Declining Detroit
There is no doubt in some ways that Detroit is one of the cities which have, in the 20th century been one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gases, due to its once thriving car manufacturing industry. The onslaught of globalisation and offshore manufacturing has however seen this once awe inspiring industrial powerhouse struggle to transform and diversify, its failure to do so resulting in its eventual collapse and now, ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, buried in the city’s US$ 18 billion debts (Davey et al, 2013). Today its depopulated inner city suburbs are representatives not merely of a bygone era, but a shocking indictment of our waste and willingness to simply abandon resources rather than consider attempts of revitalisation and re-urbanisation.
Inner city Detroit highlighted in Red. Increasingly darker shades of purple represent wealthy suburbs based on average income. The inequity, the distribution of wealth and the sin of suburbia - Detroit's richest live well away from the stagnating inner city. (Advameg, 2009).
With our abandonment, nature has started to encroach back into these abandoned areas, perceived sadly with distain, people viewing that “uncultivated and underused nature in shrinking cities [are] perceived as a symbol of crisis.” (Rienets, 2009, p. 251). At the same time, what is becoming evident in Detroit is that disuse and abandonment also facilitates inequity, with the city having been “ranked [amongst] the 10 most segregated metropolitan areas in the United States” (Davey et al, 2013), indicating similarly that our cities are socially unsustainable as well as environmentally unsustainable.
The lack of planning and public spaces has been criticised as one of the problems contributing to this, with one writer noting that “compact cities are increasingly perforated by brown fields, wasteland, and abandoned infrastructures… and activists have fought for more than a century to introduce parks, gardens, and greenery as a counterweight to the burdens of urbanization.” (Rienets, 2009, 251). My view is therefore that socially equitable and ecologically sustainable cities must develop not merely commercial and residential spaces, but alongside public and community spaces. While these spaces contribute not only to the reduction of the urban heat island effect, they also become improvements on a social level, a factor just as important for sustainability as the ecological benefits.
Interior of the Farewell Building. (Marchand and Meffre, 2014).
United Artists Theatre. (Marchand and Meffre, 2014).
The Michigan Central Station Building - abandoned since 1988, passed over for restoration so that a new 5300 sqm wing of the Detroit Institute of Art would be built. Is it reasonable to abandon buildings simply because we don't want to be in a certain district? (Marchand and Meffre, 2014).
All hope is not necessarily lost. Indeed in as early as 2004, it was argued that cities must rebrand themselves, particularly in cities such as Newcastle and Manchester, where “abandoned buildings are being converted into places of cultural interest and use.” (Millis, 2004). Indeed, it could almost be said that many of the city’s formerly grand buildings could be used as an extensions for the cultivation of culture and science. The 2007 restored Detroit Institute of Art for example involved a 5,300 sqm expansion, a questionable extension in my opinion considering other existing buildings such as the 46,000 sqm privately owned Michigan Central Station building have stood abandoned since the late 1980s. While socio-political and bureaucratic structures may prove to be formidable obstacles, artistic interventions or indeed industrial incentives for research may prove to provide opportunities for revitalising the city, rather than continue to keep cities in ruin. People are now taking action, having set up groups such as http://www.talktothestation.com/ to facilitate community discussion over the revitalisation of the inner city.
William Livingstone House.
One of the many inner city homes abandoned due to the movement to the outer suburbs. (Marchand and Meffre, 2014).
First and foremost however, I believe it is arguable that there is a fundamental need to alter the prestige of the suburb, there is great sin in suburbia as I have said previously. With the re-densification, wealth and security can return into the urban areas, making urban infrastructure less car dependent, more sustainable and more equitable. For now however, the indirect racial segregation in the suburbs of Detroit means that “the American dream of security, prosperity and opportunity will remain harder to achieve.” (Sugrue, 2011)
References
Advameg. “Detroit, Michigan (MI) – Income Map, Earnings Map and Wages Data.” (2009). Retrieved 13 May 2014 from: http://www.city-data.com/income/income-Detroit-Michigan.html
Thomas J. Sugrue. “A Dream Still Deferred.” (26 March 2011). Retrieved 13 May 2014 from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/opinion/27Sugrue.html?_r=0
Monica Davey, Bill Vlasic and Mary Williams Walsh. “Detroit Ruling on Bankruptcy Lifts Pension Protections.” (3 December 2013). Retrieved 13 May 2014 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/us/detroit-bankruptcy-ruling.html
Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. “The Ruins of Detroit.” (2014). Retrieved 13 May 2014 from:
http://www.marchandmeffre.com/detroit/index.html
Selina Millis. “Urban Decay.” The Spectator 296, no. 9192 (9 October 2004): 60-61.
Tim Rieniets. “Shrinking Cities: Causes and Effects of Urban Population Losses in the Twentieth Century”. Nature & Culture 4, no. 3 (Winter 2009): 231-254.