Design Observer :: Join the Discussion http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/ en-us Design Observer Group 2010-07-20T11:53:43-05:00 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0 Ian Leuytenhal http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-20T11:53:43-05:00
There are so many things I see here with which I agree. The city/not city dichotomy, where devastation and revitalization exist virtually side by side; our national fascination with the "Borderama" aspects of Detroit's decline; the role of America's extreme individualism in the hollowing out of a once great city.

I have long believed that Detroit has become America's Whipping Boy, upheld as America's Urban Dystopia(tm) and a frightening reminder to other cities of what not to become. America will not let Detroit escape from this perception, and Detroit will not recover until it can.

I also agree with your view on how American individualism has crippled Detroit. I've read Toqueville, but I was astonished at how relevant his quote on individualism is today's Detroit. We Americans like only enough "society" to take us to some point of comfort, and then we are ready to discard the elements that got us there. At some point in its history, Detroit became disposable in the minds of those who moved away. Is there any metropolitan area with a wider gulf between city and suburb, or black and white? Or national and local perspective on its present condition?

Lastly, I agree with your point that America has never been in the business of making enduring cities. In 1890, Detroit was a city on the Great Lakes that was similar in size, economy and (likely) culture to Milwaukee. The explosion of the auto industry destroyed that legacy and started a new one. I wonder if Detroit's decline is simply its return to its natural place in the urban hierarchy.]]> Pete Saunders http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-18T17:54:07-05:00 The End.

Oh yeah, Re-elect Pingree!]]> Danny Bassett http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-09T00:13:11-05:00
Detroit lived by the auto industry, and the urban decline that the automobile brought on other cities is most clearly evident there. The very cars made in Detroit made possible, in partnership with auto friendly planning initiatives, the very exodus that started the downward spiral. That is why it began 10- 15 years prior to any race riots. It was the Eisenhower Federal Interstate System and Mercury's Turnpike Cruiser that dealt a fatal blow to urban life both in Detrioit, and around the country.

The racial inequality in Detroit and other cities was only made worse when those that could afford to leave the city did, and and they went as far as their dollars could get them. It seems poetic justice, to me, that the Motor City suffered by far the worst effects of its own invention. ]]> Greg http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-08T14:25:44-05:00 ernestine christ http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-08T13:44:08-05:00 I was 10 yrs old when we left. I remember thinking to myself and might have even asked out loud, "why can't white people live in Detroit anymore". It sounds so racist but it was an honest question coming from a 9 yr old kid. It was a very confusing time for me.
I've always thought of Detroit as my hometown and I love what that city represents for me.
I know that good will come out of this crumbling of Detroit, even if nothing more than to have people travel here merely to get a look at the former great city. It will make them wonder at how far we have fallen. Maybe that will be our rebirth?]]> Beth Miller http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-08T07:33:20-05:00
In the late 80s, my job presented opportunity for advancement which required my moving. It was a hard decision to make. I bristled for the first six months in Huntington Beach, CA when Californians would exclaim, "Wow, I bet you're happy to be in CA" when I told them proudly I was from Detroit. And I missed Detroit terribly for about six months. When I saw lovely pansies blossoming in January, I suddenly "got it". Detroit turns black & white on Nov 1 each year, and we don't get technicolor back until May 1.

NOW, I get why Californians are so smug. I am that way, too. I couldn't talk mother into leaving--"it's where I live, Dear." I dearly miss Sanders, and buy their hot fudge sauce in the mail. There are no coney islands like Detroit has, so I live without them, too. And it was fun to go to Windsor for lunch or dinner, and then come back to the US. I am a better person for having Detroit in my history. But I'm not leaving California, not even for a coney island and a hot fudge sundea.]]> Wendy Jordan Fields http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-07T18:44:25-05:00 I see in your photos those new concrete ramps with red inserts that appear to be for the handicapped. If you go deep into some areas they have installed these new corner ramps where the sidewalks are invisible and no houses exist! A great example of inept government. People are living in a total economic and social ruin and the government gives them new sidewalk ramps to meet some standard of accessibility! Based on that alone I expect the decline of the city will continue without interruption. Very sad and very scary. The band plays on as the ship sinks below the waves.
]]> Tom http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-07T14:53:04-05:00 I recommend detroitblog.org for great articles and photography of the continuing story of Detroit.]]> Bandy Lou http://places.designobserver.com/feature/borderland-borderama-detroit-part-1/13778/#comments 2010-07-07T14:47:00-05:00