While many look at the overgrown grass and a resurgent swamps sometimes found on Detroit's vacant land as blight, the
Design Observer points out that these occurences are the result of a complex urba ecology.
Author Peter Del Tredici, associate professor in practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and author of
Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast: A Field Guide, makes the following observation:
"While Detroit is clearly a tragic story from the socioeconomic perspective, it is a paradise for spontaneous vegetation."
It's always good to look on the bright side of things.
Regardless, this essay is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the ecology of cities.
Read more in the
Design Observer.
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