The source of
Detroit's downfall is complex. Many believe problems began as far back as 1943,
when a 3 day long race riot erupted, leading to 34
deaths, 433 injuries, and $2 million in property damage. Others say it
started with the riots of 1967 that began with a police raid of an unlicensed
bar. Police and civilian actions quickly deteriorated into extreme violence
leading to 43 deaths, 1,189 injuries, over 7,200 arrests and more than 2,000
buildings destroyed. Communities and neighborhoods were destroyed during the 5
days, leaving Detroit looking like a war zone.
1967 riot
Most
recently, however, the global financial downturn of 2008 hit Detroit's Big
Three automakers: GM, Ford and Chrysler. Although the cause of the automobile
industry's financial meltdown is complex, involving numerous factors, a large
part of it can be attributed to high fuel prices between 2003 and 2008. For
years, these companies had focused primarily on gas guzzling vehicles. So when
the cost of fuel increased, there was suddenly a demand for fuel-efficient
vehicles. When only very few were available, sales dropped and all three
companies began to feel the effects of the financial downturn.
I wanted to
talk about Detroit because even though it seems like all the odds are stacked
up against it, there are also some amazing things happening below the radar,
seeds are beginning to sprout once again.
Detroit's Urban Gardens
During
Detroit's heyday, the population rose to 1.9 million. Today, that number has
fallen to around 700,000, leaving 30,000 acres of distressed land available for
extremely low costs since the land value is so low. In fact, the mayor of
Detroit recently set up a program that will pay
you to take and renovate an abandoned house. (See the link for
pictures of the houses and the blighted neighborhoods of Detroit.)
Many people
have taken advantage of the opportunities for cheap land. Today, 1500-2000
urban gardens exist, ranging from tiny backyard gardens, to full-scale
neighborhood farms. Not only has this helped to transform blighted
neighborhoods, but its empowered residents to feed their own families,
something that many have struggled with in the past. Urban gardening not only
transforms blighted neighborhoods and feeds hungry families, but it also allows
opportunities for education and community growth. According to the MSNBC
article titled "Urban
farming takes hold in blighted Motor City", a resident and farmer that
goes by the name Magnetic Sun talked about the effect of urban gardening on his community: “I feed the elderly people on the block, the
youth they come down, they help, they take food home, we sell a little bit at
the market, and you know, I feed myself and my family. My aunty is 84 years old
and has never seen a zucchini till last year. She’s 84 years old and she’s
never seen the squash grow on the plant!” This type of community development is
happening all over the city, and is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Greening of Detroit
The Organization “The Greening of
Detroit” has been working hard to improve the quality of life and the sense of
community around the city. According to their website, between 1950 and 1980
around 500,000 trees were lost due to Dutch Elm disease, urban expansion, and
economic constraints prohibiting the city from replacing the lost trees. Luckily,
the tides have begun to change and many are working to counteract the damage
that was done so many years ago. Just in 2013, over 4,000 trees were planted
with the help of thousands of volunteers. So far, they are off to an incredible
start, reclaiming land that had been taken over years before and engaging youth
and the community for workforce development.
Furthermore, they are helping to conduct
research on dendroremedition, a process which hopes to clean up toxic soil with
the help of trees.
Please check out their website, donate if you can and volunteer if you’re in the area!
This is barely scratching the surface of
inspiring happenings in the city that took, and continues to, take a hard
economic hit. I don’t want to make it seem like all the problems have been
resolved, because that certainly isn't the case. Detroit has a long ways to go. However, it’s crucial to focus and nurture the positive changes rather than
focus on only the negative. Now, I want to hear from you all on this topic.
What are your experiences of Detroit? What are other examples of how Detroit is
bouncing back?
