Detroit

I lived in Michigan for four years as a student at Cranbrook Kingswood and lived in a very wealthy suburb of Detroit and spent time with the people who lived in this area. I find the landscape and attitudes in the Detroit metropolitan area to be very interesting from an anthropological and sociology point of view. Often people speak of the car industry as a driving force behind Detroit's economy, but the car industry fled with all the people. Detroit is a different world than it's wealthy suburbs. The wealthy suburbs of most American cities are very well off, but Bloomfield Hills, one of the larger suburbs of Detroit is beyond wealthy. Oakland County is ranked among the top ten wealthiest income counties in the United States. And I can tell you from personal experience that the residents of Bloomfield Hills travel the 25 miles into the city for very few reasons. Sadly the public transit in the area travels from downtown along Woodward avenue all the way out into these suburbs, but no bus stops exist along the main stretch of Bloomfield Hills. A friend sent along this video in regards to the city declaring bankruptcy. 

In regards to this...

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/25/opinion/katz-bradley-detroit/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

I agree with him in the sense that I think the city is going to be revitalized by this process. However, I think it will be a very small portion of the city that is revitalized in comparison to what it was, just like in New Orleans. They will invest on building up and making nice a small downtown portion where all the cultural institutes are. I think that the guy who spoke in that video has very little clue about anything in Michigan. He kept talking about the educational institutes that are 10, 20, 30 miles away from the city, but the 2 great universities that are in Michigan: University of Michigan and Michigan State are way far away and seem to have little connection with Detroit. I would hope that the students that attend these universities and are from the city itself understand and have enough hope to come back to the city and make a difference in this process.  Michigan state is over 200 miles away and U of M is 50 miles away. Of course each have satellite campuses that are closer to the city and largely populated by immigrant residents or Diasporas  such as U of M Dearborn. I think that these universities do have some vested interest in the city but not enough to lean on. Corporate interest will be the greatest investment with grassroots art and cultural interest having a visible morale boosting effect on the city. Detroit is an amazing city with a ton of really important history, but Detroit isn't the capitol of Michigan. And as for the wealthier suburbs coming into the city and paying to revitalize it… the wealthier suburbs are far away from the city. They have their own municipalities and town governments and thriving businesses to take care of. They do not care about the city unless it has to do with the Symphony, Art Museum or the Lions and Tigers’ Stadiums. The Pistons are way out of town. So I’m not sure how adept that gentleman’s assessment is, but I also think he was right, because this bankruptcy creates an environment of shock and awe where people will want to help save the city. I think it will more likely be people from outside the metropolitan area, young people attracted to the low cost of living and the idea of a new start in a fantastic city that needs new life and help.

Morbid Cycling

I work as a public health official and was reading a brief about the built environment recently by the American Institute of Architects. The brief outlines how built environment can increase "traffic congestion, air, and water pollution," while reducing "opportunities for everyday physical activity like walking or bicycling."1 I live on the edge of a moderately large city in Southern Colorado. As I explained in my last post I live on a mesa and up where I live there are no parks. I love riding my bike but it would be nice to be able to go with my family or by myself on a nice jog or ride without having to go down the Mesa. I am sure this is a deterrent from getting out and physical to others in my community as well. Luckily there is one option for physical activity in my neighborhood, but I doubt many see it as a great option. We have a very large cemetery about 3 blocks from where I live. It has tombstones that date back to the antebellum 1800's. I enjoy riding my bike around during the day with my boyfriend, but rarely see anyone other than the occasional visitor in their car. I wonder if others in my neighborhood have tried to use the cemetery in this manner. I hope that if they have and were too freaked out by all the dead bodies, or massive amounts of birds that they have thought about building a park in our neighborhood. My new plan: brainstorm ways to work with the community to build a park. 

1. Public Health and the Built Environment: How Architects Can Design for Better Public Health. March 2003. The American Institute of Architects.