As a Detroiter, I’ve been reading with great interest about Mayor Dave Bing’s initiative to downsize sparsely populated neighborhoods. Having ridden through many of the eastside and other inner ring neighborhoods that he has targeted for possible downsizing, I’m amazed at how few homes there are in these areas.
I’ve pedaled block after block along these streets and on most, only a handful of occupied homes exist. The few lived in homes remaining coexist with those that are vacant and with parcels of land that seem to be reverting back to prairies. It’s almost like biking in the country except the Detroit skyline is visible in the distance.
Obviously these are poor neighborhoods. There isn’t much activity, and traffic is basically non-existent. There may be a couple people walking toward stores that are few and far between. Occasionally, older folks can be seen sitting on their dilapidated porches, and they usually wave as I pedal by. Others have congregated in one of the many vacant lots sitting on makeshift chairs eating, drinking and talking about who knows what. I can only imagine their conversations.
Does it make sense to move these people to more vibrant, prosperous areas of Detroit as Mayor Bing proposes? Will his plan to reinvent the city save substantial money by eliminating services to these vacated neighborhoods? What will happen to these tracts of land if residents are moved? Who knows? If the Mayor’s plan is successful, maybe an urban park system could be established throughout these areas that would incorporate bike trails, wetlands and nature areas. Urban forests could be groomed and allowed to re-establish themselves. Some of the existing 100-year old plus buildings could be restored and turned into museums. Pie in the sky? Perhaps. But if done right, Detroit could have one of the best urban park systems in the country.
Music Options
As a once loyal listener to WDET, I’m still searching to fill the music gap left open when WDET switched to a news/talk format a few years ago. But unfortunately it’s been a tough hunt. It seems Detroit radio has become quite mainstream and it’s almost impossible to find any station playing alternative music such as Wilco, Ben Harper, Cat Power, Jessica Lee Mayfield or other indie/folk/roots music artists. CBC Radio 2 (89.9 FM) out of Windsor offers some interesting music, and I’m encouraged to see that WDET has brought back some pretty good music programming to their weekend schedule. But there is a still quite a void when it comes to alternative music in Detroit. So, like many others, I’ve turned to the Internet.
Listed below are five stations that I listen to . They offer a good variety of music, each in their own, unique way. Click in and take a listen.
- WCOM – North Carolina – Small community station offering regional music as part of the mix
- KCRW ELECTIC24 – Santa Monica – Big variety, everything from Freddie Hubbard to Massive Attack
- WWOZ – New Orleans – Jazz, R/B, and Cajun, what more can be said
- WXPN – Philadelphia – Lots of indie music with classic rock sprinkled in
- KCSC – Chico State University California – Quite a mix of New music, Electronic/Techno, Jazz and R/B
If there is a lot of open land it would be cool to get in there and start farming it!
Ya man, there is a farm movement going on in the city. Basically, Detroit was a farm community early on and some feel it could revert back to that. In fact there are quite a few grass root organizations that have started down this path.
Charlie
Maybe there is something to bringing this land back to farmland…to create the scarcity (in time) that Detroit will require for renewal.
Is it the time for renewal in this direction…how much can we buy and…maybe as a co-op?
Dave
As I posted in the other Dave’s response, there is a movement in this direction. A couple of organizations that come to mind that have been quite active in the urban farming movement are Earthworks Urban Farm which is part of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Detroit Agriculture Network and the Georgia Street Community Garden. A few months ago Money magazine ran a story “Can Farming Save Detroit“. It’s an interesting read.
Hey Charlie, Enjoying it so far! Thanks for the alternative radio stations, I’ll be checking them out. Urban gardening may be part of the excess land solution, time will tell!
Beckie
Thank you Beckie!
Glad you are enjoying my blog. There is interest in urban gardening, as you know Detroit was built on some good, fertile soil.
Hello Charlie.
Please keep in touch with the Craig Fahle Show about the things you’re seeing as you work your way through the city. We’ve spent the last year getting a wider and more diverse range of voices and opinions on WDET and you should get into the mix. We’re thinking about a lot of the same things.
Hi Mikel-
I’ll definitely update you and Craig on my journeys.
Charlie
A friend of mine suggested http://woxy.com/ a little while back — it’s excellent. I lived in Santa Fe NM for a while and KBAC Radio Free Santa Fe is still one of my favorites (though their online stream is a little wonky sometimes) http://www.kbac.com/
Enjoy!
Amanda
Thanks Amanda-
I’ll check out the stations you suggested. I know what you mean about online stream being a little wonky. WCOM is like that, they go through a “drop off” period occasionally.
Charlie
I am so interested in this movement around reclaiming and utilizing these tracts of urban open space, and the idea of open space as local food and recreation through a balance of stewardship, direct investment in the soil with harvestable outcomes for many! Detroit, you amaze me!
Yes Merry Ellen, despite the scars, Detroit in many ways is an amazing place.
Hey. Like the blog so far, just bookmarked it. I have heard numerous times about the vacant tracts of land on the east side of the city. I would be curious to see them. Where was that picture taken?
Hi James-
Thanks for bookmarking my blog, I appreciate it. The photo was taken in an an area just off Gratiot at Mt. Elliot.
Charlie
Interesting blog. Thanks for sharing. I’m looking forward to your next post.
Thanks for the music links. I am so tired of the same old, same old that the radio stations around here have to offer.
Nan
Thank you for checking out my blog Nan, I hope you will enjoy reading it. There is some pretty good music being played on the stations I provided as well as those found in the comment area on this blog.
Enjoy!
Charlie
Z Man — Had a discussion with 2 U of M architectural students who just returned from China and they were very geaked about the possibility of the commercialization of Bamboo, in the US, as a viable building material…no kidding.
Maybe food for Detroit thought…
That’s an interesting concept Dave. From what I understand, bamboo is a quick growing plant that can be very invasive if not controlled.
Invasive yes, but very strong if used as a building material I have been told…Detroit application?
In Atlanta, there has been a project going on for years called The Beltline: http://www.beltline.org/
It keeps getting derailed (no pun intended) for various and mostly political reasons. Something like that (even with the transportation aspect) might be really cool for Detroit.
Thanks for sending this along Laura. At this point, Detroit is in the talking/planning stage and I personally expect it will take years before “shovels hit the dirt”. To put it in perspective for you, Detroit encompasses about 130+ square miles and an estimated 40 of those are vacant. The problem is that the vacant land is scattered throughout.
For more info, take a look at this article.
http://detnews.com/article/20100220/METRO/2200309/Detroit-begins-crafting-plan-to-downsize
The Beltline is an amazing project, but I don’t know that this city will ever see any real progress with this type of development. The Atlanta are is so sprawled that no two city governments can agree on what exactly to do. It has been going on since long before I moved here and I expect that it may continue infinitely.
I love the idea of purposeful land redevelopment in any capacity. I love self-sustainability and self-relaince. I suggest building a bunch of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses using off the grid energy technology for affordable housing solutions in these types of urban areas. But no one ever lets me be in charge. 😉
It sounds like Atlanta is having “regional” government issues just like Detroit and many other urban areas.
I like your ideas on land use, especially the Tumbleweed Tiny Houses.
Charlie,
I live in North Dallas, we have the same problems in South Dallas with all the blight. As for radio, I found a great public station in which I contribute to, KKXT 91.7. It has alot of the music you mentioned above
Hi Phillip –
Really? I never think of Dallas having major blight issues. Do they have acres and acres of open fields where homes once stood like it Detroit?
Thanks for the tip on KKXT, I’ll check it out.
Charlie