Could Detroit Rise Again?

Detroit has become our most notorious story of urban collapse. But reporter Matthew Power suggests that we consider the city's official motto: "It shall rise from the ashes."

1 minute read

June 6, 2011, 11:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Power looks at the efforts underway to fix the Motor City, including a new light rail and "right-sizing":

"A new land bank could make use of some of the 42,300 city-owned parcels of land, spurring job development, green space, and urban agriculture. A city without a single national grocery chain has more than 600 community gardens, so why not turn a food desert into an example of food self-sufficiency? Rather than being a cautionary tale of hubris and decay, Detroit could shed the carapace of its history and be a model of sustainability and progress for other postindustrial cities."

Thanks to Scott Dodd

Monday, June 6, 2011 in OnEarth Magazine

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