Rebuilding Detroit
The Basic Pitch: The City of Detroit has such an absurdly bad depression on home prices that you can currently buy an apartment building for less than $1000. To begin with, hop on Realtor.com and take a look around Detroit.
Rather than abandoning Detroit, should we be embracing this opportunity to start over? Is there a proven track record of using sustainable development and ecosystem design to raise property values? Are there factories that could be transformed into carbon sinks, community supported farms, bioremediation projects and public parks? Are there blocks that could benefit from permaculture installations?
Is there any precedent for building and maintaining Earthships in an urban environment? Would city permitting even allow for a sane use of blighted land, or is development for profit legally mandatory? Can we just demolish a home to avoid having to pass a housing inspection? Is it generally a bad idea to try and build in the Atrazine-saturated "Poison Belt"?
As the map demonstrates, Detroit has a huge surface area -- and 30% of it, "about 40 square miles," is just vacant land. 67,000 homes have been foreclosed on and 44,000 of those are empty.
According to the improbably named Doug Diggs, who works for Detroit as the Director of their Planning and Development Department, the average home demolition totals out at just over $10,000 in expenses.
Jon Storvik from Autonomy Without Tears provided the best closing note I could imagine:
"I think one of the most popular critiques of this project (and the one that is most likely to hold it back) is that people are saying "why Detroit? Why can't we do this in our own areas?" Well, you can, if you can get enough people in your area to come along for the ride. The thing is, if this sort of idea is going to take hold and become an inspiration to communities across the country, someone needs to go ahead and do it somewhere. Detroit might as well be the starting point.
Land and housing is cheap. Detroit is already one of the most extreme examples of failed/feral cities in the country, if this kind of thing can be done there, it can be done anywhere. Why not drop a couple grand on a property or two and see what can be done? It's not even like you'd have to live there, we could set up eco-rental units, even provide housing for WWOOF workers who might want to come work on an experimental urban farm. Lots of room for ideas here, folks."
Tags: detroit, earthships, farming, permaculture, renewal, urban
Views: 109
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by retaliation08 on -
http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?loc=cleveland+%2c+...
Home > 6,033 listings found (CLEVELAND Real Estate & Homes for Sale) > 1262 East 145th
Listing 2 of 6033 Save Listing
1262 East 145th East Cleveland, OH 44112$100 $0 per month | Personalize this estimate | Check local mortgage rates 4 Bed, 3 Bath | 2,650 Sq Ft on 0.08 Acres (3,484 Sq Ft Lot) | MLS ID #2504954 |
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Permalink Reply by Charlie Dyrsten on -
I know this is premature, but if FWT tools or any of you personally undertake a project like this, i would love, LOVE, to come help you with manual labor for a few months. i don't know a lot, but i have experience with a lot of tools and would bring a lot of energy to this. i feel like it is important for you guys to know that you have support from people like me who have few ideas, but are willing to be led in projects like this. im from denver where house prices havent dropped all that much (nothing like that anyways). but i would love to be a part of a transforming community anywhere. this is me encouraging you to take a huge step knowing that you have some support.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Boland on -
^^Have you checked out WWOOF? You can book a vacation if you love doing farm work:
http://www.wwoof.org/
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Permalink Reply by Charlie Dyrsten on
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i have heard of this before. definitely something i will think about and look into. i suppose what excited me most about what you guys have been talking about was the idea of transforming an entire community in a very hands on way. though i suppose that is selfish of me. thanks for reminding me that there are always methods of direct action available.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Boland on
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Well, the biggest barrier I've been finding, and I'm working with a lot of people in different cities to work out the most feasable spot for this, is zoning laws + building codes. Living an ineffecient consumer lifestyle is legally mandatory in most of the United States.
Until that changes, building a better city is basically illegal. Which is utterly insane, but still a very real problem.
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Permalink Reply by Curt Bowen on -
Justin,
Do you have any specifics on what zoning laws and building codes you are referring to? I share the enthusiasm here and think it could be great to actually see if we could make something of this opportunity. If a couple kids just out of college could dedicate time and money and actually start working on fixing something up--on building the basis for a community, and if we could collaboratively propose a plan for how to do that, then this could actually become real.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Boland on
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Curt, that varies state to state and city to city, so no, I cannot cite the specifics for Walla Walla Washington.
However, no matter where you live, they are a matter of public record and there are public servants who's job description involves helping you find them. My recommended shortcut: ask a local contractor over a beer. They have A LOT to get off their chests, most of which will be useful for you.
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Permalink Reply by Cat on -
you were right earlier when you said that Detroit probably wouldn't care about zoning laws. It's kind of a running joke amongst people here that Detroit is kind of like an experimental city, anything you can think of, do it in Detroit, no one will stop you. Someone said earlier that later they might come back on us and ticket us or whatever, but I have been thinking a little differently. I do share your hope that the systems that exist today won't exist in 10 years, and this may even insure that idea. If we can accept that Detroit (or whatever city you are in) will not be an urban superpower ever again, but instead focus on the de-urbanization of the area, (I am calling it "Re-Grow Detroit"), then we can show residents how to take all of the unused land back for local economy and food supply. Let's show the world how to repair and breath life back into an area of failed industry. Without the auto industry, some may say we are nothing, but we are still people, full of love and culture. Economy doesn't build relationships and communities, people do. There are still children here, there are still families and friends that want nothing more than to live healthy and happily amongst their neighbors. We want to work together to provide for ourselves. We know the system failed us, we know they don't want to help us, but we still want to show the power of community!
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Permalink Reply by detroit_rawker on -
Some people call Detroit the Motor City. Others call it Motown. Politicians, newscasters, and people all across the country are recently calling it a failed city. Cat and I call it home. Please don't lose faith in our great city. We may be bankrupt, we may be losing our jobs, and we may be losing the fight against poverty, but I beg everyone to not lose hope. I have seen the brighter side of the city. A city thats waiting to be revitalized. Like an untrained artist trying to decipher the technique/influence of a classic painting, Detroit is a city that on the surface looks like a manufacturing wasteland. But underneath the salt, snow, and rust is a beautiful city that can outshine all others. I can say with conviction and without hesitation that Cat and I love this city! Detroit, with or without all her problems, is still our home. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let this city go under without giving every ounce of energy I have to offer.
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Permalink Reply by Cat on
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Thanks for the support, from everybody, Joe---We Love You, together we will make Detroit fantastic!!
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Permalink Reply by Jon Storvick on -
Hey folks, looks like I'm showing up to the party a little late - Justin just introduced me to FWT, and it looks like an amazing networking resource. Yes, we are serious about making this conversation about reclaiming Detroit a reality, and are calling for official submissions/ideas/suggestions to the project:
http://autonomywotears.blogspot.com/2009/01/d09-submissions-toward-...
I'm looking forward to taking this to the next level.
Jon
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