As co-curator of the INSIDE LAFAYETTE PARK exhibition, rogueHAA designed an installation and timeline highlighting the contrast of current life in the urban renewal development both to its architecture and its contentious past.  The timeline, BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF BLACK BOTTOM, also featured the “Detroit Stories” video interview with Bernice Jamerson, a former Black Bottom resident.

1920s.  The site of Lafayette Park has a long, controversial history that precedes the modernist urban development.  Centuries before Lafayette Park was built, French settlers farmed the area and named it “Black Bottom” for its dark, fertile soil and low elevation.  In the twentieth century, Black Bottom became one of the most vibrant African American districts in Detroit.

Located northeast of downtown, Black Bottom was bound by Gratiot, Brush, Vernor and the Grand Trunk Railroad.  In the early 1900s, many African Americans migrated north to Detroit seeking employment in the city’s growing industries.  Racially discriminative housing covenants forced most of them to settle in Black Bottom, altering the connotation of the district’s name.  As thousands of blacks streamed into Black Bottom, the community swelled with vibrant cultural, educational and social amenities.

The district reached its social, cultural and political peak in 1920.  Blacks owned 350 businesses in Detroit, most within Black Bottom.  The community additionally boasted 17 physicians, 22 lawyers, 22 barbershops, 13 dentists, 12 cartage agencies, 11 tailors, 10 restaurants, 10 real estate dealers, 8 grocers, 6 drugstores, 5 undertakers, 4 employment agencies, and 1 candy maker (Williams).

The number of blacks moving into the district continued to increase with the promise of available industrial jobs. Increased demand for housing in Black Bottom allowed landlords to charge exorbitant rents for units in extreme disrepair.  This prompted many tenants to take in boarders, further increasing crowding and the degradation of living conditions in the district.

Towards the end of the decade, black employment in Detroit dropped by almost 30% (Williams).  The stock market crash in 1929 only exacerbated the dire circumstances of Black Bottom’s working-class families.

1930s.  Following the stock market crash in 1929, the United States entered the Great Depression.  Soaring unemployment rates of the 1930s remains unparalleled in American history.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to ameliorate the high unemployment rate and extreme housing conditions of many working class Americans through his New Deal initiatives.  For the thousands of blacks living in Black Bottom, this meant the construction of the nation’s first black public housing development: the Brewster housing projects.

Securing a site for the proposed housing development was not a simple process.  White Detroiters built political alliances to stop construction of the black development near their neighborhoods.  Consequently, an area of Black Bottom near the intersection of Brewster and St. Antoine was cleared for the Brewster homes.  Construction of the development put many blacks back to work and gave Black Bottom citizens hope for decent living conditions.

The Brewster projects covered 15 city blocks and were comprised of two- and three-story townhomes.  First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was present at the groundbreaking, which was a celebratory event for the Black Bottom community.  By 1938, 701 units were available to tenants, and 240 additional units were constructed over the next three years (Williams). At its peak, the Brewster Homes were home to 8,000-10,000 residents, including future Motown artists Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross (Williams).  Joe Louis also began his boxing career at the Brewster recreation center.

1940s.  With the United States’ entry into World War II, blacks were hired to fill job positions while soldiers were away at war.  Between 1940 and 1950, black employment rose from 29 to 45% (Williams).  This surge in employment brought another wave of black migration to Detroit, which again resulted in a significant housing shortage in Black Bottom.  Living conditions continued to decline, and most housing still lacked proper plumbing, electricity, and heat.  Even though some black workers could afford to buy homes outside of Black Bottom, racially discriminative housing covenants prevented most from doing so.

The federal government funded the Sojourner Truth housing project to alleviate the existing Black Bottom housing population by diverting black residents into other neighborhoods. The black housing development was controversially built near a predominately white neighborhood.  White and black homeowners in the neighboring community were afraid that the density of black tenants would lower their property values.  Residents collectively picketed and protested the project and successfully stalled occupancy for months.  Eventually, the National Housing Agency officially ordered black tenants to move into the Sojourner Truth homes, and state law enforcement provided security and order for the new residents.

1943.  The Detroit Riots.  The conflicts surrounding the Sojourner Truth homes foreshadowed the eruption of racial tension in the riots of 1943.  On June 20, a fight on Belle Isle escalated into a massive uprising that swept through Detroit.  As police and riot squads tried to dissolve the hostile mobs, more than 10,000 Detroiters rioted in Cadillac Square, incited by racism, unemployment, and housing practices (Williams).

