Photo by CDAD

Detroit’s been downsizing for the last 50 years. It’s not a question of whether to downsize or not, but a question of managing it or letting it continue happening organically.

The topic has been discussed and studied, especially during the past year, some of which we covered. Groups like Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD) and the WARM Training Center have been at the forefront.

After the election of Mayor Dave Bing, there didn’t seem to be much talk on this topic. The priority and focus were primarily on city finances.

That’s beginning to change.

The Mayor spoke about downsizing at a recent Community Development Conference. This will receive more attention beginning in 2010.

From CDAD:
“We don’t have the luxury of targeting specific areas within our city, Bing told the crowd. There’s been a lot of effort given to those who have the least-but everybody is hurting. Good neighborhoods are slipping-and they need help too.” Bing noted that Detroit is currently using about 50% of its 139 square miles, and stated that within six to twelve months, Detroit will have a long-term land-use plan for the city of Detroit.

Mayor Bing stated that the development and execution of a long-term plan for the city will require community involvement. “We must be open to the community-be very inclusive and get help with our priorities,” Bing stated.

Also included in the conference were round table discussions on various topics related to the reshaping of Detroit. In my role as MTGA Detroit Greenways Coordinator, I led discussions on non-motorized transportation and greenways.

Can Detroit be Saved?

Mayor Bing also reiterated similar comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Bing is brimming with other ideas to make Detroit more livable. One challenge he faces is how to successfully downsize. “We have a city that still has a footprint from when we had almost two million people. In the 2010 census, we’ll be lucky if we’ve got half of that population with the same footprint and infrastructure.”

He wants to tear down buildings and dilapidated homes and convert thousands of acres to “parks and greenspace.” He also wants to privatize public services to save money and create a new cosmopolitan environment that will attract middle-class and affluent families that have fled to the suburbs.

As noted at the CDAD conference, greening the city’s abandonments and brownfields would give Detroit one of the highest ratios of greenspace-to-residents among large U.S. cities.

Not just Bing

This summer, then city council candidate Charles Pugh asked us what role greenways can play in the downsizing of Detroit.

Now as council president, Pugh addressed CDAD members on downsizing.

“The city of Detroit needs a clearer vision as to where we’re going in our city. We need to pack in and create more density where there is density, and decide what happens with the areas where there is lower density. We have to put out a vision for how we are going to reshape this city.”

This is exciting to hear as downsizing is not politically popular. You don’t have ribbon cutting ceremonies for closing things down and letting areas revert to more natural states.

Still, we would certainly welcome ribbon cuttings for more greenspace and trails.

Here’s some media coverage related to biking in Detroit:

Make the Motor City Smaller

Free Press write Bill McGraw has an article in Newsweek about the need to manage shrinking in Detroit.

Detroit has been shrinking for 50 years. The city has lost more than half of the 2 million people it had in the early 1950s, but it remains 138 square miles. Experts estimate that about 40 square miles are empty, and [Mayor Dave] Bing has said that only about half the city’s land is being used productively.

The next steps are complicated and largely uncharted. Moving residents into more densely populated districts has legal and moral implications; it must be done with care and the input of those who would be moved. And what do you do with the empty space? The city is already dotted with big vegetable gardens, and one entrepreneur has proposed starting a large commercial farm. Some people advocate bike paths, greenways, and other recreation areas. Surrounded by fresh water, and buffeted by nature reasserting itself on land where factories used to be, Detroit could someday be the greenest, most livable urban area in the country. A city can dream, can’t it?

Of course the positve side to this abandonment is our roads have few motorists and it’s a great place to bike. This largely goes unrecognized because the yardstick for bikeability is how much money a city has invested in bike lanes and bike racks. That bike-friendly yardstick fails to acknowledge how a shrinking city can make a city more bikeable.

On a related note, I spoke briefly with Detroit council candidate Charles Pugh at Saturday’s Dally in the Alley. He wants to sit down and discuss how greenways fit into a plan for shrinking Detroit.

Right way is the only way to ride a bike

The Times Herald out of Port Huron has a well-written column about riding on the right side of the road. Apparently they had many of their reads call in regarding biking.

Of course, it is a less-than-scientific survey, but a majority of TalkBack callers believe bicycle riders should travel on the left side of the road, against traffic.

On this, as in many matters, a majority of TalkBack callers are wrong.

One additional point is that riding against traffic on a sidewalk or sidepath (also called safety path) is even more dangerous than riding against traffic on the road.

Campaign focuses on plight of Rust Belt

The Pittsburg Post-Gazette covered the Great Lakes Urban Exchange also known as GLUE, who asks the question, “I Will Stay If…” at events throughout the Rust Belt.

The Detroit party was “a qualified success,” said Ms. [Sarah] Szurpicki. “We had around 100 people and collected over 80 good photos” of participants holding a white board with the phrase “I Will Stay If …” completed.

“The photos show that people want better regional cooperation, public transit, bike lanes, curbside recycling, things like that. And what has come out of this is people saying ‘I am staying to be a part of something,’ ‘I am staying because I want to help build that curbside recycling program.’

“This is about place-building.”