Detroit in the News

fDi Magazine, an investment mag produced by the Financial Times, released their cities of the future list and Detroit fell in at No. 10 for the largest cities of the future.

Excerpt:

fDi Magazine’s North American Cities of the Future 2009/10 shortlists, which took more than six months to research and involved the data collection of nearly 400 North American cities, ranks San Francisco, California, as the top large city of the future, followed closely by Austin, Texas. Of the large cities surveyed, San Luis Potosí in Mexico ranks top for cost effectiveness, while Charlotte, North Carolina, ranks top for FDI strategy according to the judging panel.

Read the entire article here.
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A Detroit News writer and online news editor Michael Happy blogs about the City Airport neighborhood where he grew up and how it's helping change the area.

Excerpt:

But over the past almost two years, the Going Home blog has pumped new life into the neighborhood by connecting and energizing hundreds of former black and white residents. It also has helped heal racial tensions and build bridges between the city and the suburbs.

The blog is an example of how news organizations can use social media to build community, empower citizens and bring journalists closer to their sources. As with any blog, Going Home connects people who have common interests. Ordinary folks air their opinions and influence news coverage by contributing comments and writing for the blog, as well as talking to Happy. For the News, the popular blog attracts online readers, boosting page views and ad revenue.

Read the entire article here.
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There was a lot of stuff going on last week, and so it followed that there would be a lot of tweeting.

Monica Conyers' admission of guilt in the Synagro Sludge scandal caused a lot of chirping. The best of which comes courtesy of @rumblestrip:

Well MonCon we did pray for you, and our prayers were answered!! Enjoy that orange jump suit!!

Instead of shame, Conyers' guilty plea seemed to make a lot of tweeters optimistic.

@DougZuba: Yes Sir....last piece of trash to go...hopefully Detroit will be clean again...back to business not nonsense!!!

@Rpsawyer shared a similar sentiment: The detroit corruption MUST come to an end once and for all...I believe it can!

TinaMarie1155 summed up all these feelings in the week's best tweet about Detroit:

What can I say about Detroit, I do have hope.

So simple, so to the point, yet so true; if it's one thing Detroiters have in common, it's hope that the city will one day reclaim its greatness.

However, the week did take a more somber turn with the passing of music icon Michael Jackson. Many Detroiters offered their farewells to the "Gloved One", who got his start in the city.

@ Ramiere took the opportunity to reaffirm Jackson's royalty: The King of Pop is dead. Long live the king.

@ DonnieCash found that the weather paralleled the emotion felt throughout the city:
it is raining in Detroit right now...Tears Falling For Michael Jackson...R.I.P.

Though the heat may have been oppressive, it proved beneficial to green thumbs, like @ Rhertz: My vegetable garden is loving all this heat!

But our winner? The heat caused @Missive to start some job creation: I think I need a production assistant. Detroit film students who know how to get me a cold lemonade, STAT, please apply.

Anything that'll get those kids working is worth supporting, in our book. But are they paid by the hour or paid to scale?

Until next time, check out Model D's updates on Twitter; keep readin' and tweetin'.
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The Eastern Market Corp. may fill the empty Borders location in the Compuware Building with a grocery store.

Excerpt:

Downtown Detroit workers and residents may soon have a new place to shop for fresh groceries in the heart of downtown.

The Eastern Market Corp., the nonprofit entity that operates the city-owned Eastern Market, is exploring the idea of opening a small grocery store offering fresh fruits and vegetables and prepared foods in the space previously occupied by a Borders Books in the Compuware Building.

Dan Carmody, president of the Eastern Market Corp., said a decision will be made by mid-July or so whether to go ahead with the plan.

Read the entire article here.
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The two students from the Grinnell Detroit Social Innovation Project blog a bit about Detroit's urban farming and social innovation.

Excerpt:

Many suggest that the best way that Detroiters can access healthier foods, live healthier lives, and reduce the number of vacant buildings is through urban farming.

Since coming to Detroit, I have learned to some degree what urban farming entails.

In its simplest definition, it is growing and harvesting crops in an urban community. However, urban agriculture includes much more than this basic definition. It allows for job creation, access to fresh and healthy foods, beautification of the city, and a greener environment.

Read the entire article here.
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Detroit's political atmosphere is on a shift.