Even one month after the riots ended, Black Bottom still bore marks of the insurrection.  Residents and business owners continued to repair their homes, businesses, and lives.

1950s.  The 1950s in the U.S. are marked by massive urban renewal projects that sought to eradicate the extreme living conditions in American slums.  Mayor Jeffries’ 1951 Detroit Plan slated Black Bottom as an area for slum clearance with plans to build I-375 through the district.

By 1951, 140,000 blacks rented and resided in Black Bottom (Williams).  Some middle-income black families were able to relocate from Black Bottom to more prominent Detroit neighborhoods.  Some low-income blacks moved to Herman Gardens, another black housing project in the city.  Without a public relocation program, however, the fate of many historic Black Bottom residents remains unknown.

Black Bottom was completely razed by 1954.  Like other urban renewal projects, significant areas of the former Black Bottom neighborhood remained vacant for over half of a decade.  The district was nicknamed “Ragweed Acres,” and “Mayor Cobo’s Fields” while it idly waited for a developer (Debanné). Herbert Greenwald, a Chicago developer, eventually collaborated with urban planner Ludwig Hilberseimer, architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and landscape architect Alfred Caldwell to design and develop the site.  Construction of Lafayette Park began in 1956.

Sources:

• Debanne, Janine. “Claiming Lafayette Park as Public Housing.” Case : Lafayette Park Detroit. Ed. Charles Waldheim. Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 2004.
• Williams, Jeremy.  Detroit:  The Black Bottom Community.  Arcadia Publishing, 2009.
• Thomas, June Manning.  Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar    Detroit. The John Hopkins University Press, 1997.
• Bak, Richard.  Detroit Across Three Centuries.  Sleeping Bear Press, 2001.

Images:

• Burton Historical Collection (BHC)
• Walter P. Reuther Library (WRL)

Brief Chronology of Black Bottom. (Download PDF)

Detroit Stories: One Narrative of a Black Bottom Resident.  Detroit Stories is a growing, collective voice of an authentic city.  This digital archive contains stories that are honest revelations and heartfelt recollections.  These are the stories of real people living and working in the City.  The methodology is simple. Detroit Stories sets up at various events in the City and interviews volunteers who share their stories in earnest.  Authenticity is central to Detroit Stories.  The content is real, and all footage is minimally edited to maintain and embrace an aura of authenticity.  This intention is a core value of the project.  Bernice Jamerson is the first individual to be premiered by Detroit Stories, and Ms. Jamerson truly sets the tone for the project.  She is a Detroiter through and through and has seen and experienced much of the City’s evolution over the years.  From growing up in Black Bottom to working at the Federal Government’s Tank Arsenal to volunteering as a patient advocate at St. John’s Hospital, Bernice has several stories to tell.

Detroit Stories is a civic engagement initiative within the Detroit Works Long Term Planning process.  As stated by Dan Pitera, Co-Director of Civic Engagement for Detroit Works Project Long Term Planning, “Detroit Stories, much like the Detroit Works’ Long Term Planning process, is capturing a growing collective of authentic voices that represent Detroit.  It is the stories and experiences of Detroiters that will ultimately help to shape the data and analysis that’s being done to create a new roadmap for the city’s future.  The people featured in these films, and the thousands of community members across Detroit they represent, are the reason we are working hard to create a new strategy for Detroit that will improve the quality of life of all who live, work, play and worship here.”

New “Detroit Stories” will be shared every Thursday at DetroitWorksProject.com beginning the 22nd of March, 2012.  Each participant shares a series of earnest stories about being a Detroiter.  All films will be archived on detroitstoriesproject.com, and further updates and releases will be posted on facebook.com/detroitstories.  All films are produced by Spirit of Space (detroitstoriesproject.com) in collaboration with the Detroit Works Project.

 From April 14th - 28th, the “INSIDE LAFAYETTE PARK” exhibition and multi-event design celebration captured an audience of over 1000 design enthusiasts and community members.  This rogueHAA collaborative event was co-curated by The University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture (UDMSOA), Lawrence Technological University (LTU), and Wayne State University, and in conjunction with Preservation Detroit, The Detroit Area Art Deco Society, and the Detroit Creative Corridor Center. 

