Song, video celebrates all Detroit has to offer
A couple put together a video celebrating the city's gems. It has a country twang, but we're not talking about John Rich's "Shuttin' Detroit Down." That's for the birds.Check the video out here.
Southwest Detroit
‘Home Is More Than Our House’: WDET’s coverage of facing Detroit’s mortgage crisis
WDET and Model D have partnered to focus on Detroit's foreclosure crisis and different ways people and neighborhoods are dealing with the issue. This week WDET reporter Zak Rosen will produce a piece on the citizens on the North End of Detroit are teaming up with the Greening of Detroit to reclaim 134 abandoned lots. Look for his work on the WDET "Home is more than a house" blog here. Next week Model D will take a look at how realtors are selling homes in Detroit to Detroiters.
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.
Taco Nirvana by the Truckload: The Glories of Street-side Eats in Southwest Detroit
Nicole Rupersburg had a map, a couple friends, a few bucks and a noble mission. She hit W. Vernor looking for the fabled taco trucks and found a Detroit version of the L.A. carne asada cart scene -- something of a mythical epicurean experience.
Some Southwest leaders contend second bridge is bad for the community
Is a second bridge to Canada necessary? Some Southwest Detroiters and organizations believe it will do more harm than good.Excerpt:While government officials have worked to promote and fast-track the DRIC bridge, misleading area residents along the way, they have ignored studies that show the project is not needed and disregarded our primary concern that this project, if built, will destroy the Southwest Detroit neighborhood of Delray.Throughout the DRIC planning process, government officials deliberately failed to seriously consider alternative locations for landing the DRIC. Alternative locations upstream were quickly dismissed once wealthy, politically active residents organized against the development in their community. Lacking the same political clout, the largely minority, low-income community of Delray is now slated for demolition.Specifically, the DRIC will force the destruction of over 250 homes, five churches and several community parks and historic properties. The area’s already-struggling economic base will shrink with the relocation of 43 businesses and hundreds of jobs. And the air quality will deteriorate, which is bad news for those in the shadow of the proposed DRIC bridge, including the students and staff at Southwest High School.Read the entire article here.
Old and Green: Detroit Innovators and Renovators Give Buildings Sustainable Overhauls
Old doesn't mean it can't be green. Many notable buildings and historic rehab projects are taking old spaces and putting in innovative, sustainable systems in them -- from City Hall to the Green Garage.
Immigration may be the key to economic growth in SE Michigan
Even though Southwest Detroit and Hamtramck are beacons of diversity, Detroit and Michigan could do a lot better when attracting immigrants, which have proved to be a source of economic growth within communities.Additionally, Wayne State University is hosting a film event playing "Regional Roots" that will discuss Detroit's 300 years of history and how immigrants helped shape what the city is today.Get more information here. A trailer for the film can be found here.Excerpt from the metromode story:"To have a strong Detroit, a strong Southeast Michigan, immigrants are a necessary component," Tobocman says. "We need a welcome mat for these citizens, housing services, and employer services. We're thinking on what some of these out-of-the-box strategies could be for immigration growth."Global Detroit began in March of this year and Tobocman says they've already discussed dozens upon dozens of strategies, some of which have already been implemented in other states. Ideas like welcoming centers for new Michiganders, internship programs to retain foreign students after college graduation, or a regional center that pools foreign investment (of $500k or more) for local development -- which would create American jobs -- in return for a visa (called the EB-5).As Southeast Michigan stands now, and for most of the Rustbelt for that matter, there aren't any honest to goodness strategies in place. Efforts haven't gotten past a welcome center in Detroit's Mexicantown and one recently instituted in Philadelphia. These centers give new immigrants soft landings into communities and urban areas, plugging them in as much as possible.Read the entire article here.
Walkable City: Get On Your Feet, Detroit
If there's a cocktail to make true walkability, Detroit is low on some ingredients. But new projects and initiatives directed at transit, streetscaping and nonmotorized pathways are aimed at getting more people on their feet in the city.
