Rapid Growth

Photo essay: MOCAD's You're Gonna Die!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:09:03 GMT

It's no secret: MOCAD's New Wave puts on one of the city's best Halloween bashes. Model D photographer Marvin Shaouni was at the party to catch the dancing, DJs, and costumes.

Belle Isle: How to manage Detroit's island beauty

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Especially since Mayor Bing brought it up recently, Detroiters are weighing in on what to do with Belle Isle. A gate with a toll? Make it a Metropark? Leave it be? What's a city with limited resources but a lot of love for its beautiful island to do?

Dear Detroit: New look, new features, same great Model D

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the new Model D. Take a look around. Sample the merchandise. We're happy to serve you.

Speaker Series sign up: Reflecting Detroit in the (new) media

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Have you noticed the media obsession with Detroit? Seems like suddenly the press is all over the city. Are they getting our best side? What is the best side? From Time's Assignment Detroit to local blogs, we'll ask the people doing the telling at the next Speaker Series, Nov. 12. Sign up to be part of the conversation.

Model D TV: Wayne State's new engineering building

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Wayne State's new $28 million engineering center blends traditional learning with business development opportunities. We check out the space in this week's video.

Run Detroit Run: More Races Bringing More Faces to Detroit

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Detroit's big running events -- and even those that have participants braving chilly weather -- are growing. But organizers say success isn't just in the numbers.

FilterD: This Week's Picks

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hauntingly beautiful music will fill the DIA's Diego Rivera Court this Friday when Christen Lien performs original compositions with her viola, which she plays through a looping machine and other electronic effects. Call it sonic art moderne in one of the world's most distinctive settings.

Get all the lovely details inside FilterD, where you'll find lots more to do in the week ahead in metro Detroit.

Quelque Chose, Irgendwas, Qualcosa, Something Detroit: Foreign Journalists Invade the City

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How do we know Detroit's the new media darling? Time Magazine is staked out in The Villages, every day the web lights up with a new Detroit story, and, above all, someone made a drinking game about it. So Model D sought out a collection of journalists -- all from across the pond -- who came here to get the big story. Here's what they found.

Model D TV: Kales Building

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When the Kales Building was rehabbed into apartments downtown, it took the vacant Kresge HQ and transformed a corner of the city. Model D TV takes a look inside.

Signs of a New Economy â Wayne State and Henry Ford Health System Research a Partnership

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It's still too early to start counting construction and research jobs, but the recent announcement by Wayne State University and Henry Ford Health System that they are discussing a wide range of potential partnerships is a very good sign for the ongoing transformation of Detroit's Midtown neighborhood.

Tim Hortons Opens Second Detroit Location on East Jefferson Avenue

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tim Hortons is expanding its chain of restaurants in Detroit. The restaurant famous for its coffee, baked goods, sandwiches and convenient drive-thrus has set up shop on East Jefferson Avenue across from the Belle Isle bridge.

Brightmoor: 'Feisty' Neighbors Use Hope, Innovation to Face Struggles

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Brightmoor faces huge challenges, but the Northwest Detroit neighborhood is more than a sum of its problems.The 4-square-mile area of Northwest Detroit boasts a tenacious social infrastructure that is determined to renew the neighborhood. We find out what's going on.

Street Racing Detroit: Alleycats Explore a Rideable City

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Detroit's underground cycling scenes don't always get along, but everyone comes together for Alleycats -- races through the city's hub and spokes. For 35 fast miles, a couple hundred cats claw their way through Detroit on two wheels.

Model D TV: Tour de Troit

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This event is a kind of a big deal -- 2,000 people hit the streets on bike for the Tour de Troit a couple weeks ago. Model D TV was there.

Can Detroit Become the Turin of the U.S.?

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What do you do with a crisis? If Detroit looks across the pond, there may be answers. Turin, Italy -- the "Detroit of Europe" -- has turned around. Germany's Ruhr Valley has embraced regional cooperation in its reinvention. Are there lessons to take home?

Tweet of the Week: Trick, Treat, Vote

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to ... read?

Everywhere you looked this week, tweeters were announcing a Halloween party. From art galleries to film houses to the hangout spot of Curtis Granderson, Detroit tweeters were all pretty happy with their choice of venue.

