Downtown Detroit

Youngstown offers some thought on how to shrink correctly

Youngstown is losing population like most cities in the post-industrial Midwest. Yet, they're trying to curb it by consolidating the population and "turning off" parts of the city. Maybe a solution for Detroit? Or something like it?Excerpt:A handful of other Rust Belt cities from Flint, Mich., to Buffalo, N.Y., have considered similar plans. Youngstown’s experience underscores the difficulties of urban engineering on such a massive scale, as the promise of renewal collides with the sacrifices needed to make it work. The effort is groundbreaking, in many respects. “The mantra of cities has always been, ‘We need to revitalize, to grow bigger,’ [but Youngstown] is saying, ‘Chances are we’re not going to get that population back, certainly not in the short term and maybe not ever,’ ” says Jennifer Vey, a fellow in the metropolitan policy program at the Brookings Institution, in Washington, D.C. “Youngstown plans to shrink its footprint and ask, ‘How can we best use our resources to produce a healthier, smaller city?’ ” Mr. Peyko, editor of The Metro Monthly, a local paper, says that the idea was “psychologically challenging” at first. “But once I [accepted it], it opened up all these possibilities for making change,” he says.Read the entire article here.

More talk of the Hantz Group Detroit farm

Detroit businessman John Hantz is looking to create a 70-acre urban farm. While plans haven't been laid down yet, talk is still moving forward.Excerpt:Matt Allen, Senior Vice President of Hantz Farms and former spokesperson for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, says the vision for the farm is inspired by socio-economic challenges specific to Detroit and the devastation which has left its mark.“Our generation has lived to see what a post-industrial city can go through,” said Allen during a recent interview. “But one thing that Detroit has that other cities don’t have is an abundance of land. There’s no other city in the world that could support what we’re proposing.”Allen says that this vision can be accomplished within a modest-scale, corporate model while addressing the economic realities of residents on the ground. The farm will be staffed and operated by Detroiters, potentially providing a source of hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs.Read the entire article here.

LISC accepting nominations for CDC of the year

Charter Reform Spells Change for Detroit

They say good things take time, and this will. Revising the city's charter could spell great things for Detroit. But what type of change will come of it, and who will make those decisions? Voters, a lot of that is up to you.

These Detroiters Will Stay If …

Why do you stay? What will keep you here? When GLUE asked the question and threw a party in Midtown, Detroit, we stayed around for the answers. Listen, watch and learn.

Moving from Motown to Cowtown

Will Detroit get back to its agrarian roots? It's time to explore the idea, see what we come up with.Excerpt:In its early years, under the French, Detroit was, in fact a collection of “ribbon farms,” along the riverfront, only 2-4 acres wide but running back as deep as 80 acres. This layout was practical for the 18th Century in the New World, because it gave residents neighbors within walking distance plus access to water and to the river, which was at the time the major avenue for transportation.It wouldn’t work today, of course, because Cobo Hall and downtown and other things are in the way. But with Mayor Dave Bing exploring the idea of clearing sparsely populated stretches of the city and consolidating residential areas, maybe it’s time to start thinking about what kinds of farms would work best in a new, agrarian Motor City.(Oops, that name might have to go. Maybe Detroit can become "Crop City.")Read the entire article here.

Cigarette girl is staple for Detroit’s bar scene

It's not 1940 but that's no matter. It hasn't stopped Detroit's cigarette girl, Gwen Joy, from making a living as if it were 1940.Excerpt:If you've been hitting the night spots in Detroit or Hamtramck, you may have seen her: a tall, willowy, mini-skirted figure striding on 4-inch heels, balancing an over-stuffed tray hanging from a strap around her neck. She's Gwen Joy, Detroit's own version of a classic 1940s cigarette girl. You may not hear her sing out, "Call for Phillip Morris," or coo, "Cigars, cigarettes, Tiparillos," like her counterpart in the 1964 TV commercial, but you will see her kitschy tray full of gum, candies and tobacco products. And she takes her wares seriously, stocking her customers' favorite sweets and keeping her cigars fresh in a humidor between sales forays. Read the entire article here.

A little light rail news: It’s moving forward

Detroit's light rail system is inching closer and closer. The M-1 rail, the 3.4-mile route, reached an agreement to collaborate with the city with the hope that it will connect to the much larger rail line that is proposed to run up Woodward.Excerpt:Leaders of a $125 million light rail project said Thursday they have reached an agreement to collaborate with the city on a three-mile plan to link city riders in a local transit system.The privately funded M-1 Rail, an approximately 3.4 mile, 12-stop route from Hart Plaza to Grand Boulevard, would be the "first phase" of a Detroit Department of Transportation's proposed $371 million project. That plan, the Detroit Transit Options for Growth, calls for a light rail to extend from Grand to Eight Mile, said Matthew Cullen, M-1 project president and CEO."We were always going to make sure we were compatible," he said of the transit plans. "We're totally motivated to be linked up with them. It is really an important step in having a real regional rapid transit system." Read the entire article here.Read see a rendering of the rail system and read the Freep article here.Another article about light rail from Crain's Detroit Business here.

Web site helps Detroit visitors find couches to surf, give them an ‘in’ to the city

The web site couchsurfing.com can help connect Detroit to the rest of the world and give visitors an "in" to the city.Excerpt:The 24-year-old resident of the Corktown neighborhood shares her passion for the Motor City with visitors from around the globe whom she meets through couchsurfing.com.Doerr, who works as grants and contracts manager for the Wayne-Metropolitan Community Action Agency, loves to play tour guide for the guests she meets through the social network."A city like Detroit has so much to offer, but it's not user-friendly. ... You've got to have an in. Couch surfing is that in," she said.Couch surfing connects people who need a place to stay with those who can offer lodging at a great price -- free. But the mission of the site and its more than 1.1 million users is to create connections, build friendships and generally make the world a better place -- one couch at a time.Doerr, along with dozens of others, will do just that this weekend as part of the Detroit Couch Crash 2009, a series of events organized by the local couch-surfing community to showcase Detroit.Read the entire article here.