October, 25th, 2014

Syeda Alia Abbas,

&

Angela Johnson

Neighbors, neighbors, it is time to

shout. And explain what dignity is

all about. See, we must feel good

about where we live, Before we can

even begin to give.

Trash, tires are everywhere, Must

inner-city neighborhoods be in de-

spair? Street lights are out, there are

potholes too, Abandoned homes

and buildings just to name a few.

Now when friends and relatives

come to visit. We also want to feel

good. To be able to point and say,

Look, that’s my neighborhood.

There are those of us who are living

right,. And we really don’t want to

move. See, we choose to live in our

city. We just want to see our

neighborhoods improve.

Of course there’s great develop-

ment. The casino, the Tiger Sta-

dium is new. But what about our

neighborhood? Don’t we deserve

an uplift too?

So listen top officials, please. Don’t

you hear our cry? Our neighbor-

hoods, they need attention. Because

they’re about to die.

So residents you have the right. Let

them know that you have pride.

You go to work and you pay your

taxes. Stand up and don’t be de-

nied.

DREAMtroit to DEADtroit

Inside the News:

Z World Detroit Poster 1

Brief introduction on

City of Detroit’s

history

2

Analyzing the City of

Detroit

3

Conclusion / References 4

Authors & Editors

Poem on Detroit

By: Toni McIlwain

Page 2 DREAMtroit to DEADtroit Volume 1, Issue 1

Introduction on City of Detroit’s history

After World War 2 United States of America had total dominance over the

industrial manufacturing that could not be compared to any other part of the world.

Majority of the industries were steel, machinery, automobiles, textiles, appliances,

and computers. As Newman states that “American economy appeared to be without

equal in productivity.. For American workers in the "primary labor mar-

ket" (Edwards et al 1975), this meant levels of working class prosperity never be-

fore seen” (Newman, 5). Only after the oil crisis that occurred in 1970’s the down

fall of America had begun. The effect of the oil crisis was felt all throughout the

communities in America. When “community after community, over the course of a

decade, became empty hulks and vacant lots” (Newman, 5) showing no evidence of

[the] once- booming factories. During this downturn the unemployment rates in

these communities had reached levels second only to those of the Great Depression.

Majority of these communities were dependent on single industries which

had been left abandoned by employers. The families who worked in these indus-

tries had few viable employment opportunities. During this period “inflation gave

way to recession. The end of the recession brought little relief to industrial workers.

The factories they had worked in were no longer there to call them back” (Newman,

5). Several industries in the United States had fled to places such as Mexico, Japan,

Korea, and/ or the Philipines only to reopen their manufacturing facilities there.

This was movement of the industries to these areas was due to the low wages. As

Katherine Newman stated in her article "Will the last person leaving Michi-

gan please turn out the lights?" showing how demoralized the people felt

from the industries moving out of their communities.

Map 1 Detroit Census - the following maps shows demol-

ished buildings, vacant lots, household incomes, and college

degree holders in the area.

Map 2 Detroit Population- the following maps shows decrease in population in

Detroit overtime since the 1950-2000.

Analyzing the City of Detroit

Michael Moore

Roger & Me

In 1989, Michael Moore created a docu-

mentary called

Roger & Me on

General Motors

and tried to find a

way for workers to

get their jobs back.

The goal was –

and to an extent

still is – to turn

back time and rec-

reate the old days

when GM was

there and a huge

source of employ-

ment and revenue for the city, but that is not

possible now.

Julia Reyes Taubman

Detroit: 138 Square Miles

In 2011,

Julia Taubman

created a book

called Detroit:

138 Square

Miles contain-

ing photos of

Detroit’s build-

ings, parks and

people. She

took over

30,000 photos

for the project

over a six year

period. Her goal

was to tell the story of the city through its

structure and history to map it.

Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

Detropia In 2012, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

created a documentary called Detropia.

Their goal was to document the fallen city

and ways in which they believed it could

be brought back to life. These were, in our

point of view, the best ideas for bettering

Detroit so far. Some of their ideas were:

Detroit as an Art City

Many artists have gathered in Detroit

because it is a very cheap place to live

and they can produce their art in large

quantities at a low price. This element of

entertainment and free creativity would

allow people to gather with their creative

ideas and beautify the city. Creative

minds will be able to come up with ideas

for a better tomorrow. To attract youth to

the city through art. They discuss systems

of promoting graffiti. Focus on education

and keeping young creative minds sharp

and in the city. Creating community

groups to help those in need. Create pro-

grams to help motivate those who have

the ability to do more in their lives and

encourage learning and community

Detroit as a Green City

Green the city by creating parks. Men

and youth working together to tear down

houses for scrap metal and selling it for

reuse. Some older parts are no longer

available so they are reselling older parts

for cheap.

