So maybe the Paris of the Midwest is pushing it a little bit, but a good girl could go anywhere -- Paris, Milan, London, even Oakland County. The only place for Torya Blanchard to put her crepe stand, however, was downtown Detroit. And for that we say 'merci.'
Detroit takes center stage in Kid Rock's new video hitting CMT, VH1, and MTV last weekend and the Detroit News has it for your viewing pleasure.Excerpt:There are shots of Rock driving around town in an early '60s Lincoln Continental, visiting downtown headwear emporium Henry the Hatter, and sitting down for a couple of Coney dogs at Lafayette Coney Island with his brother, Billy, and Rock's pal Uncle Kracker.The "Roll On" clip also features footage of Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker Band performing the song inside Motown's famed Studio A and on the front steps of the Motown Museum. There are shots from this year's Dream Cruise, which directors Robert Deaton and George Flanigen --who also lensed the video for Rock's "All Summer Long" --shot when they were in town scouting locations in mid-August. Read the entire article and see the video here.Other Kid Rock news:He's finally accepted the future. One of the last holdouts, refusing to carry his stuff online, Kid Rock has reached an agreement with Rhapsody to carry his complete catalog on the Web.Read the entire article here.
Freep says that cities, such as Detroit, need more than just private development help, they need federal programs and policies that lubricate and drive urban growth.Excerpt:Urban economic growth cannot occur in silos. Public safety, good schools, adequate mass transit and land-use policies that discourage sprawl all help attract investment and residents with disposal income. Ultimately, a city's economic development will depend largely on its ability to attract and retain middle-class and affluent residents. A city without a middle-class tax base cannot attract the private investment that puts people to work. Nor can it support anti-poverty programs, good public schools, adequate mass transit and other municipal services that benefit everyone.The federal government should consider bold approaches, including exempting those living in distressed urban areas from paying federal personal income taxes, as proposed by Wayne State law professor and urban expert John Mogk."Resident income is the prime determinant of a city's economic health," he said. "As income declines, cities, or sections of them, begin to decline and, in time, collapse."Read the entire article here.
A proposal aims to put all the pieces of the city's transit puzzle together.Excerpt:Initially, hybrid bus routes would be established along the major roads, including connecting downtown Detroit with Detroit Metropolitan Airport via Michigan Avenue, with M-59 via Gratiot, and with Pontiac via Woodward. The plan also proposes to immediately increase the frequency among existing bus lines and improve the roadway. The transit plan would then connect proposals already in the works, including the $371 million, 8-mile-long Woodward Avenue Light Rail Transit already approved by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, with an estimated construction date of 2011. A separate privately funded-plan along a 3.4-mile stretch of Woodward in downtown Detroit is making headway under Hertel's leadership, with likely backing from major business leaders such as Mike Ilitch and Peter Karmanos. A commuter line over track used by Amtrak would connect Ann Arbor with Detroit's New Center, with a potential trial run beginning in 2010. Read the entire article here.
The bill, House Bill 6114, would create a tax incentive that would promote "transit-oriented development" around light rapid transit stations. Of course Detroit doesn't have those yet, but the city isn't that far off. So, local business and community leaders are urging Michigan legislature to pass this now to get ahead of the game and developments going.Excerpt:Dallas, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Charlotte, N.C., are among the major U. S. cities that, in recent years, have created thousands of jobs and attracted billions of dollars in new developments and redevelopments by building and expanding light rail systems. The transit systems are credited with sparking the construction of new apartments and condominium units, restaurants, office buildings, retail stores, cafes, movie theaters, centers for the arts, and much more. Development around transit stations and systems is called ” transit-oriented development.” Specifically, House Bill 6114 would create geographic “transit revitalization investment zones” around rapid transit stations. As commercial and residential development occurs in the zones, the resulting growth in property tax revenues would be used to fund the operation, maintenance or infrastructure of the transit station and related facilities.Get more information here.
NBC's "Today Show" broadcasted live from Campus Martius Thursday morning. The show came out as part of its four city "Battleground State" tour, which had already made stops in Philly, Tampa, and Williamsburg, Va. Co-host Ann Curry said the Detroit crowd was by far the largest out of the four cities.Excerpt:Weatherman Al Roker wandered around, introducing the Martin Luther King High School marching band doing, appropriately, the Temptations' Smokey Robinson-written hit "Get Ready." Roker also judged a coney dog contest between American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island, and fell in love with the ham sandwiches from Lile's Sandwich Shop in Dearborn. "What's not to like about downtown Detroit?" Roker said, sweeping his arm around the park as the morning sun peeked through Detroit's skyscrapers. "It's clean, it's bright, you've got flames!" He waved over at the park's two towers with flame-lit torches. Read the entire article here.
If Doug Farr were a superhero, his cape, tights and calling card would be green. The native Detroiter is an architect and sustainability guru who has built a career out of thinking about cities through a very green lens. He talks with Francis Grunow about what Detroit has, and how, through sustainable practices, the city can best use those assets. And he as some advice for Mayor Ken Cockrel, too. (Hint: Think green, buddy.)
What's Downtown Detroit got to offer? Take a video tour with Tom Hendrickson, Model D's video guru, and Jeanette Pierce, co-owner of Inside Detroit tour company and a Downtown resident.
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