Assignment: Intro/Chapter One Posting
Reading:
Questions:
In chapter 3, the author discusses the love for cities and how it is experienced in different ways. Love for a city can be unconditional, subjective or even blind (just to name a few). Given the significant changes in the city of Detroit in the past decade - do you feel there has been an increased amount of love for the city at a local, regional and/or national level? Do you feel that changes within the city demonstrate people's emotional bond/tie to Detroit?
Assignment - Deadline: Thursday, June 4
A. Post your response to this week’s question.
B. Post two separate comments to one or more of your colleagues reacting to their posts for this week.
I believe there has been an increasing love for Detroit at the local level for sure - with regional and national "love" for Detroit also starting to show. I believe any time you are emotionally attached to an area, you generally develop some form of love.
ReplyDeleteI've known people who love the redevelopment of Detroit and are rooting for its comeback. I've also known other people who take a shot at the city whenever they can, because of ways it has directly impacted their life. Regardless of what end of this spectrum people are on, I believe the underlying element is love for the city.
People's anger can be a result of a place they once loved that they feel turned their backs on them as citizens. Others who see development and redevelopment may have a love for what was, what is, and what Detroit is becoming.
To me, it's extremely fascinating of how many sub-emotions emerge from the love of a city.
Sub-emotions! It's true. I saw that especially with my extended family. Both grandmothers raised a family in the city and moved out as part of the white flight. They've have strong positive memories rooted in living here (one grandma worked at Sanders for a while, the other at Hudson's for most of her life). At the same time, I've disagreed with a lot of the conclusions they come to about what lead to decline in the city and how to move forward. Their generation is attached to a biased narrative about the emotional events that took place, but of course, I couldn't argue much with a 90-year-old!
DeleteStill, when my maternal grandmother died she was buried in Mt. Elliot near the house where she grew up. So something deeper remained.
At the national level, I find Detroit still gets its unfair share of knocks in comparison to other major cities. For instance, two weeks ago there was a tanker fire on one of the downtown overpasses. My family and I happened to be on our way to church that morning, so we witnessed the fire and felt a tremendous amount of heat from it as we passed under it just moments before police closed the highway. It was “spectacular,” yet confined to one portion of a ramp. Yet, when I watched the national news that evening, the broadcast used a self-made video from a witness who was shouting, “Detroit is burning!”
DeleteRegionally, I believe the city is finally receiving some reluctant, but necessary attention from decision-makers, because they realize the health of the region truly is tied to the well-being of its central cities.
Locally, I believe residents have a gradually, growing positive attitude about the city. However, it seems as if the city takes one step forward and then something happens that makes people feel it has taken a half-step backwards. Yet, overall, it “feels like” the city changing perceptions towards “the good.”
I definitely know where Carolyn is coming from about the negative attitudes/biases of the older generation. It is much more difficult for them to understand the real issues that led to the decline of the city, than it is for younger people. The "twenty and thirty somethings" are coming to the city, because they are attracted by the urban lifestyle - which is far different than the one experienced in the suburbs. I only wish the city's public schools would show greater signs of improvement, so more families would remain or plant roots here.
DeleteThere have certainly been increasing expressions of love for the city, although as with human relationships, talk is cheap. Love is expressed when people outside the city actually engage with it economically and socially, when they're willing to invest in it, make commitments, and take risks. I think we've been moving in that direction as a region, but we've still got a ways to go.
ReplyDeleteIn that sense, I think the practical things that the author mentions a little dismissively are actually the most important. Citizens of the region don't show a very strong love when they go to a hockey game downtown. They show love when they agree to tax themselves to improve transit in the center, or to keep streetlights on or water flowing.
From my experiences its actually both. I believe that people show a love for the city when they want to see better systems in place for the city, and also when our sports teams are playing. I remember working downtown on the day of the Lions Monday Night home opener, and I found myself talking to people that came down not because of the sport but they love being in Detroit on days like that because of the unity the city has, albeit at a sporting event.
DeleteYeah, it's true that it can have a uniting effect. Same with other group events like Slow Roll. I hope we can find ways to make that effect deeper!
DeleteI totally agree. I see this with my own friends and relatives who come to the city for entertainment purposes and nothing beyond that. Love for the city looks like people actively help to change it. Blight is a huge issue. I'm glad to see neighborhood volunteers going out in groups to cut lawns and remove litter; THAT to me looks like people who love their city.