Wherever you spent your Halloween, one thing is for certain -- Detroit was ready for a party.

@Southloop spent the evening with Detroit Tigers' Curtis Ganderson: Best. Halloween. Ever. Met Curtis Granderson! He was dressed as one of the guys from revenge of the nerds. Got a pic and everthing.

Maybe some hitting advice was exchanged 'cause, Curtis, you need to hit better than .250.

@Unreal_real went to a very spooky spot where its Halloween 365 days a year. Well, at least it seems that way: Theatre Bizarre in Detroit. The greatest Halloween experience in the world

Oh, and there's this other thing that's happening here in the city, besides Halloween. You might have heard of it â the election. A few tweeters were into that, too.

@Annaleighclark asked for a little help with her voting card: I have one open slot on my ticket for tomorrow's Detroit city council vote. Who should it go to??

For the record, we don't suggest leaving that one "open slot" at the voting booth up to Twitter. Check out our questionnaire of the candidates, or the many others out there!

@Kapribanks is voting Pugh and reminding everyone when the polls open and close: Vote Charles Pugh for Detroit City Council. the election is tomorrow. Polls open at 7am and close at 8pm.

@JViniece re-tweets some info from Crain's Detroit Business and reminds Detroiters that you gotta get out and vote: RT: @crainsdetroit Detroit election turnout could be up to 25 percent <<please take the time to VOTE TOMORROW people!>>

And, finally, @Buildingsofdet drops this: urges his fellow #Detroit residents to make it out to vote tomorrow. Council by district, City Council and mayoral...

So that's that.

Please, Detroiters, remember to get out and vote. Detroit's chance at change needs YOU.

Keep reading. Keep tweeting. And start voting!

Follow Model D on Twitter here.

Compiled by Model D intern Ryan Kelly

Take the Brush Park development survey

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Life: Twenty cars that made Detroit

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Life looks through the history books for the 20 biggest successes to come out of the Detroit auto industry.

Excerpt:

Nearly all the news coming out of Detroit these days is bad, and the constant failures of the American car industry make it easy to forget the good times. On Wikipedia's list of the world's best-selling vehicle nameplates, many brands born in Motown make an impressive showing against their international competitors. In this gallery, we salute the 20 best-selling American cars, ranked in order of all-time sales. Seen here: Ford's Detroit factory in the 1960s.

See the photos and read the piece here.

Forbes looks at downsizing Detroit

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Though some believe that Detroit has the ability to repopulate itself, others think that returning to two million people will be impossible and that downsizing is the answer. But how?

Excerpt:

Though any plan to downsize Detroit--a city where people now use only half the acreage within its boundaries--would be complicated, expensive, and time-consuming, it would let the city focus its resources, including crime-fighting and redevelopment efforts, where they could do the most good. The first phase in such a plan would involve tearing down abandoned houses and other empty structures that serve as focal points for criminal activity. But that itself is a daunting task. City officials say that it takes an average of $10,000 to demolish an abandoned house, which makes the city's long-term tab potentially north of $700 million. This summer, Detroit used federal grants to start the task, demolishing some 226 abandoned houses in areas near neighborhood schools to reduce criminals' opportunities to prey on schoolchildren.

Downsizing Detroit also presents political obstacles. Officials must identify neighborhoods whose city services would be withdrawn and whose residents would be relocated, a process certain to set off political fireworks. A summer series in a Detroit newspaper quoted some residents of desolate neighborhoods as welcoming such relocation efforts; others vowed to resist.

Read the entire article here.

As seen on YouTube: 'Lost in Detroit: An Influence Against False Perceptions'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Is Detroit lost or just finding itself? In this week's As Seen On YouTube, we have a video that attempts to answer that questions. And, if we says so, does a pretty decent job.

'Grown in Detroit' documentary earns praise

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tiny Mix Tapes -- a culture, news and reviews site -- takes a look at the Detrot-based documentary "Grown in Detroit."

