Why DetroitYES! matters: Building a great city starts from the ground up.

[Irvine Laird]

http://correspondents.theatlantic.co..._shrinkage.php

Richard Florida writes that cities--in this case, Pittsburgh--that succeed at "reinvention" and eventual prosperity are those in which the change comes from the grassroots.

His column seems to reveal a low opinion of massive, top-down urban renewal projects, but he favors initiatives that come from networks of people who live and work in aspiring communities/neighborhoods.

If Florida is correct, it accents the crisis Detroit faces in its neighborhoods. First, people are leaving the city as fast as they can, emptying neighborhoods of brains, hands, and hearts vital to renewal. Second, the foreclosure crisis and the proliferation of speculators buying Detroit homes in bulk further reinforces the transient nature of the city's population. Homeownership often encourages investment and stability. The housing crisis in our city undermines both. Third, as neighborhoods become increasingly sparse, it becomes harder to communicate and organize. Fourth, the Detroit diaspora may do more to increase city pride beyond Detroit [[those who used to live in the city) while diminishing the common sense of identity and unity in the neighborhoods themselves.

[Detroitnerd]

Good post. This brief message was brought to you by common sense. We now return to our regular programming, praising superblocks, stadia, pedestrian tubeways and demolitions!

[GOAT]

Oh puke about Florida. He is saying the same shit other people have said for years just saying it differently. Get a group of people with education and give them what they want in a neighbourhood and then watch that new area flourish! Whoopity do!
Throw gobs of money at things and it will turn around! The problem I have with Florida is he NEVER tells you how to get there. Governments and people are supposed to figure that out. That is like goign to a doctor who tells you that you are sick. When you ask how to get better he shrugs and tells you to figure it out.

At least he is making lots of money on his speaking tours.

[Detroitnerd]

I know! Why should we listen to anybody else when our own programs are working so well here? It's just around the corner, one more demolition away.

[ThaFuzz]

http://correspondents.theatlantic.co..._shrinkage.php

Richard Florida writes that cities--in this case, Pittsburgh--that succeed at "reinvention" and eventual prosperity are those in which the change comes from the grassroots.

His column seems to reveal a low opinion of massive, top-down urban renewal projects, but he favors initiatives that come from networks of people who live and work in aspiring communities/neighborhoods.

If Florida is correct, it accents the crisis Detroit faces in its neighborhoods. First, people are leaving the city as fast as they can, emptying neighborhoods of brains, hands, and hearts vital to renewal. Second, the foreclosure crisis and the proliferation of speculators buying Detroit homes in bulk further reinforces the transient nature of the city's population. Homeownership often encourages investment and stability. The housing crisis in our city undermines both. Third, as neighborhoods become increasingly sparse, it becomes harder to communicate and organize. Fourth, the Detroit diaspora may do more to increase city pride beyond Detroit [[those who used to live in the city) while diminishing the common sense of identity and unity in the neighborhoods themselves.

Any bottom-up movement faces hurdles from the current form of the city government. Independent ventures have succeeded [[Recycle Here, anybody?), but there isn't a general network of visibility that would help much [[Model D, Michigan Citizen, etc. are effective, but more at a niche-friendly level.) A ward system would give independent voices easier access to CAY - without needing to resort to as much bribery as it appears is needed now.

[Gannon]

Ooh?! Discounted bribery as a motivational tool on our way to a Ward system?!


Sounds positive to me! Let's do it!

[Detroitnerd]

No, that's the reWard system.

[ThaFuzz]

Ooh?! Discounted bribery as a motivational tool on our way to a Ward system?!


Sounds positive to me! Let's do it!

It's going to happen either way. Spare the non-profits a dime, sez I!

[izzyindetroit]

"Speaking of the gay community...

As I've traveled American cities, I've observed that gay enclaves are vibrant places that often appear to be buzzing with activity, clean, and safe.

Maybe Detroit should campaign to attract more people from the GLBT community. After all, it comes with a ready-made sense of community built-in."

This isn't a new concept. Other rust belt cities like Cleveland have done advertising to try and persuade the GLBT community to relocate.

You might want to ask around before you hurl statements like that. The 'native' GLBT community was run out of Detroit by Detroit's low protestant preachers and the politicians they put in office. Palmer Park...7 & Woodward used to be Detroit's gay area. Until the environs became to hostile too live in.

And face it...gays are like most people. If what they want isn't here...and likely never will be...why stay?

You are exactly right bailey. However there will be a time when the young "hip" straight crowd will marry and start having kids, gentrifying the community and pushing the GLBT population out to another low-income, deprived neighborhood. Its completely cyclical, this happening in places like the Castro District in San Fran where the gay community is trying to historically preserve it as a gayborhood.

