Downtown Detroit

Tweet of the Week: Where exactly is South Detroit?

By Newsroom

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Buzz

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August 18, 2009

With news of GM's new electric car delivering gas mileage in the triple-digits, and lots of Detroiters heading to the suburbs for the infamous Dream Cruise, it was a pretty auto-centric week here in Detroit. @TheVT told us an interesting tidbit on Monday: Today is Self-Starting Day. In 1915, Charles Kettering of Detroit, Michigan, invented the electric self-starter for automobiles.Though lots of local twitterers were eager to talk about classic cars, @IbrahimTransAlt wanted to remind us: In the 1890s, 80% of residents rode bicycles on a regular basis in Detroit, the future "Motor City" of the world. It's pretty difficult to imagine that many bicycles cycling around town anymore.In addition to cars, bikes and other things that go, tweeters were ranting about another slightly travel-related topic, sorta. Journey. As in the band. It seemed like tweeters the world over were wondering whether a place known as "South Detroit" actually exists. Some were pretty matter-of-fact; others were open to different interpretations. In honor of all of their valiant efforts to discover the truth, this week's Tweet of the Week is a six-way tie: @CamilaCastillo2: #fact Journey was wrong, there is no south detroit. @gail_gosh: isn't there a "south" of anywhere? maybe it just means the southern portion of Detroit, not South Detroit. @AlanahJordan: There is no south detroit. SOUTH OF DETROIT IS THE DETROIT RIVER.@DJMikeCruz: right on man...South Detroit is Windsor, Ontario...@tecksbuk: maybe there's a deeper meaning to the lyric "Born and raised in South Detroit" She's in a lonely world, he's in an imaginary one? @brendonuriesays: in my mind, there will always be a south detroit. and the strangers are dancing, not waiting.Who do you think is right? Let us know on Twitter. And be sure to follow our updates. Until next week, keep readin' and tweetin'.

Detroit soul artists get some ink in NYTimes

By Newsroom

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August 18, 2009

A couple of Detroit soul artists show up in a soul music run down feature in the NYTimes.Excerpt: Twenty years ago some of these records might have been called “quiet storm,” and nowadays there’s overlap between smooth jazz, gospel and adult-oriented R&B. Kem, who like K’Jon is from Detroit, has released a pair of albums, “Kemistry” and “Album II” (Motown), that have helped shape the genre’s sound.Additionally, particularly for artists from the Midwest, adult soul is the soundtrack to dance night. K’Jon cut his teeth singing on the Detroit ballroom circuit: his most recent independent album, which also featured “On the Ocean,” was called “The Ballroom Xplosion” (Up & Up). Detroit ballroom is a sister style to Chicago stepping, a scene that was given national attention when R. Kelly began incorporating its gently sliding sounds into his own; the second half of the video for “On the Ocean” is a compelling advertisement for the Detroit style, with its intricate twirls and zigzag footwork.Read the entire article here.

Produce truck encourages healthy eating in Detroit

By Newsroom

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August 18, 2009

Instead of Detroiters going to buy the fresh food, the fresh food is coming to Detroiters.Excerpt:In a neighborhood served by 26 liquor stores but only one grocery, a community group is peddling fresh fruits and vegetables like ice cream.Five days a week, the Peaches & Greens truck winds its way through the streets as a loudspeaker plays R&B and puts out the call: "Nutritious, delicious. Brought right to you. We have green and red tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes. We have greens, corn on the cob and cabbage, too."The truck set up like a small market brings affordable produce to families on public assistance, homebound seniors and others who can't reach the well-stocked grocery chains in the suburbs.Read the entire article here.

Canadian paper finds the spirit of Detroit, unfailing confidence in the future

By Newsroom

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August 18, 2009

The Star Pheonix from Saskatoon finds more in Detroit than negative headlines.Excerpt:No question, this city of nearly a million took an economic hit during the recession, but Detroit is busy reinventing itself and the hospitality industry is providing help. Bringing in $4 billion US last year, tourism has become a big money-earner.Surprised? First of all, you need to get rid of previously conceived ideas, suggests Jeanette Pierce, co-founder of Inside Detroit (www.insidedetroit.org), a not-for-profit company that specializes in touring people through downtown and the neighbourhoods. Forget Detroit's reputation as gritty and ultimately forgettable."This is a city that has been going through an incredible renaissance. We have wonderful history, great architecture and fabulous ethnic restaurants. We also have 37 per cent less crime than the national average," says Pierce, standing in the shadow of the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, a towering 1920s building that recently underwent a $200-million renovation.Read the entire article here.

