Griffin on Revising and Repurposing Detroit

Griffin is heading the 12-18 month effort to rewrite the city's planning policies, and is facing many challenges along the way, one of which being the fact that the city now has roughly 40 square miles of vacant or abandoned land.

"Architect: Won't some people, in fact, have to move, if the city can no longer provide fire, sanitation, police, and other services to their present locations?

Griffin: The city is not looking at a forced relocation strategy. The team is sensitive to the scars left by federal urban renewal programs in the mid-to-late '60s, which in fact did uproot people. So we're talking about giving people choices to live in neighborhoods that can best provide the services they need.

It's going to be tough, but the planning process seeks to create more efficient and sustainable patterns of development and growth, as well as seeking new possibilities for the repurposing of land."