One of the best things that the State or City could do to create a huge boom in the economy is fully outright acknowledge a union between the same sex.

[Lorax]

The "gay" neighborhood in Detroit used to be Palmer Park, where the fantastic apartment buildings offered huge apartments at reasonable rents, while the night life was situated on both Woodward and West McNichols.

Since the area has slid down the toilet, the nightclubs and restaurants either moved out or burned down.

I especially remember the Backstage Deli, Footlights, and Salute as places everyone, not just the gay community, went on weekend nights.

What a shame Palmer Park's apartment buildings have gone vacant, or are in danger of going vacant. This is one of the areas of the city that would benefit from a full-scale renovation, and guard gates for the residents. It might actually save the area.

[DetroitDad]

The "gay" neighborhood in Detroit used to be Palmer Park, where the fantastic apartment buildings offered huge apartments at reasonable rents, while the night life was situated on both Woodward and West McNichols.

Since the area has slid down the toilet, the nightclubs and restaurants either moved out or burned down.

I especially remember the Backstage Deli, Footlights, and Salute as places everyone, not just the gay community, went on weekend nights.

What a shame Palmer Park's apartment buildings have gone vacant, or are in danger of going vacant. This is one of the areas of the city that would benefit from a full-scale renovation, and guard gates for the residents. It might actually save the area.

It never fails to amaze me how people look at crime as being committed by outsiders despite statistics and common sense saying otherwise, as if everyone doesn't have a shady side no one sees. Where are these criminals coming from [[the East side says the West side, the West side says the east side, each neighborhood says somewhere else, the suburbs say the city, and the city says the lower income suburbs)? Why are criminals driving into Palmer Park when there are arguably more wealthy and less secure neighborhoods in the suburbs. I mean, some members of said suburban communities brag about how unsecure their communities are [[ie; "I leave all my windows down in the mall parking lot with valuables on the seat", "everyone just leaves my door unlocked around my house", etc.).

[ThaFuzz]

It never fails to amaze me how people look at crime as being committed by outsiders despite statistics and common sense saying otherwise, as if everyone doesn't have a shady side no one sees. Where are these criminals coming from [[the East side says the West side, the West side says the east side, each neighborhood says somewhere else, the suburbs say the city, and the city says the lower income suburbs)? Why are criminals driving into Palmer Park when there are arguably more wealthy and less secure neighborhoods in the suburbs. I mean, some members of said suburban communities brag about how unsecure their communities are [[ie; "I leave all my windows down in the mall parking lot with valuables on the seat", "everyone just leaves my door unlocked around my house", etc.).

I think the perception of crime being committed by "outsiders" comes from the eventual demographic shift that occurs when the effects of crime snowballs into abandonment and repopulation. Especially when the crime has an easily identifiable racial or violence element.

As for the safer suburbs: the smaller municipalities with proportionally larger tax revenues can have a relatively larger police presence, and therefor a greater sense of security. The racial and economic homogeny of the suburbs lends to that sense of security as well.

[bailey]

However there will be a time when the young "hip" straight crowd will marry and start having kids, gentrifying the community and pushing the GLBT population out to another low-income, deprived neighborhood

Well, that may be true, but here, the GLBT population is so spread out [[those that didn't leave for Chicago, nyc, san fran...that is) that it isn't a factor. For better or worse, Ferndale is the "gayest" area. It would take a seismic shift in population and gentrification to change that.

As far as gays being run out of a 'castro-esque' place in Detroit, well, you need a place to gentrify before you worry about gentrification kicking the locals out.

[preserve]

what gets to me about most of these threads, is the
underlying feeling that all white people have left the city. Some of us are here, have been here, have lived in different neighborhoods all around the city looking for the ideal area and still stay on. We are not too poor to move out, we are not racist. I love living in an area that has good neighbors, people who appreciate the value of their homes and their neighbors. I get tired of reading the blogs of those either too young to have a clue about the City, or too blinded by bigotted
views to even understand just what it is that makes some stay and some flee. Yes there is crime, but if you watch any of the 11:00 cartoon shows that pass for news, you will note that most of the crime being reported is way out there. I think I've seen more of the Macomb County Sheriff on TV than anyone else.
So all the crying about how the young, or the gay, or
the artistic people can save the City gets to me. We don't need saved, or reinvented, we just need people to focus on living their lives and enjoying what they have and sharing.

[Irvine Laird]

I want to apologize for taking a swipe at GOAT the other day. I made a reference to her/him being drunk and so forth. Personal digs are unbecoming of who I want to be and I am truly sorry. Henceforth, I will control my tone and keep my language constructive. I hope you'll pardon me for making it personal, GOAT.

[Detroitnerd]

You're a better man than I, Irvine, and I applaud you for it.