At the core of the event was an exhibition, comprised of three distinct components of content:

• PAST: “Black Bottom”, as authored and designed by rogueHAA, showcased the historical significance of the Black Bottom area prior to the Mies’ urban renewal project.  You can download a copy of the Black Bottom display by clicking here. 
• PRESENT: “The Settlement Shape” as authored by The school of architecture at the Milan Polytechnic.  This traveling exhibition showcased the culmination of ten years of research and documentation on Detroit’s Lafayette Park.  This exhibition utilized models, drawings and photographs to trace the history and theories of Ludwig  Mies van der Rohe’s, Ludwig Hilbersheimer’s, and Alfred Caldwell’s visionary design.  Having spent the last year touring some of the major universities in Europe,  Kent State, and then Detroit, the exhibition will be displayed next at Chicago’s IIT campus.
• FUTURE: “Thanks For the View Mr Mies” as authored by Danielle Aubert, Lana Carver, and Natasha Chandani.  This portion of the exhibition included content, photos, and ephemera resulting from their soon-to-be-published book looking inside the lives of the Lafayette Park residents.  30 Corine Vermeulen photographs were included in this portion of the exhibition.

In addition to the creation of the Black Bottom exhibition, rogueHAA was responsible for the exhibition layout and design. 

Working with a very minimal budget, the vacant store was first painted to complement the three components of the exhibition.  An “open” MIES sign was constructed of the most basic 4′ flourescent fixtures and hung from the ceiling.  An intermediary display wall was constructed using simple materials and sheathed with laser-cut panels.  Through the use of light and pattern, this installation sought to represent the paradoxical conditions surrounding Lafayette park. Conceived as a Modernist utopia for universal housing of the middle class, the Lafayette Park development was implemented through the displacement of entire working class communities. Yet despite the controversy surrounding its implementation, Lafayette Park has achieved many of the goals of Modernist planning and urban renewal, creating arguably one of the most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods in the city.  Likewise, the rigid architectural order of the living units as designed by Hilberseimer, Caldwell, and van der Rohe stands in stark contrast to the individual character of their inhabitants and their posessions. Within this unique architectural context, rogueHAA’s installation sought to deploy these discrepancies through a modulated perforation pattern within a strict overall grid.  The openings are located strategically to allow for both general lighting of the space as well as provide solid portions for the display of art. The alternating transparency and opacity of the wall surface allowed for views of both the structure within, as well as the exhibition content beyond.

Once again, rogueHAA would like to acknowledge the generosity of the Lawrence Tech makeLab, Gasser Bush Associates, Lafayette Foods, and the donors of Inside Lafayette Park for their contributions.

“URBAN FUTURES”
April 21, 2012
Panel Discussion: 6pm-8pm
Reception to follow: 8pm-9pm
Lafayette Park Retail
1565 East Lafayette, Detroit

URBAN FUTURES will explore the role of large scale urban visions, and consequent realities, in post-industrial cities. The legacy of Modernist urban renewal projects is largely a story of failed aspiration, economic rationalization and displaced populations. Yet despite the controversy surrounding its implementation, Detroit’s  Lafayette Park development has achieved many of the goals of Modernist planning and urban renewal, creating arguably one of the most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods in the city. Does this speak to the unique conditions of Detroit? Does Detroit offer similar opportunities for avant- garde planning and large scale urban interventions today? What successes and sacrifices accompany the Modernist social agenda, and are there lessons to be learned as we seek to engage in equitable and sustainable redevelopment here and in other post-industrial cities? 

 URBAN FUTURES brings together six distinguished professionals to expound upon these difficult questions:

Danielle Aubert – WSU Professor of Graphic Design
Robert Fishman – U of M Professor of Urban Planning
Kevin Harrington – Professor of architectural History, IIT
Michelle S. Johnson – Historian/Civil Rights Consultant
Hilanius Phillips – Former head city planner, Detroit
Brent D Ryan – Assistant Professor of Urban Design and Public Policy, MIT
Jamie Witherspoon – Moderator, rogueHAA

The panel is part of an exhibition co-curated by The University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture (UDMSOA), Lawrence Technological University (LTU), and Wayne State University in conjunction RogueHAA, Preservation Detroit, and The Art Deco Society, surrounding the history and present of Detroit’s Lafayette Park.

