Abstract:
Regional Detroit is transforming its post-Industrial / post-Fordist cultural landscape and economy through an emergent, yet highly subsidized, development economy. To date, civic leaders have employed a conventional re-development strategy, focusing on the Lower Woodward Corridor and East Riverfront, leaving the City’s neighborhoods to varying levels of community development capacity. Landscape Urbanism and Shrinking Cities proponents identify Detroit’s abandonment as its primary asset and argue that a globalized economy dictates dispersed urban form. This Project Team argues that a balanced, sustainable, dense, and urbane form is still possible, based on an analysis of Detroit’s development and spatial legacy, and guided by a broader interpretation of value. A collective civic dialogue on balancing growth, equity, and sustainability is necessary: where and how will we redevelop (densify) and support resident populations with capacity, services, and investment?