Detroit Bankrupt? Six Ways the Motor City Is Thriving

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:


Detroit Bankrupt? Six Ways the Motor City Is Thriving
National media accounts of Detroit's bankruptcy miss the growing industries, strong communities, and policy changes laying the foundation's for the city's recovery.

by Larry Gabriel
posted Sep 06, 2013


[font size="1"]Local community art around the Eastern Market on Detroit's east side. Photo by Russteaches / Flickr.[/font]


The national coverage of Detroit's recent bankruptcy filing reminds me of 1967, when rebellion erupted in the city after police raided an illegal after-hours bar. It was one of the worst of the riots that roiled the country during the 1960s in Watts, Newark, Chicago, and other places.

I was away at Boy Scout camp when it happened, and radio reports I heard there made me believe the entire city from Eight Mile Road to the Detroit River was burned to a cinder. When I returned, I expected to see horrible devastation everywhere—burnt ruins, smoke in the air, and armed military personnel on every corner.

What I found was exactly what I had left behind. The modest, well-kept houses still stood in neat rows. Lawns were still trimmed and green. This was several miles from the epicenter of violence, where 41 people were killed and lots of buildings burned. But it was a far cry from the total devastation I had gleaned from the media.

Since Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in July, I've been getting flashbacks of that experience. I hear about garbage piled up in the streets and blackout conditions with streetlights out, while the national news shows images of abandoned, dilapidated buildings and vacant lots. Few of these images have people in them. Much of this coverage sounds and looks like the networks just pulled out their canned footage and commentary on Detroit and slapped a bankruptcy headline on it. Based on what I've seen, one would think that nobody lives in Detroit but a handful of marginal folks and some gangsters busy killing each other. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/6-people-powered-ways-detroit-isn-t-bankrupt