Detroit, as a shrinking city, may in the coming decades transform to
look more like the English countryside and not the metropolis it once
was, planners are saying.
Excerpt:
The idea may sound improbable, but Alan Mallach, a New Jersey-based
planner who led the visiting team, said Detroit is evolving in that
direction anyway, with large chunks of the city now largely abandoned.
"In
a way, think of it as a 21st-Century version of a traditional country
pattern," Mallach said. "You have high-density development on one side
of the street and cows on the other, quite literally."
The
team's recommendations, contained in a draft report by a committee of
the American Institute of Architects, are the latest in a flurry of
ideas for dealing with Detroit's growing vacancy.
Detroit's
population is less than half of its 1950s peak, and an estimated 40
square miles of the 139-square-mile city are empty.
The committee suggests that Detroit could recreate itself as a 21st-Century version of the English countryside.
"Isn't that basically what's happening? Even without any plans or strategies?" Mallach asked.
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