Entrepreneur Mark Siwak

Z World Detroit

In 2012, Mark Siwak came up with a

new idea to bring tourism and jobs back

into the city. He

wanted to create a

zombie theme park

using the abandoned

buildings of Detroit.

“Z World” as he

called it would pro-

vide jobs to the peo-

ple o f Detroit. Tour-

ists would had been

chased by zombies

throughout the park.

The idea had been

accepted but was not

able to follow through due to funding is-

sues.

Pro’s

The park would create tourism.

This attracts youth back to the city

Jobs will be created.

Adaptive Reuse—It would use exist-

ing buildings and houses, giving

them a new life.

Zombie games happen on a small

scale already and overnight games

are held usually in summertime. It is

something that has gained popular-

ity in the last few years. They can

use this model and blow it up on a

large scale.

Con’s

Specialised auto makers will be

turned into zombies.

Jobs are not guaranteed because

though the plan has been approved,

there is no guarantee that they will

get the required funding. Workers

would probably be paid minimum

wage.

The plan needs refinement. Who does

it appeal to? Insiders or outsiders or

both? How many people will be in-

volved? Will 50 zombies be going

after 1000 people?

What would be the entrance fee?

What is the chance of the theme park

bringing in enough revenue to regen-

erate area?

Rebranding the city as Z World De-

troit. By changing the name of the

area, they are changing the past. This

is something that the residents do not

want.

Danger of decrepit buildings. How

much money will be poured into fix-

ing and stabilizing the buildings they

want to keep for use?

The money to build this park can be put to

better use like the ideas brought up in De-

tropia:

1. Healthcare regeneration – already under

way. They are creating Universities and

programs to help look into healthcare ad-

vancements.

2. Rebuilding and improving the school sys-

tem

3. Community programs to help troubled

youth and those in need.

Page 3 DREAMtroit to DEADtroit Volume 1, Issue 1

Picture 1: Michael Moore

Picture 2: Julia R. Taubman

Picture 3: Rachel Grady (Left) and Heidi Ewing

(Right)

Picture 4: Z World

Detroit Ad

Page 4 DREAMtroit to DEADtroit Volume 1, Issue 1

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Davey, Monica. "An Odd Challenge for Planners: How to Shrink a City." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Oct.

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"Detroit: Now a Ghost Town." Detroit: Now a Ghost Town. Time Inc., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time interactive/0,31813,19

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"Detroit to Be Hit by Flesh and Brain-eating Zombie Apocalypse (but Only If Live-action Terror Theme Park Plan Is Pushed Through)." Mail

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park_n_1644298.html>.

Conclusion

The situation in Detroit is gloomy since the population seems to be declining at a faster rate than any other city. Detroit is facing a prob-

lem as many other industrial cities are facing which is called “shrinking of cities”. When the population begins to downsize due counter urbaniza-

tion this is what leads to shrinking cities. For example the city of Detroit was highly dependent on the “timber industry until General Motors

(GM)...[ which turned the] city into a world capital of the automobile industry in just three decades. As GM and the American automobile industry

shrank its workforce in the 1970s, so went Flint's fortunes [as well as Detroit’s]” (Hollander, 138). Once GM left the area this is what created the

problem:“people losing their jobs and refusing to relocate for new employment...Without income, a resident is less capable of caring for his or her

home, which can lead to the deterioration of a neighborhood's housing stock. When a bank forecloses on a resident's home, the home, because of its

unoccupied status, may bring further drag on the neighborhood's quality” (Hollander 137). This results in the richer residents to relocate out of

these neighbourhoods leaving “behind the poorest and most destitute residents. When fewer middle- and upper-income residents live in a neighbor-

hood, fewer role models are available to youth, dimming prospects toward upward mobility” (Hollander 137). Lastly over time the situation gets

even worse because racial segregation is seen in neighbourhoods because mostly “African Americans have fewer housing choices, further increas-

ing racial concentrations in ghettos” (Hollander 137). This is what we see in the state of Michigan for cities like Detroit and Flint. Through the

given examples of the four individuals they are planning for improving the future of these individuals who are less fortunate.