Excerpt:

Perhaps the most hopeful part of Grown in Detroit is the womens' insistence on continuing to garden and grow their own food after graduation. The care and respect shown to these vulnerable young women by everyone at the school is a testament to the goodwill and charity of which humans are thankfully still capable. But when all is said and done, it is the unabashed realism of the faculty and staff of the Catherine Ferguson Academy for Young Women that convinces us of the integrity of their good intentions. The Poppenks have made a truly remarkable documentary about a story of real, honest-to-goodness hope in one of the most unlikely places.

Read the entire article here.

NPR: Artists plan to encase vacant Detroit home in ice

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Two artists -- one a former Hamtramck resident -- plan to encase a vacant house in ice.

Excerpt:

A photographer and an architect plan to freeze one of Detroit's thousands of abandoned homes this winter, encasing it in ice to draw attention to foreclosures that have battered the region.

The project from Gregory Holm and Matthew Radune, dubbed Ice House Detroit, is the latest example of the remnants of Detroit's population loss and industrial decline serving as both artistic inspiration and canvas.

"I've been really fascinated by the whole mythology of Detroit and the structures and what they represent," said Holm, who grew up on the city's east side and lived in the suburb of Hamtramck from 1997 until moving to New York City four years ago.

Read the entire article here.

Kresge Arts in Detroit applications now available

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Kresge Artists Fellowship applications are now available.

For more information go here.The Kresge Artists Fellowship applications are now available. Emerging or established artists in Metro Detroit can now apply for one of 18 $25,000 fellowships administered by the College for Creative Studies.

For more information go here.

More than 27,000 dined during Detroit Restaurant Week

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Detroit's first ever Restaurant Week was a success, bringing in an estimated 27,000 restaurant-goers.

Excerpt:

Organizers of the first Detroit Restaurant Week reported today that the 10-day promotion drew more than 27,000 visitors to the city's fine dining establishments and 64 percent of those participated in the special three-course dinner menu.

"We were confident that this type of promotion would be embraced by the community but the response it received surpassed our expectations for a first year event," Jason Huvaere, president of Paxahau Promotions Group, said in a press release.

Read the entire article here.

Travel Channel's 'Man v. Food' comes to Detroit

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

UM's semester in Detroit project making connections

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The University of Michigan puts students in Detroit and connects them with organizations as part of a service-learning internship. The students got more out of it than just school credit.

Excerpt:

âAll of us (students) figured out that Detroit isn't just what you hear or see in the media,â she said. âThere are interesting people here figuring out how to create sustainable communities. It's the people who are the most interesting to me.â

When her year-long commitment wraps, Flora plans to stay in Detroit permanently, and if possible, work for a nonprofit.

âMichigan has all of these curious young adults that are drawn away from the state, but they could find living and working in Detroit satisfying if they had the opportunity,â Flora said. âThat's why Semester in Detroit is important; it engages students further than any other program.â

Read the entire article here .

As Seen On YouTube: Robots invade MOCAD for Strange Beautiful Music III

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Robots.net posts a video of 'Alien Globes of Doom' at the MOCAD during Strange Beautiful Music III.

Find the post here .

Land allotments worked in urban Europe, could they work here?

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Over in Europe they have something called allotments. They are basically little bits of land, given to residents to grow and care for. It's wildly successful and has proved to not only fill in vacant land but also provide healthy organic food in urban areas. Why couldn't this model work in Detroit?

Excerpt:

As I read recent Free Press stories about the increasing number of abandoned properties and vacant lots in Detroit and pondered a story I did months ago about pheasant hunters who train their dogs in parts of Detroit that are reverting to wildlands, I wondered why Detroit couldn't establish allotments for its residents?

I know someone has proposed creating commercial truck gardens in that area, but why should publicly owned land benefit a handful of businesses when it could provide a fantastic opportunity for thousands to get the health and economic benefits of growing fresh vegetables and flowers and the enjoyment and satisfaction doing it?

When cities all over America squander public funds to subsidize millionaires who build stadiums and other structures that fatten the pocketbooks of the builders and the campaign coffers of the political vultures who help them, it's a question worth asking.

It would be easy to start an allotment pilot program, with the city doing the initial fencing and lot-clearing and turning the plots over to gardeners.