The School of Architecture at the Milan Polytechnic has authored this exhibition that showcases the culmination of ten years of research and documentation on Detroit’s Lafayette Park.  The exhibition, entitled “The Settlement Shape”, utilizes models, drawings and photographs to trace the history and theories of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s, Ludwig Hilbersheimer’s, and Alfred Caldwell’s visionary design.  Having spent the last year touring some of the major universities in Europe, this exhibition is now prepared to make its American debut in Detroit.  For additional information on this exhibition, refer to the previous post, INSIDE LAFAYETTE PARK. 

To help make this week-long pop-up exhibition event a success, we urge you to help tell our story and spread the word.  You can also find individual event specifics on our facebook page:

• INSIDE LAFAYETTE PARK
• URBAN FUTURES

As always, this event is open and free to the public.  rogueHAA would like to formally thank Lafayette Foods for their contributions towards this event.  Without the donation of their storefront, this event would not be possible.

rogueHAA is pleased to announce the collaborative event, “INSIDE LAFAYETTE PARK”.  This multi-event design celebration will occur between April 14-22^nd and is co-curated by The University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture (UDMSOA), Lawrence Technological University (LTU), and Wayne State University, and in conjunction with rogueHAA, Preservation Detroit, The Art Deco Society, and the Detroit Creative Corridor Center. 

At the core of the event is an exhibition, comprised of varying design content:

• “The Settlement Shape” as authored by The school of architecture at the Milan Polytechnic.  This traveling exhibition showcases the culmination of ten years of research and documentation on Detroit’s Lafayette Park.  This exhibition utilizes models, drawings and photographs to trace the history and theories of Ludwig  Mies van der Rohe’s, Ludwig Hilbersheimer’s, and Alfred Caldwell’s visionary design.  Having spent the last year touring some of the major universities in Europe, this exhibition is now making its debut in Detroit.
• “Thanks For the View Mr Mies” as authored by Danielle Aubert, Lana Carver, and Natasha Chandani.  This portion of the exhibition includes content, photos, and ephemera resulting from their soon-to-be-published book looking inside the lives of the Lafayette Park residents.  30 Corine Vermeulen photographs are included in this portion of the exhibit. 
• “Black Bottom” as authored by rogueHAA and showcases the historical significance of the Black Bottom area prior to the Mies’ urban renewal project. 

We are enhancing the exhibitions with a diverse array of events, including but not limited to the following:  

• April 14^th 6-9pm: Opening Reception and opening remarks
• April 20^th: FLOWER CABIN dance performance video screening
• April 21^st 6-9pm: rogueHAA panel discussion – URBAN FUTURES – and closing reception
• April 22^nd: Society of Architectural Historians tour through Lafayette Park and through the exhibit

To help make this week-long pop-up exhibition event a success, we urge you to help tell our story and spread the word.  You can also find individual event specifics on our facebook page:

• INSIDE LAFAYETTE PARK
• URBAN FUTURES

As always, all rogueHAA events are free and open to the public.

As part of Capital Access, Inc.’s (CAI) commitment to providing tools that improve the decision making process for Michigan NSP2 Consortium Cities, HAA is proud to have created an Excel based Value Guide.  We believe we have created a tool that when used by managers, developers and construction professionals, will help navigate the myriad of choices that must made when providing energy efficiency and marketability upgrades for NSP2 funded housing.

The Value Guide is designed to:

• Encourage incorporation of energy efficient and environmentally-friendly design elements.
• Provide a checklist of design amenities that will maximize marketability.
• Provide rough construction cost and cost savings information.
• Provide a single source document for testing alternative design scenarios.
• Create a marketing brochure for use with potential home buyers.

In addition to the Excel based workbook, the Value Guide is supported by a reference binder containing:

• Recommended product specifications.
• A list of Michigan based Manufacturers (as collected from the USGBC).
• A list of energy efficient and environmentally-friendly products used in generating the workbook’s cost data.

All of these described products can be downloaded here:

• Value Guide – Version 1.1
• Contact information
• 120104 ValueGuide V1.1_complete
• Value Guide – Version 1.1_sample

Anti-History.

