I would raise the banner for any preservation group in Detroit, especially Preservation Wayne. Those good people share my love and passion for old things.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel most preservation groups in our city fit in the family of hobbyists, museums, and universities that seek to inform the public of our history and interpret it. The strongest activism of these groups falls in the realm of preventing the decay and/or demolition of historic landmarks, mostly when demolition seems imminent.

I'd like to see an organization like Preservation Wayne enter a proactive relationship with an organization like Detroit Renaissance to integrate historic assets into something like the One D initiative. In other words, let's focus on the forest before we look at the trees. What is our regional strategy for leveraging our historic resources to give us a competitive edge in the global economy? How will landmarks like the Lafayette Building or Michigan Central Depot help us compete with China and India, not to mention Chicago, Silicon Valley, and the Sun Belt?

If our historic assets do indeed give us competitive leverage in attracting investments to Detroit, then their preservation and utilization should be part of a regional strategy that casts a long view and incorporates real benchmarks. "Micro" issues like leases, occupancy, tax abatements, and the like are tactical points under an umbrella strategy that supports a "big picture" outcome for the region.

I'm not talking about a promotional campaign like "Pure Michigan" to attract new owners or tenants to our vacant buildings. That's a short-term solution that would truly be a waste of money and time considering our economic engine is kaput. I'm talking about historic assets as part of a regional economic master plan--preservation as fuel for economic development.

If no one in the region is looking at it that way, then we might as well "tear that schitt down."