Detroit, the depressed city, continuously finds a way to recapture its previous pride over thirty years. In the long- term fighting, why it is still failed? Normally, increasing employment rate was looked for the only antidote to renovate a city, so the government tried to input huge amount of money for local industries in recent years. The financial support would encourage the huge companies (such as GM and Ford) to invite applications for new office vacancies. As the result, it would be the main attraction for people to come back this city. However, they will not come back. Detroit has been losing its charm not only about job opportunities. The other potential issues also disturb the reborn of this city; racial confliction, class antagonism, and geographical disadvantage. Fortunately, in the few years, the urban planners and politicians began to earn and follow more new ideas. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing posted the most important concept and probably the most practical perspective for this city: Right- sizing Detroit. Pursuing more job opportunities still is the issue, but how to create a more sustainable and healthier environment for current Detroit (In fact, the smaller Detroit) is the main challenge of this concept.
The study model from AIA
Do we all understand “Right-Sizing Detroit” is the main goal of our effort? Obviously, this concept is abstract for public masses. How many people can figure out the meaning of Detroit Size? The amount of population or the amount of buildings? “Detroit’s crisis is unique only in its scale,” Time magazine writers, Daniel Okrent and Steven Gray, said this idea in the Article ”The future of Detroit: How to shrink a city?” They provided several ideas to reach this goal such as Connecting the Clusters, The Gift of Nature, and People for Homes, etc. Following above concepts, we can know that shrinking a city is a more complicated issue that it should be operated with different fields together: Ecology, Culture, Economy, Real Estate, Urban Planning. Right-sizing Detroit is not only about population density. It is about how to create ideal environment for human necessity.
1949 St. Cyril neighborhood
2003 St. Cyril neighborhood
Resources:
http://www.newgeography.com/content/001171-detroit-urban-laboratory-and-new-american-frontier
Yang Yu Huang
I am really interested in this subject "the right sizing detroit". It is another possiblities of improving Detroit rather than a platitude like employment issue. So I have some questions. 1. What are the geographical disadvantages of Detroit? 2.Would you please explain one of the concepts to shink the city a little bit more detailed? What is the right size, scale for Detroit? Thank you very much.
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