The snow doesn't seem to understand that March has come, and will be around for a little while. But yesterday was a sunny and cold Saturday, and we used the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in Detroit. It was a nice opportunity to observe, one more time, the continuously changing and renovating image that the city offers over time. New stores showing up in every corner, places that already have been around for a couple of years acquiring good reputation, and many people supporting new ideas give a hopeful picture for a city that not so long ago, had very little to offer. This thought gave me the idea of writing about what Detroit will look like in a couple of years. Doing some research one realises that this project is a collection of several entrepreneurial initiatives involving many companies, industries and founders, working in common effort with the same objective: improve the city and make it livable, safe and beautiful. I would like to go over some of the projects taking place to make this possible.
Detroit Future City (DFC)
This initiative works on listing and prioritizing the steps needed to arrest decline and stabilize the city. DFC focuses on long-term projects, combining them with near near-term efforts to improve the image and possibilities of Detroit and encourage stakeholders to keep believing that change is possible. The top aspects they are focusing on are:
- Economic growth: DFC proposes strategies to encourage industrial and digital sectors that have shown success to create new jobs and attract new residents and business.
- Land use: The company wants to take into account the current challenges and future needs of land in the city.
- City systems: Listing strategies to overcome current challenges in supply services such as water, electricity, energy and waste.
- Neighborhoods: DFC wants to set a diverse variety of neighborhoods to appeal a wide variety of residents, working in common to ensure a high life-quality throughout the different communities.
- Land and building assets: The goal is to have a collective approach to use lands and buildings in the city, whether publicly or privately owned.
- Civic engagement: The DFC initiative wants to encourage participatory intervention in different levels of society, from individuals to neighborhoods.
Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC)
The DCDC is a non-profit, collaborative project dedicated to create sustainable spaces and communities. This architectural and urban focused firm has been working with several organizations to fulfill its mission since its foundation in 1994. Examples of their projects are recovering parks, creation of livable corridors in different city areas, education projects etc.
This foundation helps Detroit make a change towards a socially equal city, re-establishing Detroit as the vibrant center of the Michigan region. Some of the initiatives are already in place, in fact we have been participants of the changes made.
- Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and Detroit Greenway Coalition: Between 2002 and 2008 this project of improving the riverside took place. The result is palpable, especially in the summertime, when every weekend the cultural offer multiplies in this area of the city.
- Eastern Market in Detroit: Although this market has been on operation since 1891, the firm helped improve the infrastructure to make it a more attractive to residents and foreigners.
Small Businesses
Detroit was hit very badly during the 2008 recession, especially because the city relies on the automotive industry as the main economic factor. But due to the lack of enterprises, many small businesses have arisen that create new jobs and give the city a new variety of entertaining options. Some examples are:
- Autobike: a bike that changes gears automatically
- City bird: a crafts store dedicated to Detroit
- Green Dot Stables: a bar where every item costs 3$.
- iRule: a store selling a remote system for all your gadgets.
- TechTown Detroit: a enterpreneur-incubator, it allows people to participate as new business or supporter.
- And many, maaaany others
With all this movement towards a positive future, it seems almost certain that the city will enter a new era with renovated energy, allowing social stability and providing the needed services to all its inhabitants. It will take a while, and there are many challenges on the way, but it is always nice to see that many people working together with a common goal of re-establishing the value that Detroit once had.
Thanks for reading,
Lita & Andres
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