Detroit

Detroit once was a booming city built on the foundation of auto manufacturing. The population grew from just 285,000 in 1900 to over 1.5 million by 1930. But the Detroit of today is a vastly different place than what it once was. 

                                                                 Detroit's heyday

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?