Momentum. Over the years, numerous proposals have floated through the Detroit ether: Homeland Security Offices, Business Center, Detroit Police Department Headquarters, Hotel/Casino.  None of these proposals have landed, none have gained momentum.  On a community level, the Greater Corktown Development Corporation and eighteen Earhart Middle School students developed MCD programming ideas through multiple design charrettes.   These creative programming solutions were summarized in powerpoint and then formally presented to the Detroit City Council.    A small band of renegades (Phillip Cooley, uRbanDetail, Tad Heidgerken, and others) have designed a Roosevelt Park Masterplan and slowly implemented the initial phases. Their landscape urbanism strategies have encouraged the MCD owner to clean up the structure’s forecourt and plant perennials along the front façade.  Mainstream recognition includes multiple music videos (Kid Rock, Eminem), wedding party photos, documentaries, and movies (Transformers, The Island, 8 Mile, 4 Brothers) using the MCD as a backdrop and/or stage.  This combination of community, renegade, and mainstream momentum results in a uniquely creative discourse, and perhaps a new found urbanism, Detroit-style.

We are not alone. Through travels, research, and consequent discussions, we have formulated an initial project precedent list.  Similar in size, scope, and drama to the MCD, these once abandoned train stations have played a major role in the rejuvenation of other post-industrial cities.  We do not suggest that this list defines all programming possibilities.  More importantly, we cannot simply copy and then paste these solutions onto the MCD canvas.  Such applications would not effectively solve the MCD problem.  However, this list contains hope.  Hope in the knowledge that the MCD is not a unique problem.  Hope in the understanding of these multiple successful, applicable precedents.  We can find comfort in the fact that the MCD (and Detroit) is not alone.

Insert your program here. All of these precedents provide a specific solution tailored to their unique set of circumstances.  However when reviewed en masse, these precedents provide foreshadowing to a possible MCD solution.  These successful programmatic solutions share similar intrinsic characteristics:

• Multi functional (combination of entertainment, retail, institutional, etc…)
• Multi temporal programmatic elements (daytime, nighttime, and 24 hour uses)
• Creative business plan
• Phased renovation process
• Embraced the historic (and sometimes ruinous) qualities of the building
• Combination of public and private funding
• Creation of new identity

Other cities, neighborhoods, businesses, institutions and concerned citizens have successfully solved similar problems of re-imagining magnificently oversized, abandoned train stations. Creative, multi-disciplinary discourse is the first step towards a Detroit-appropriate solution for the MCD.

Cincinnati Museum Center @ Union Terminal.  Originally Cincinnati Union Terminal, the Cincinatti Museum Center Complex (CMC Complex) at Union Terminal is a multi-functional facility the includes various programmatic elements:  passenger railroad station, museums, theaters, and a library.   Much like the MCD, the Cincinnati Union Terminal lay empty for decades.   In May 1986, the voters of Hamilton County Ohio passed a bond levy to save the terminal from destruction and transform the facility into the CMC Complex.  The CMC Complex opened in 1990 and now provides a home to six organizations:

Union Terminal
Cincinnati History Museum
Museum of Natural History & Science
Robert D Lindner Family Omnimax Theater
Cincinnati Historical Society Library
Duke Energy Children’s Museum

The renovations also allowed Amtrak to restore service to Union Terminal. Most recently, an additional $120 million has been procured for the renovation of the previously moth-balled portions of the CMC Complex.  The first phase of these current renovations will report existing damage to these quarantined areas, prioritize renovations in accordance to found damage, and begin renovation of designated areas.

According to one report by the Economics Center for Education and Research, an estimated 1,359,200 people visited the CMC Complex between 2007-2008.  Of these people, an estimated 307,597 were designated as out of region visitors.

Pennsylvanian Union Train Station.  Designed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, The Pennsylvanian Union Train Station is a wonderful example of early 20th century architecture.  Located at Grant Street and Liberty in downtown Pittsburgh, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1987, the Pennsylvanian Union Station underwent a massive renovation. Previously programmed as an office tower, the upper floors now serve as a 12-story luxury condominium building, with the first floor serving as a rentable special events space.  Amtrak still runs trains out of the basement of this structure.

Buffalo Central Terminal.  The 17-story Art Deco style station was designed by architects Fellheimer & Wagner for the New York Central Railroad. After years of abandonment, the complex was in derelict condition.  Further, the building was never secured properly; vandalism was extensive.

