Source: http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/michigan/map
Plate 3: An Abandoned Street running through the Packard Complex in Detroit, Michigan, in USA
Source: http://zfein.com/photography/detroit/packard/index.html
Farley et al (2004) describes Detroit as having once been a symbol of engineering innovation, business acumen and the economic growth that greatly raised the standard of living of all its citizens in the 20th century. The establishment of Ford and other motor vehicle manufacturers brought Detroit to the fore front in the global economy. As an industrial hub in Michigan and the United States at large, the city comprised of a number of manufacturing plants that were mostly for the production of motor-vehicles and parts associated therewith.
These plants were largely dependent on unskilled labour and as such the inner-city neighbourhoods that were located close to the plants were predominantly for the working-class population. The upper-class population also known to be made up of white collar workers, lived in the suburbs outside the inner-city. In its early years, Detroit was established as a motor industry hub that was very vibrant. In addition to the automotive industry there were a number of industrial plants, commercial and world famous entertainment areas located in the inner-city area. Detroit’s inner-city neighbourhoods played a supportive role to the motor vehicle manufacturing sector by ensuring that the workforce resided in close proximity to the plants.
Plate 4: Vibrant Detroit
Source: https://placesjournal.org/article/the-forgetting-machine-notes-toward-a-history-of-detroit/
4.1.2 Causes of Decay in Detroit
When one looks at the early city of Detroit in comparison to the identity that seems to have been placed upon it today, the question of how this happened is one that is bound to emerge. Detroit’s downfall encompassed a number of variables. However, what triggered it was one event that had a ripple effect on the rest of the city for the years that followed. On Sunday 20th June 1943, two groups of young people, one black the other white ran into each other and what was later described as the ‘bloodiest’ riot of World War II broke out (Farley et al, 2004). This was the first of a series of race riots in Detroit that soon led to the looting of shops as police lost control of the situation and racial tensions escalated. This loss of control made the problem one of national concern for the American nation.
The Detroit riots are seen today as the main event that triggered the inner-city neighbourhood decline of the city. According to Young and Wheller (1994, 179), Mayor Young speaking of the riots effect on Detroit, said that,
“The riot put Detroit on the fast track to economic desolation, mugging the city and making off with incalculable value in jobs, earnings taxes, corporate taxes, retail dollars, sales taxes, mortgages, interest, property taxes,
After the riots, it was clear to city planning officials that something needed to be done urgently to remove the negative stereotype that had fallen on Detroit as a city, as well to try by all means to revive the collapsing economy by making the city more attractive to investors. With this in mind, various initiatives were undertaken.
One of these initiatives was the construction of the Renaissance Centre Complex. This was a series of office buildings constructed on the Detroit riverfront surrounding one main building that would stand as the city’s tallest structure and serve as a hotel. This iconic building was intended to be a symbol of Detroit’s revitalisation,
its imagination and potential (Farley et al, 2004). It was believed that the new building would attract back the business owners from older downtown areas and others that had left the inner-city. Sadly, this was not the case.
Detroit’s population continued to decrease despite General Motors later purchasing the building. Other initiatives that the city tried to adopt included building a new stadium for a local baseball club, and reviving Fox Theatre in a bid to keep the inner-city as vibrant as it had been before.
Plate 6: An Abandoned House, Repurposed by the Homeless in Detroit’s Eastside
Source: http://zfein.com/photography/detroit/packard/index.html
A more recent initiative for addressing the problems being faced in Detroit commenced early in 2008 with the establishment of the Sustainable Development Assessment Team (SDAT) (AIA, 2008). The SDAT was established with the aim of assisting the town and citizens in responding to the key issues that were facing the various inner- city communities as a result of its decaying state (ibid). The team was made up of a range of built environmental, sociology and economics professionals who were tasked with addressing issues in regard to the city’s infrastructure, economy, natural environment and social issues that included food security. The SDAT resorted to establishing a new framework that would guide Detroit in its path toward renewal. The framework
aimed to ensure the realisation of a city that would be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable (AIA, 2008).
Plate 7: Two Faces of the City -the Renaissance Building Complexes with an Inner City House in Decline
Source: http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/wn20130813a8a.jpg
This vision for a new Detroit would be realised by focusing on the following five elements:-
▪ The development of a sustainable urban form;
▪ Creating a collaborative model for community building;
▪ Building a new asset-based economy;
▪ Building the city’s human and intellectual capital; and
▪ Forging stronger regional connections (AIA, 2008).
Figure 11: The Concept for Detroit’s Urban Form
Source: http://www.newgeography.com/content/001171-detroit-urban-laboratory-and-new-american- frontier
Figure 11 reflects the concept that would be adopted for Detroit’s urban form. The concept was inspired by the fact that due to the increased decline, the city population had gone down and as a result it had become characterised by a number of isolated clusters of houses or buildings surrounded by vacant land (AIA, 2008).
Detroit was not faced with the problem most cities have in the 21st Century of not having enough land to accommodate the urban population but rather it was a case of trying to reconfigure its urban space in a more efficient and sustainable form. Hence the urban form concept aimed to “create smaller, better functioning, more sustainable and interconnected liveable communities” (ibid; 22). The urban core reflected in figure 6 would thus be a densely populated compact and walkable mixed use and mixed income area with inner-city neighbourhoods that provided different types of housing in the inner-city (ibid).
The urban villages displayed outside the urban core would be areas of lower density than the urban core but still designed to be walkable and generally self-sufficient enough for residents to possibly live, work and play within the neighbourhood (AIA, 2008). It is also important to note the way in which the urban villages would be connected to the urban core to allow for the easy travelling of people who may work in the urban core but desire to live in the urban villages.
The case of Brisbane presented an example of an inner-city area that was once vibrant and driven by a strong manufacturing industry. It reflects how decay can be triggered by social unrest and changing times as investors perception on Detroit where changed due to the riots and at the same time general perceptions where changing as people found suburban life more appealing. From an intervention point of view, it is clear that addressing individual symptoms of decay does not bring about an adequate response. Rather a more holistic approach that considers multiple elements affecting an area is required.