James Kunstler gives a virtual tour of Detroit

[Bearinabox]

A factoid about Detroit is knowing that it lies north of Windsor, or that Hazen Pingree died in London and looked as though he was King Edward's twin brother. That's a factoid. A detail is not knowing that Woodward is two-way.

I'm all in favor of any workable idea to save Detroit, but if the foundation for the proffered solutions is based in glaringly incorrect details, one can logically conclude the solution is not worth serious consideration.

Kunstler isn't really about "saving" any particular place so much as about promoting attractive, well-designed, hospitable communities. It displays a certain hubris on his part that he readily agreed to give a virtual tour of a city he knew very little about without doing any research beforehand, but I don't think that reflects on the merits of his overall views on urban design. I find him most convincing when he's using examples from his hometown and the surrounding area, and if I were him I would have responded for the request for a Detroit tour either by referring the listener to someone he knew to be knowledgeable about the city or by inviting such a person to join him on the podcast as a guest. I still think his overall ideas [[better expressed in his books than on this podcast, IMO) have merit, and should be taken into consideration when making decisions that alter the landscape of this or any city.

[DetroitPlanner]

Kunstler isn't really about "saving" any particular place so much as about promoting attractive, well-designed, hospitable communities. It displays a certain hubris on his part that he readily agreed to give a virtual tour of a city he knew very little about without doing any research beforehand, but I don't think that reflects on the merits of his overall views on urban design. I find him most convincing when he's using examples from his hometown and the surrounding area, and if I were him I would have responded for the request for a Detroit tour either by referring the listener to someone he knew to be knowledgeable about the city or by inviting such a person to join him on the podcast as a guest. I still think his overall ideas [[better expressed in his books than on this podcast, IMO) have merit, and should be taken into consideration when making decisions that alter the landscape of this or any city.

Bear, he has written quite a bit about Detroit. I have seen him speak in Detroit on two occasions, though not recently. Geography of Nowhere is pretty much a slam on both Detroit and Disney World.

[Bearinabox]

Bear, he has written quite a bit about Detroit. I have seen him speak in Detroit on two occasions, though not recently. Geography of Nowhere is pretty much a slam on both Detroit and Disney World.

I read Geography of Nowhere as a "slam" on poor urban design wherever it exists. Detroit and Disney World are particularly easy targets, but what I got out of the book is that poor design is the rule in postwar American construction, and that examples can be found in basically every part of the country.