An allotment half the size of a city lot could grow enough produce for several families to enjoy fresh corn, tomatoes and a host of other edibles at a far lower cost than buying them in a market. And I suspect a lot of Detroiters would get enormous personal satisfaction from growing food, along with flowers and other ornamental plants.

Read the entire article here.

Boblo Boat should be back in business starting next summer

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Boblo Boat was a summer treat for a lot of Detroiters. By next summer, that treat might be attainable once again as volunteers have been working to restore the 100-year-old boat.

Excerpt:

Kattoo plans to wrap the Ste. Claire in coming weeks so that work can continue this winter. By next summer, he hopes to have rebuilt the stern, which he has dismantled down to its structural ribs, and to have restored the first and possibly second decks.

That'll be enough to bring the Ste. Claire back downtown for dockside tours next summer, he said. Kattoo plans to offer those tours for a couple of years as a way to raise some cash and reacquaint Detroiters with the boat.

"For next year, I'll be more than happy with that," he said. "The public will be really happy to see that the boat is semi-restored and on its way."

In four or five years, he hopes to have the Ste. Claire sailing again, offering a full range of moonlight cruises, day sails, and rentals for weddings and other special events.

Read the entire article here .

New Yorker is learning to love Detroit

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Detroit is not New York, never will be. But a former New Yorker, broker and current downtown resident is learning to love Detroit -- despite its lack of falafel stands.

Excerpt:

She'd already seen new buildings go up and elected officials go up the river, but she'd never come across a city so empty. She didn't get why the streets weren't full of people buying pizza and falafel from the little restaurants that weren't there, either.

Over time, she came to understand that the absences are related. More people equals more commerce equals more life equals more people. It worked that way in Royal Oak, which strikes her as more of a downtown theme park than a real downtown, and she's certain it could work in Detroit, if only we'd all move a little quicker.

"I'm on a New York rhythm," she says, snapping her fingers. "There's no sense of urgency here. That needs to be revamped."

So do the political structure in the city, she says, and the thoroughly un-Manhattan notion that the city is something you run from instead of flock to, and the big issue she had the chat with God about before she signed her lease.

But "there's a sincerity and a wholesomeness here I wasn't exposed to growing up," Debs says, not to mention some spectacular architecture. There are friendships formed with the parking lot attendants and homeless characters she sees when Chica needs a walk, and a sense of optimism even at the points where optimism makes no sense.

Read the entire article here .

Rapid Growth

Photo essay: MOCAD's You're Gonna Die!

Belle Isle: How to manage Detroit's island beauty

Dear Detroit: New look, new features, same great Model D

Speaker Series sign up: Reflecting Detroit in the (new) media

Model D TV: Wayne State's new engineering building

Run Detroit Run: More Races Bringing More Faces to Detroit

FilterD: This Week's Picks

Quelque Chose, Irgendwas, Qualcosa, Something Detroit: Foreign Journalists Invade the City

Model D TV: Kales Building

Signs of a New Economy â Wayne State and Henry Ford Health System Research a Partnership

Tim Hortons Opens Second Detroit Location on East Jefferson Avenue

Brightmoor: 'Feisty' Neighbors Use Hope, Innovation to Face Struggles

Street Racing Detroit: Alleycats Explore a Rideable City

Model D TV: Tour de Troit

Can Detroit Become the Turin of the U.S.?

Tweet of the Week: Trick, Treat, Vote

Take the Brush Park development survey

Life: Twenty cars that made Detroit

Forbes looks at downsizing Detroit

As seen on YouTube: 'Lost in Detroit: An Influence Against False Perceptions'

'Grown in Detroit' documentary earns praise

NPR: Artists plan to encase vacant Detroit home in ice

Kresge Arts in Detroit applications now available

More than 27,000 dined during Detroit Restaurant Week

Travel Channel's 'Man v. Food' comes to Detroit

UM's semester in Detroit project making connections

As Seen On YouTube: Robots invade MOCAD for Strange Beautiful Music III

Land allotments worked in urban Europe, could they work here?

Boblo Boat should be back in business starting next summer

New Yorker is learning to love Detroit

Signs of a New Economy â Wayne State and Henry Ford Health System Research a Partnership