Excerpt:

There is a different atmosphere in Detroit these days, a city that not long ago seemed to be on another planet. Four years ago, the city was led by a "hip-hop" mayor famous for extravagant living, wild parties, and behaviour so outrageous that one out-of-town police force said it would no longer take responsibility for protecting him.

Today, there is a new spirit of something like sobriety. After Kwame Kilpatrick went off to prison in October, there seemed to be a collective sign of relief. Suddenly, Detroiters seemed to want sane, competent, grown-up leadership. Dave Bing, a sports hero turned successful businessman, was elected to replace Kilpatrick.

When he won a special election in May, most of the other major candidates bowed out of challenging the new mayor for the full four-year term that will be decided this November.

Read the entire article here
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Detroit Public School student Tangela Frazier gets a second trip to Washington D.C. because of the portrait of President Barack Obama she painted.

Excerpt:

A Detroit student's portrait of President Barack Obama has earned her a second trip to Washington, D.C.

The Detroit Public Schools district says Tangela Frazier's portrait is a winner in the 2009 Congressional Artistic Discovery Competition. The 17-year-old Pershing High School 11th grader and other winners will spend Wednesday in Washington.

Their work will be judged again at a reception, with the winner receiving a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.

Read the entire article here.
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Richard Florida is that creative class guy. Some agree with him, some don't. Wherever you fall on Florida, he does make some good points in his piece in the Atlantic that Detroit should pay attention to.

Excerpt:

The most successful shrinking strategies, like Pittsburgh's, are not top-down affairs driven by all-knowing governments, but organic, bottom-up, community-based efforts. While Pittsburgh government and business leadership pressed for large-scale urban renewal - stadium-building, convention centers, and more far-fetched schemes for local mag-lev trains - its real  turnaround was driven by organic, bottom-up initiatives. Community groups, local foundations, and non-profits - not city hall or business-led economic development groups -  were the driving forces behind neighborhood stabilization and redevelopment, university-based economic development, water-front revitalization, park improvements, and green building among others.  This kind of bottom-up process takes considerable time and perseverance. In Pittsburgh's case, it took the better part of a generation to achieve stability and the potential for longer-term revival.

All of which brings us back to a big question: What about people versus place strategies? I agree with Glaeser: people must be the priority. Especially in tough economic times, public investment should flow toward people. Early childhood investments, as James Heckman has shown, are the most important, longest-running and highest-paying investments we make.

Read the entire article here.
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The Hamtramck ice cream trucks are just one of the many reasons this 2.2 square-mile city is such an interesting little place.

Excerpt:

But that hardly matters, because it's so delightful to listen to "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" again and again that such trifles as needing to pull one's car out would hardly matter. Besides, you get a better look at the truck, appreciating its hand-painted charm. No two are alike, and there are even a few old New York City-area Mr. Softee trucks in the fleet, all creatively decorated and patched up like it's Havana. Watch long enough, and you may even see an unusual ice cream motorcycle putter along — complete with sidecar and rear-mounted freezer case. You'll certainly be tempted to snap a photo or record the delicate warble of the prerecorded ditty, if you can hear it clearly. Sometimes it will be drowned out by motor noise, as all of the trucks seem to use the very latest in loud-engine technology to keep the ice cream cool. 

Once the vehicle stops, the driver and the excited young children begin their gentle negotiations. You might worry that the driver will cut off the music or switch the coolers over to battery power  for a couple minutes, but, thankfully,  he's sure to keep everything running, not wanting to spoil anybody's pleasure. Over the din, you'll often hear at least one of the children ask, "Hey, you won't make a deal?" over and over again before the calorie-jitney finally buzzes off.

Read the entire article here.
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On the Northwest side of Detroit a neighborhood organization called Artist Village is promoting and supporting art education. They are now offering summer programs for kids.

Excerpt:

Artist Village is a multi-faceted organization that supports art education for local youth. The Village offers summer art programs for children ages 8-18 looking to grow creatively and expand their knowledge of the arts. The summer art programs include writing, poetry, graphic arts, etiquette and arts & crafts. The course offerings begin in July and are 6 to 8 weeks in duration.

Alicia Marion is the general manager of Artist Village. Alicia passionately and tirelessly shares her efforts to help impact those who come to Artist Village. “The energy and the magic that is here comes from teachers, poets, artists and all the people who are a part of Artist Village,” she said.

Read the entire article here.
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