Emergence and Growth of an Urban Region by Detroit Edison

[fareastsider]

This is a book I have had for quite some time published in 1970 I believe. It is a very comprehensive collection of data about Detroit and the region. It covers data for a circle about 100 miles from the city center. The book provides many details from the past present and the future "2000" It is an interesting perspective since much of this data was collected before the riots of 67. Though the data clearly shows population and income decline in the city center starting in about 1950. Their projections were way off though. They foresaw a dense city center with a build out to present outer suburbs. They even had a hypothetical plan for a second urban center centered around and area east of the city of St Clair in St Clair County.
They show demographics, utilities, populations, transportation and just about anything else you can imagine from the past all the way to their projections for the year 2000. It is a treasure trove of information and an interesting read from the standpoint of what people expected the region to grow into.
Anybody else have a copy or ever read this book?

picture of the cover here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/csgholz/4829020534/

[canuck]

I have something similar about New York City. It was published in 1969 with some off the very first satellite mosaic maps. There was a lot of enthusiasm about the megalopolis back then.

http://www.amazon.com/Plan-York-City.../dp/026264004X

[Novine]

I think I've seen it. Was that the one that included a lot of "state of the art" urban plans based on the urban planning concepts of the day?

[DetroitPlanner]

Thats known as the Doxioudous study. Its interesting the see how much he got wrong. People moved towards the lakes of Oakland County instead of the big lakes of Huron and St. Clair.

[Mikeg]

This study was published in three separate volumes and I have the complete set:
Volume 1: Analysis
Volume 2: Future Alternatives
Volume 3: A Concept for Future Development

I find these volumes to be most interesting for the large amounts of historical data they contain about the development of the Southeast Michigan region, much of which is presented in easy to interpret maps such as these:

Land Suitability for Agriculture Use

Percent of Land in Farms:

1900
1920
1940
1950
1959

Evolution of the Detroit Urban System:

1850-1900
1900-1910
1910-1930
1930-1950
1950-1960

Generalized Uses of land - 1962
Location and Size of Suburban Shopping Centers - 1964

I just now noticed the receipt tucked away inside Volume 1. My wife found them at the 1988 AAUW Used Book Sale at Oakland Mall. She knew I would be interested in them so she bought the set for $3.50 [[they originally sold for $20 each).

[Mikeg]

....... the data clearly shows population and income decline in the city center starting in about 1950.......

No, it does not.

The "Evolution of the Detroit Urban System" series of maps [[linked in my previous post) clearly show the city center losing population beginning in the 1900-1910 period.

[animatedmartian]

That's pretty interesting. I never knew Downtown started to turn into a parking lot by 1930. But then it coincides with the population loss so it makes sense.

[Woodward's Cousin]

Constantine Doxiodis was a Greek fellow who purported to have developed a category-breaking "science of urban settlements" which he named Ekistics.[[ There was a "Center for Ekistics" in Doxiodis' home town of Athens).
He became a favorite of the late Walker Cisler of Detroit Edison who became his chief promoter and champion here in Detroit. Detroit's professional planners at the time believed Doxiodis was off-base in his analysis and projections but didn't gomou8t of their way to criticize him or his work since Cisler had lined up an impressive array of Detroit's then business leadership to view this fellow as an urban planning guru of sorts. Sets of the books in question can be sporadically found at John King's and a better large-scale book sales around the area.