DeleteThe euphoria surrounding a winning sports team tends to be so fleeting. The same people who "love" being in Detroit during major sports events are often the same ones talking about how dangerous and unsafe it is on other days. As much as I enjoy sports, I wish most people would also experience and keep in mind the city's other wonderful assets.
DeleteI feel their is love for the city of Detroit on a local and regional level as people within the state and even neighboring states see that Detroit is rebuilding and becoming great again. I feel as though that out of state, there isn't a love or even respect for the city as I will go on multiple social outlets and see constant negative remarks about the city of Detroit. I do believe that this in turn has created a stronger bond between the city and those that still live here or in the neighboring areas that know how the city is growing and things of that nature.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd have to say that outside of Michigan, most people think that Detroit is a joke...and a dangerous one at that. I recall a few years back when my husband and I took a trip to Atlanta. We met some locals and of course said that we were from Detroit. Their response: "ISN'T THAT THE MURDER CAPITOL OF THE WORLD?!" And yes, he said "THE WORLD". It was pretty sad.
DeleteMy parents are still horrified that I want to live in Detroit some day. When they come up here to visit my aunt and uncle in Troy, they will actively avoid going through the city, but that's because they just don't have any idea what the city is actually like, and how the city is changing! I have to admit that when I first visited Detroit a few days after I moved to Michigan, I got lost and was terrified, because you hear so many stories about how dangerous the city is, but as I started regularly spending more time here, I know that most of the rumors are ridiculous, and it's just because people only seem to want to talk about the bad stuff and forget the good things that are happening here.
DeleteTrue, there's still a lot of misinformation around the country. I've found it goes the opposite way too sometimes - when I spent a summer in Brooklyn among gardening hipsters, everyone thought it was just the coolest thing that I was from the Detroit area.
ReplyDeleteI think that at a local level, there is MUCH love for the city of Detroit. Citizens are beginning to get excited for the comeback and very much want to be a part of it. On the other hand, I don't think that there is as much love for the city on the regional/state level that we need. It's hard for some people to have that "love connection" with the city of Detroit when they haven't had much positive interaction with it or it's citizens.
ReplyDeleteNow that Detroit is bouncing back, I think people are starting to fall in love with the city again, and I hope it continues to attract more people to the city. But the reason that Detroit is experiencing this resurgence is because Detroiters love this city, and even when things were bad, they never fell out of love. As I'm interviewing Detroiters, more than anything, I enjoy hearing about their memories of the city and how they talk about Detroit with such adoration and enthusiasm. It's infectious, and it makes me want to live here even more (now if I could just convince my boyfriend...)
ReplyDeleteI first became interested in Detroit, it was through the perspective of abandoned cities, which is what I focus on in my academic research. I was fascinated by the urban and industrial decline, the decaying buildings, etc. But when I moved to Michigan and started spending more time here, I was surprised by how much was actually going on here, how much life there was here. And I wish people around the state and country were hearing more about that, rather than the negative elements of the city's decline. More so than the large commercial development, we should be celebrating the little things people do on a local level that are changing the city, because I believe that it's the community activities that Detroit's future rests upon. We need to change the narrative by focusing on Detroiters' love for the city and the positive things happening in Detroit, not the abandonment and decline, and maybe then people elsewhere can start seeing the city differently.
Haley - My younger sister moved into the city after her kids graduated from high school. Now, even though her daughters are adults, they have chosen to also take up residence here. Also, I believe after the real estate market improves so we won't lose money on the sale of our house, my husband and I would like to either move to Midtown or Downtown. We like having a yard and being the site for large family gatherings in Lathrup Village, but we "hate" dealing with constant home improvements and property care. It is like having a child that never gets old enough to leave home!
DeleteOne day, I can definitely see myself walking or riding a bike where I need to go, while fully taking advantage of the cultural, culinary and recreational assets of the city.
I think that the expression of love for Detroit has become more of an urgent need for those that that hold the city dear. Many have taken the stance that the city needs a champion and they are comfortable playing that role. I think the increased investment in the city is a strong symbol of love. I also see the various types of clothing such as the Detroit Vs Everybody as symbols of people's love of the city.
ReplyDelete