Neighborhood History [[West Village, University District, etc.)

[rbdetsport]

Hey guys! I am currently working on a research project at MSU on the downsizing of Detroit and how mass transit can help. In the process we are focusing on 3 neighborhoods/areas and using the data to come up with recommendations and take the Detroit Works project further.

The three neighborhoods I have chosen to analyze are West Village, the University District/Corridor, and the area east of Eastern Market bounded by the Dequindre Cut to the West, Mack Avenue to the North, and Gratiot Avenue to the South and East.

I am looking for as much history and data I can find on these areas. Right now I am mainly looking for the history of these areas. Any help will be much appreciated and could even end up in the final report.

Thank you!

[p69rrh51]

Hey guys! I am currently working on a research project at MSU on the downsizing of Detroit and how mass transit can help. In the process we are focusing on 3 neighborhoods/areas and using the data to come up with recommendations and take the Detroit Works project further.

The three neighborhoods I have chosen to analyze are West Village, the University District/Corridor, and the area east of Eastern Market bounded by the Dequindre Cut to the West, Mack Avenue to the North, and Gratiot Avenue to the South and East.

I am looking for as much history and data I can find on these areas. Right now I am mainly looking for the history of these areas. Any help will be much appreciated and could even end up in the final report.

Thank you!

The final report for West Village's historic designation.

[rbdetsport]

Thanks p69rrh51! That will help a lot in my general historic write-up for the Village. Anyone have anything on the other two areas? Also, does anyone have an email contact for someone in the planning department? I am hoping to get access to some of their GIS maps.

[p69rrh51]

Thanks p69rrh51! That will help a lot in my general historic write-up for the Village. Anyone have anything on the other two areas? Also, does anyone have an email contact for someone in the planning department? I am hoping to get access to some of their GIS maps.

Check on the University District's website I know they have a couple residents with some info. Unfortunately they have never compiled a history.

[Neilr]

Several of the street names of West Village streets are associated with Moses W. Field [[http://detroit1701.org/MosesWField.html). Kercheval is named after his wife, Mary Kercheval and Agnes is named after his daughter, Agnes Field.

[EastsideAl]

That area east of the Eastern Market is almost entirely empty now. What little is left is some very old housing stock. A few generations back that area was part of Detroit's Italian community, and a German community before that, but that was a long time ago. That area was primarily African-American by the '50s, and some of Detroit's very old black institutions were [[and are) in the area, like Sacred Heart Catholic church just north of the market on Rivard.

[Richard]

Interesting the study of mass transit in a downsized environment,kinda like the study of a boatload of people in a desert community.

The rest of that area other then trees is slated for fish farms for ex convicts,no need for mass transit and the whole pods like enclaves for community development or shrink into this,makes it not very feasible because you end up with miles of track that cost money but other then provide a scenic route becomes a very expensive tourist attraction.

Interesting why nobody does these studies.

Camp A says downsize and shrink.

Camp B says buy these buildings and move people into them and create jobs.Sorry that study is already being done in Gilbert town and seems to be working well.No need.

Camp A says lets take this empty land and convince the rest of the people that live there to move so we can build these fish farms,tree farms and orchards for convicts because a large percentage are coming back to the city with no skills and they need skills,high skill demand there anyways.

Camp B says how about giving these convicts some skills and training BEFORE they get the chance to become convicts and save a few lives and improve the quality of life for others and maybe even save a few dollars in the meantime.

But then again the goal is to out do the next creative guy and come up with who can collect the most on the wildest ideas and instead of the old stand by of job creation by education and training.

My study would be the difference between the millions being spent by Camp A in studies and funding to shrink the city verses Camp B spending millions on the tried and true.If I was playing follow the leader I guess I would stick with camp A because it is easy,Camp B requires a bit more thought.

This is not an attack or anything like that and I would wish you well in your studies but history tells us about bandwagons,but if this is all about a study for a passing grade then it does not really matter anyways ,disregard and good luck.

[rbdetsport]

Interesting the study of mass transit in a downsized environment,kinda like the study of a boatload of people in a desert community.

The rest of that area other then trees is slated for fish farms for ex convicts,no need for mass transit and the whole pods like enclaves for community development or shrink into this,makes it not very feasible because you end up with miles of track that cost money but other then provide a scenic route becomes a very expensive tourist attraction.

Interesting why nobody does these studies.

Camp A says downsize and shrink.

Camp B says buy these buildings and move people into them and create jobs.Sorry that study is already being done in Gilbert town and seems to be working well.No need.

Camp A says lets take this empty land and convince the rest of the people that live there to move so we can build these fish farms,tree farms and orchards for convicts because a large percentage are coming back to the city with no skills and they need skills,high skill demand there anyways.

Camp B says how about giving these convicts some skills and training BEFORE they get the chance to become convicts and save a few lives and improve the quality of life for others and maybe even save a few dollars in the meantime.

But then again the goal is to out do the next creative guy and come up with who can collect the most on the wildest ideas and instead of the old stand by of job creation by education and training.

My study would be the difference between the millions being spent by Camp A in studies and funding to shrink the city verses Camp B spending millions on the tried and true.If I was playing follow the leader I guess I would stick with camp A because it is easy,Camp B requires a bit more thought.

This is not an attack or anything like that and I would wish you well in your studies but history tells us about bandwagons,but if this is all about a study for a passing grade then it does not really matter anyways ,disregard and good luck.

Thanks Al! I am aware that area is basically a wasteland, but that is the point for the project. We are showing how mass transit could help repurpose the area, with the increased development activity that stems from transit. Richard, in no way are we reiterating the Detroit Works plan. I also do not think that urban agriculture is the only answer, but it can be used with many other different strategies. Regardless of how the area east of Eastern Market is today, it has many assets directly around it.The greatness of Eastern Market should be taken advantage of... Maybe not today or even in 10 years, but later down the road, this area could be more than ideal, especially with a less than 10 minutes transit ride downtown via Gratiot. There are so many different things that could positively impact this area. So yes, while it is empty today, many strategies should be tested here because of the assets it already has.

As for West Village and University District, we are looking at University District as a stable area, that just needs to be maintained and continuously invested in. It has the stability, it just needs to keep the private and public dollars flowing in. West Village is considered our "mid-range" neighborhood. A neighborhood that has assets such as its historic designation, the up-and-coming developments of housing and retail, the strong neighborhood organization, as well as its border to Indian Village. But it has not fully picked up steam and still needs a lot of attention to make sure it doesn't fall backwards and continues to grow with city residents and the incoming creative class that continues to have a greater interest in Detroit.

Hopefully this background summary helps a little more for your understanding in how we are looking at these neighborhoods. In no way are we redoing the Detroit Works project, we are taking it a step past that by looking at the neighborhoods on a more individual basis. And yes, this project is for a grade, but it is also to create a transformational publication for the city of Detroit.

[p69rrh51]

Thanks p69rrh51! That will help a lot in my general historic write-up for the Village. Anyone have anything on the other two areas? Also, does anyone have an email contact for someone in the planning department? I am hoping to get access to some of their GIS maps.

There is a thread on Cardinelli's here on DYes. The restaurant was located in the area east of the Dequindre Cut. You might find some info in the thread.