Michigan & Trumbull

DETROIT — The Tigers don’t know if they’re going to rebuild yet. Or, short of a rebuild, if they’re going to restructure or renovate, as it were. They may not make a decision about that until after this weekend. But there’s a lot of rebuilding, restructuring and renovating going on all around them. Indeed, for the first time in years, they may be behind the rest of the city when it comes to looking toward the future.

As Derry spoke I was struck by the notion that this is a most unusual problem for a city like Detroit to have. Sure, in most other cities there are constant battles about how to balance development and civic life and how to preserve land and buildings that, while not contributing much to the city’s bottom line, contribute greatly to citizens’ lives.
In Detroit, however, the idea of reining in developers has not exactly been a pressing issue in recent decades. There are more vacant lots here than anyplace else. Apart from three casinos, some sports facilities and a handful of renovations of historic buildings aside, developers have not exactly run rampant.
But as Detroit rises from the ashes again, it will begin to encounter the dilemmas of development more and more. And, while its residents will likely have no desire whatsoever to return to the bankrupt and nearly-beaten Detroit of a few years ago, they may remember it fondly in at least a few ways.
Such as a time when strange, serendipitous things could happen. Like those years when a couple of dozen people showed up every Sunday morning at 10 AM, armed with riding lawnmowers, weedwackers and rakes and brought the dead back to life.

Turtleneck wrote:Blanch, please share your insights on urban planning with us?

Blanch32 wrote:

Turtleneck wrote:Blanch, please share your insights on urban planning with us?

Simple: develop policy and infrastructure that mitigates traffic

Turtleneck wrote:

Blanch32 wrote:

Simple: develop policy and infrastructure that mitigates traffic

Holy shit. Brilliant, original insight.