Is Detroit the next Berlin? For the past several years, artists, musicians and others seeking time and space to work, and an inexpensive place to live have flocked to the German city. Now it seems that Detriot may be headed towards a similar influx of like-minded people.
Detroit has been in economic decline for some time now, and the current recession has made things even worse – or into an opportunity, depending how you look at it. At this point in Detriot, you can purchase a house for as low as $100. Urban pioneers are beginning to move in to take advantage of these low prices, and are transforming these run-down properties. New residents are helping to re-build the community with green building renovations, community gardens and art projects.
The New York Times reports:
Admittedly, the $100 home needed some work, a hole patched, some windows replaced. But Mitch plans to connect their home to his mini-green grid and a neighborhood is slowly coming together.
Now, three homes and a garden may not sound like much, but others have been quick to see the potential. A group of architects and city planners in Amsterdam started a project called the “Detroit Unreal Estate Agency” and, with Mitch’s help, found a property around the corner. The director of a Dutch museum, Van Abbemuseum, has called it “a new way of shaping the urban environment.” He’s particularly intrigued by the luxury of artists having little to no housing costs. Like the unemployed Chinese factory workers flowing en masse back to their villages, artists in today’s economy need somewhere to flee.
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Well…maybe. Only time will tell.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
What’s happening with the people who have been evicted from these homes now selling for $100? If they can’t buy them back, what an insult. Any stories of buyers giving the houses back to previous owners?
One note in comparing this to Berlin… did you know West Germans were paid to live in Berlin for 3 years – to hold the fort so to speak? Related to as a small island in a solid Eastern bloc, West Berliners contributed to developing a completely unique city that understandably attracted unique people from all over the world. People quite possibly familiar with living on islands… not necessarily of the geographical kind.
March 21st, 2009 at 6:48 pm
More power to those who have the vision and courage to tackle new fronitiers. It always seems to start the same way-artist move in, then gays, followed by investors, then students,and then the press covers it again and now you have a chic part of town enticing the urbanites and Yuppies. We have seen it over and over again. Think New York in the 80’s San Francisco’s Mission district in the late 90’s, Buffalo’s Elmwood Village in the early 2000’s.
Can’t wait to see Detroit on CNN 5 years from now for being such a cool and influential city.
March 22nd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Love the concept. Great spot.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:01 am
Uh, I’ve lived in Detroit for the last 8 years. You’ve always been able to get cheap deals on Detroit houses–it’s just getting more media play now. I’d love to see this post-indstrial metamorphosis happen, but I’m not banking on it. Berlin is the capital of Germany and has 3.5 million residents. Detroit has less than a million and thousands are leaving every month. The city and suburbs are bogged down in highly polarized racial politics. E.g., a few years ago when Richard Florida made the same comments more or less–that a creative class of artists and gays can transform a place–then mayor Kwame Kilpatrick made some homophobic response.
It’s always been cheap to live in the desert, hasn’t it? And that’s what Detroit is–a unique urban wilderness.
March 25th, 2009 at 9:44 am
great article.
Quite appropriately, Detroit’s City Motto is: “Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus” – Latin for, “We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes” – [source: wikipedia.org]
March 25th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
The Russell Industrial Center is a wonderful Microcosm of Detroit, and becoming one of the countries largest Creative Complexes.
People are beginning to fly in from all corners of the globe to check out the Artisans and Entrepreneurs in the Russell.
A Collection of 2.2 Million sq ft of Industrial space created by Albert Kahn in 1919, which is now home to over 375 artisans/entrepreneurs and the coolest events/parties and the People’s Arts Festival! A Real Industrial – Urban Arts Fest…
March 25th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
nice article..
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:53 am
What a neat article! I’ll be going to Detroit for the first time later this month, and a friend mentioned something about a budding artist community. Can’t wait to check it out!
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:45 pm