets and have begun stealing materials that are integral to the freeway overhead lights. The result is darker highways.


In Detroit's attempts at resurrecting neighbourhoods and community cohesion it seems like a simple and important matter to first have basic services that allow people to feel safe and comfortable venturing outside after dark. Darkness leads to isolation.
Read more about the stuff here.

HELP

Its been a long time coming but it seems that it's inevitable now that the state will step in and take over the city. detroit in crisis

more D.

Heading back for some winter images this coming weekend. If you are interested in helping out with some pictures, were looking for some connections in the Detroit area. Lots of promising and interesting things coming soon.

And were back...

It's been awhile since the last posting. So, if there are still you intrepid followers out there, look for some more interesting and developing info on upcoming stuff. Just got back from a quick trip for some more photos. Much more to follow soon, including a cool announcement on the project. Enjoy.

where are the manholes?

After spending some prolonged time in Detroit the initial shock and awe of the visual destruction starts to fade and you get to have a more acute view of the little things that aren't so initially obvious upon first pass. One of these discoveries is that there are very view manholes left in Detroit. The reason?..well it's difficult to say other than manholes are usually made of cast iron and so likely scrappers have removed them in an effort to resell. In many cases it is  common to see old tires jammed into open manhole openings to serve as warning and prevent people, or cars from getting stuck or falling in.

Another bi-product of this is that often additional debris accumulates and catch basins get clogged. In heavy rains most of the underpass roads that travel under the downtown rail lines become a swamp of dirty water, old discarded mattresses and other disposed garbage.

It's an urban hazard that only exists in Detroit.   Recently it resulted in a man's death falling into a manhole after his keys fell in: http://www.freep.com/article/20120119/NEWS01/120119014/Man-dies-after-getting-stuck-Detroit-manhole