Model D TV: Rosa Parks Transit Center

By Tom Hendrickson

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Transportation

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August 18, 2009

Oooh, look at all the pretty tensile structures. The stunning Rosa Parks Transit Center is the subject of this week's Model D TV. Producer/director Tom Hendrickson talks with one of the project's architects about the look and function of the new transit hub.

Back to the City: Stylista Piper Carter Sees a Fresh Detroit

By Ilissa Gilmore

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General

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August 18, 2009

Internationally known fashion photog Piper Carter has traveled the world with her camera for almost two decades. Family brought her back to Detroit, but once here she's discovered a city far cooler than she expected.

What’s the definition of a Detroiter?

By Newsroom

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August 18, 2009

What is a Detroiter? Is it more than just paying taxes? Is it an attitude? Is it a love and passion for a city that you may or may not live in? It may be all of these things.Excerpt:Bing, though, is a perfect example of how defining a Detroiter is an increasingly slippery exercise.Though he moved to the suburbs in the 1970s, Bing ran a business in Detroit that employed Detroiters, paid lots of city taxes, was deeply involved in Detroit's social and charity scene and served as a representative of Detroit outside of town.Barrow's argument might resonate with some voters, but Bing has faced it in his first three campaigns this year and finished first in all of them."It's the commitment to the city that defines a Detroiter," said Karen Dumas, Bing's interim communications director, who lives in Detroit. "People who celebrate the city and work to improve it are Detroiters."That sounds a lot like Bing, of course.Read the entire article here.

Inaugural Detroit Restaurant Week to feature 17 restaurants in September

By Newsroom

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August 18, 2009

Between Sept. 18 and 27, Detroit will be celebrating the first ever Detroit Restaurant Week. It'll be a ten evening showcase of downtown's most exciting restaurants and chefs. Seventeen restaurants have signed on for the event and for $27 will offer at the very least a three-course meal.Additionally, Eastern Market will offer Detroit Restaurant Week culinary demonstrations each Saturday from starting Aug. 22 and running through Sept. 26.For more information and to sign up go here.

NPR: Despite tough times, some see opportunity in Detroit

By Newsroom

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August 18, 2009

Though Detroit continues to lose population, there is a contingent coming to the city with big eyes and a lot of hope, NPR reports.Excerpt:Meghan McEwen, a magazine editor and mother of two small children, says you can find a family-friendly life inside the city of Detroit. Her husband is Ryan Cooley, the developer. She admits that the city lacks basic urban conveniences, but because she and her husband were able to find real estate so cheap, she's able to work part time. And she says it's exciting to be part of an effort to rebuild a city. That enthusiasm gives Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future Inc., hope. He says the city will never return to its past vibrancy without young, talented professionals. Glazer says the brain drain from the city has been devastating. It may not be a flood of artists, business owners and young professionals coming back to Detroit, but many in the Motor City say those trickling back in are giving many during these tough times something they haven't had for a long time ... hope. Read the entire article here.

The Urbanophile blog looks at Detroit as an urban laboratory, the new American frontier

By Newsroom

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August 18, 2009

Midwestern urban blog The Urbanophile says Detroit is America's urban laboratory and the new American frontier.Excerpt:The troubles of Detroit are well-publicized. Its economy is in free fall, people are streaming for the exits, it has the worst racial polarization and city-suburb divide in America, its government is feckless and corrupt (though I should hasten to add that new Mayor Bing seems like a basically good guy and we ought to give him a chance), and its civic boosters, even ones that are extremely knowledgeable, refuse to acknowledge the depth of the problems, instead ginning up stats and anecdotes to prove all is not so bad.But as with Youngstown, one thing this massive failure has made possible is ability to come up with radical ideas for the city, and potentially to even implement some of them. Places like Flint and Youngstown might be attracting new ideas and moving forward, but it is big cities that inspire the big, audacious dreams. And that is Detroit. Its size, scale, and powerful brand image are attracting not just the region's but the world's attention. It may just be that some of the most important urban innovations in 21st century America end up coming not from Portland or New York, but places like Youngstown and, yes, Detroit.Read the entire post here.