Sunshine, food, free concerts, and a holiday weekend can still bring thousands of people into the city of Detroit. Headliners at the 21'st anual Comerica CityFest included; Buddy Guy (pictured), Todd Rundgren, Ray Parker Jr., and Betty Lavette. Now if we can only figure out what to do on the other 361 days of the year to bring this much needed vitality to the city.I was able to visit the festival twice during the July 4th weekend. While the crowd on an overcast Thursday evening with two lesser known bands headlining, was not huge, the Sunday afternoon finale was a different story. On a sunny, warm day the streets of the New Center district were crowded. Long lines were the rule at the food booths where you could get a taste of barbecue, Greek, Thai, Italian, or just about anything else you might have been in the mood for. On days like this one can feel proud of the old motor city.
Of course, even as the streets teemed with people, in the shadows of what used to be the General Motors Building, you could not help but remember all the problems this city faces. Enormous office buildings with high vacancy rates, restaurants boarded up, no major supermarket located in the city, and more storefronts closing everyday. Yet the bigger problem, as it has been for decades, is getting people to live in the city in general, and more specifically downtown.
There has been some new residential development in recent years. New townhouses have been built near the Medical Center, and in the Fox Theater and Comerica Park area. Some new loft buildings have also popped up. That is a start, however, I fear that keeping residents long term will be difficult. Having to drive miles to run normal errands like grocery shopping can quickly become tiresome. I also worry that many of the young urban professional types, attracted to city life, especially nightlife will look to leave in a few years when clubbing is no longer a priority. Once settled, with a family to raise the plight of the Detroit school system will send many fleeing to the suburbs. The next generation of the young hip crowd, may move in to take their place, but to make a city thrive, you should have a diverse population. That means attracting, residents old, and young, black and white, wealthy and middle class.
I realize we will likely never be able to provide a thriving, vital downtown experience that a Chicago has to offer. There is after all, only one Chicago. That does not mean we cannot strive to build a downtown that has more to offer every day of the year. I hope that Detroit's new mayor, Dave Bing, and potentially an influx of new city council members will work toward that goal. City officials have to stop treating suburban residents as enemies, and instead regard them as potential customers. Customers who visit the city for ballgames, theater, casinos, and annual festivals. Perhaps, with improved city services, schools, and essential businesses in neighborhoods, some may even be potential residents.
Whether we live within the city limits, or in the suburbs, we are all from Detroit. What happens in Detroit, the vitality and success of the city has more impact on the life of those in the metro area, than any city council meeting in whatever little suburb you happen to call home. I will continue to root for the city, to be successful, because we all need and deserve more weekends like this one.
First of all, I'm glad you were able to enjoy Detroit's Citifest this year. At that same time, you helped to make it a success, because if no one was going, it would cease to be.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on revitalizing Detroit's core were interesting and, obviously, heartfelt. However, that's a tough task in a city hit hard by the recession.
My own town is a portion of Greater Victoria, BC, known as the City of Langford. Long before I lived here, when I would visit my parents in the late 80s/early 90s, I referred to the area as "The Armpit of Victoria". It was stuck somewhere in the 50s or 60s. The main drag -- well...it wasn't. There really wasn't a city centre at all. Many streets didn't have sidewalks, and they were home to businesses with unattractive streetfronts, like automotive parts retailers. To be fair, this area had been largely agricultural for much of its existence, located on the fringe of "the city". But it was the next logical area for development and housing as the City of Victoria grew in the 90s.
Now, I confess to not knowing much about city planning, but I do know some of the ways Langford has raised itself into one of the most family-friendly, business-friendly, greenest (environmentally),vital and attractive areas in Victoria. For one, it allowed all the "big box" stores to move in -- Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, etc. Fortunately, they are located away from the main core, which is a triumphant story unto itself. With the tax money raised from the big boxes, Langford set about defining a "main street". It encouraged new development via incentives to builders, while also bargaining for improvements to infrastructure like sidewalks and green spaces when approving building permits. The core of Langford is now lined with attractive 3 and 4 story buildings, with commercial space on the ground floor and office or residential space above. There are hanging flower baskets and banners on the lamp posts. One side street is closed to traffic, brick-paved, and the home of a Saturday outdoor market. A small seldom-used park was redesigned with a water fountain and a memorial to the area's war veterans. It is now an area for city celebrations. A gazebo plays host to a variety of musical guests in the summer. The whole area has come together beautifully.
The only way a city can revitalize itself is by first increasing its coffers. Your city cannot restore itself by merely attracting people downtown for a coffee. It needs investment. That wasn't so hard out here, where the area was booming when most of these improvements were made. In a city like Detroit, suffering the ravages of a deep recession, council cannot simply "decide" that it will revitalize itself, and it doesn't sound like economic incentives will do a thing while no one has money to invest. That's the insidiousness of recession. This is why the federal government sometimes steps in to provide the funds to kick start the economy, even if they themselves do not have the dough. What choice do they have but to bail out enormous companies that have failed under the so-called "free-enterprise" system to avoid a worse situation? But that's another topic altogether.
Suffice it to say that, in all likelihood, your desire to see Detroit's core alive and thriving once more has not escaped the thoughts -- and hearts -- of its city councilors. But you can't make nothing from nothing.
(Your point that young people will live in the city at first, then vacate when they stop clubbing is a bit of an odd one. Ummm, there are always more young people? And not everyone dreams of a home in the suburbs. And not everyone that lives in a downtown apartment is young. Also, having known many city dwellers (and been one myself), a conventional supermarket is not the only way to obtain groceries. I don't see much depth to your argument there.)
(Also, I don't understand the reference to the mayor and councilors "treating suburban residents as enemies". There must be some back story here.)
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ReplyDeleteI know this is not easy to rebuild while a recession rages. The frustration comes from years of missed opportunity. When our corporate citizens were doing well, as were many residents of the metro area.
ReplyDeleteYou asked about a back story. Well it is a long one, that I will try and summarize here. It really stretches all the way back to the 70's. Coleman Young was elected Detroit's first African-American mayor. That era saw a lot of racial strife. White flight had begun in earnest, post 1967 riots. Suburbs were white enclaves, and the city was well on its way to becoming a majority black city.
A lot of suburban politicians exploited the racial strife to get elected. Meanwhile Mayor Young, had roots in the civil rights movement. Both sides had chips on their shoulders, and exploited the division to strengthen their power, which led to a virtual Berlin wall that we here call Eight Mile Rd.
There is much more to it, but I won't go into that here. (space limitation). That 70's heritage continues today. Many people, both in positions of power and ordinary citizens alike continue to have an us vs them mentality.
So instead of city and suburbs working together, with residents and corporations to provide a vibrant Detroit, we have had turf wars. Those continue today, and are a big part of why outside of a few pockets of thriving areas we make little progress revitalizing the city as a whole.
My first comment seems simplistic (if not stupid) when I read your account of Detroit's past.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad state of affairs (to state the obvious). I had no idea that Detroit had such a troubled history, still not resolved. I suppose the idea of racial division had never occurred to me; it's such a quintessentially American problem that I naively thought had been resolved.
I understand better all the time why you speak of your city with such bittersweet feeling. So much history, so much culture, but now, so much loss.
I hope Detroit can find a way to reinvent itself. (Ever thought of going into politics?)