In 1997, the building was purchased for $1 by Scott Field of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County.  Shortly thereafter, the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC) was formed and now legally owns the Concourse, Tower and Baggage Building.  The CTRC is a non-profit, volunteer organization whose goal is to preserve the Terminal and help promote the complex as a viable redevelopment opportunity in the City of Buffalo.   Initially, The CTRC received money to restore and relight the exterior tower clocks.  In 1999, a $1 million state grant initiated the process of sealing and protecting the complex.  In 2003, the building was re-opened for public tours.

Currently, the Buffalo Central Terminal is host to approximately twenty major fundraising events each year. Work continues to progress and new areas of the building are cleaned and reopened to the public each year. Since 2003 over 70,000 people have visited the building.  The building has been a host to tours, temporary art installations, local political events, train shows, an annual Oktoberfest, and weddings.  In cooperation with local, state, and federal government representatives, The CTRC is working to position the Terminal to be Buffalo’s high speed rail station.

Union Station Kansas City.  Built in 1914, Union Station Kansas City encompasses 850,000 square feet.  Officially closed in the 1980s, the Station sat empty and neglected, barely escaping demolition on several occasions. In 1996, an historic bi-state initiative was passed to fund the Station’s renovation.  Renovation was completed in 1999 and soon thereafter the new Union Station Kansas City opened to the public.

As stated by The Kansas City Museums of History and Science, their vision for the Union Station Kansas City “shall be recognized as the region’s finest educational and cultural resource committed to the preservation and interpretation of Kansas City’s regional history and the promotion of innovation, research and discovery in science and technology through the development of collections, exhibitions and other educational programs for all citizens of and visitors to the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area.”

Additional Train Station Examples:
St Louis Union Station
Nashville Union Station
Ogden Union Station
Springfield Union Station
Indianapolis Union Station
Dallas Union Station

Additional Roosevelt Park Links:
http://www.modeldmedia.com/developmentnews/roosevelt19509.aspx

http://criticaldetroit.org/roosevelt-park-citizen-improvements/

Additional Michigan Central Depot Links:
http://www.forgottendetroit.com/mcs/index.html
http://www.ericsmith.us/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Central_Station
http://www.forgottendetroit.com/mcs/photos.html
http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2009/06/trains.html
http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

Watching the simultaneous development of fast and slow urban interventions in Capitol Park, one wonders if its possible to coordinate the enormous investment involved in the staging of movie sets to lasting urban benefit. How can the creative freedom and imagination that go into these filmic vignettes be incorporated into planning models and similarly how can urban development projects partner with film crews to more permanently enhance the environments they engage?

PROJECT.  The Detroit Wildlife Refuge project has been published in the April edition of TOPOS magazine.

CONCEPT. Landscape Urbanism advocates a purposeful discourse between ecological systems, human activities, and the post-industrial landscape, ultimately manifesting in the deliberate celebration of the urban void. This celebration glorifies the interstitial, so that the void is inevitably romanticized by, and is necessary to, the burgeoning Landscape Urbanism profession. Reliance on the void introduces a basic set of dilemmas: In order to focus on the space between buildings, there must be buildings; planning creative programming between infrastructural systems requires existing infrastructure; implementing a proposed hybrid ecology between urban eco-systems and human eco-systems requires human eco-systems. All of these very specific examples result in a single common statement: In order to have an urban void, there first needs to be an urban, or rather a recognizable urban density.

What if the relationship between building density and void are reversed and the void is now the primary urban component? What does it mean to reclaim a contaminated post-industrial site within a post urban city, a city whose built fabric has devolved into vast stretches of rural landscape? Operating within the current design process parameters, Landscape Urbanism succeeds primarily in high-density urban fabrics such as New York City, Boston, and Chicago. In these cities, individual brownfield sites are easily identifiable as precious, rare interstitial spaces. These voids are ultimately reclaimed, remediated, and creatively stitched back into the dense urban fabric to be utilized by their host city. In post-industrial cities such as Detroit however, the urban condition (building density) has dissolved as the metropolis has decentralized. Neither the city nor the suburbs sustain the density required to find the contaminated land valuable, and thus lack a desire to stitch these abandoned outposts into their community. Combine all of these individual outposts together and the metropolitan region is scarred by larger swaths of contaminated land, further compartmentalizing dissipated downtowns from their thriving suburban counterparts. On the national scale, we can recognize a larger post-industrial megalopolis landscape: shrinking cities left to die back into a growing contaminated terrain. For the City of Detroit, the void is now the majority on a multiplicity of scales. This presents the fundamental challenge of practicing a type of Landscape Urbanism appropriate to Detroit’s post urban condition. With the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Gateway, the Detroit based architecture and landscape firm, Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA), seeks to broaden the Landscape Urbanism discourse by implementing a strategic, multi-scalar design process that reexamines urban and redefines the void.

Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night? – Jack Kerouac

Detroit is ironically the most and least likely place to discuss mass transit. Once the home of one of the nation’s most extensive streetcar systems, Detroit has become synonymous with decentralization, suburban expansion, and the dominance of the automobile.  Where human mobility was once limited by the location of rail lines, canals, and the limited travel range of other non-motorized forms of transportation, the car provided a universal form of personal transportation which could be used at virtually any geographic scale. Unfortunately, the success of the car came at the expense of all other modes of transportation, eventually leading Detroit and other cities toward an inefficient and unsustainable transit monoculture.

Recently, infrastructural failures in this country have gained national and international attention. With increasing national imperative, as well as efforts at the regional and local level, it appears mass transit is finally becoming a reality. High-speed rail development in Florida between Tampa, Orlando and Miami, and in California linking Sacramento, San Francisco and L.A., has been covered extensively throughout the media. Portland Oregon’s streetcar system has become a benchmark for urban transit in this country. And the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has allocated substantial funds to the development of public transit systems, indicating a shift in support and investment toward sustainable car alternatives. As this transition occurs, however, it is important to consider not only the new forms of transportation infrastructure and technology that will be necessary, but also the relationship between these and existing development patterns.

In his book, The Transit Metropolis (1998), Robert Cervero writes that in order for an urban mass transit system to work, both the transit systems and urban development strategies must be adaptive, synchronized, and complementary. In cities with predominantly low density development, like Detroit, proposed multi-modal public transit must address the realities of a dispersed population while also defining a vision for future transit oriented development. Rather than attempting to adapt new transportation technology to inefficient urban models, there needs to be a  more pliable relationship between the two, allowing both to evolve under the influence of one another. To this end, it is important for the technologies employed to be flexible in how they interface with the urban environment, and should do so at multiple scales.

In Detroit, streetcar service ended in 1953. Since that time, a number of plans for city and metropolitan transit systems have been proposed. In 1969, The Detroit Regional Transportation and Land Use Study recommended a system of rapid transit for eight major corridors, but this plan was never realized. In 1976 President Gerald Ford offered $600 million for regional transit development, but the plan lacked political support and ultimately fell through. However, the recently constructed Rosa Parks Transit Center , the forthcoming Woodward Avenue Light Rail project, and the recently aired PBS documentary “Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City”, are all signs that the city has embraced the potential of new public transportation.

The Detroit Regional Mass Transit Service Plan, which was approved in December of 2008, provides a phased plan for the development of rapid bus, light rail, and commuter rail transit lines. While this plan will certainly improve access to mass transit options, it is important that these become part of an urban strategy which addresses both the larger context of the region as well as the local specificities of a mixed-density city. The development of a comprehensive plan for Detroit marks the opportunity to fundamentally shift not only the way people move in the city, but how the city itself will continue to evolve in the coming years. If the last evolution in American transit history was marked by the ubiquity of the automobile, the next will be marked by the variety and flexibility of a multi-modal, and multi-scalar, public network.

As part of the ongoing HAA_Research effort, we will be exploring issues surrounding public transit both locally and nationally, in a series of subsequent posts. The topic is often painted with broad strokes which neglect its inherent intricacies. It is our hope that this installment approach will allow us to focus on specific areas of discourse within the broader debate and unfold the complexities therein. We look forward to the work growing and evolving through collaborative dialogue as transit once again takes hold in the Motor City.

Paying Respect to our Detroit Elders: Housing Narrative – Part 2

[Part two in a series chronicling our experiences assisting the Detroit Housing Commission (DHC).  For further description, refer to our first housing narrative post.]

House No. 3: My car’s wipers intermittently clear our line of sight.  My colleague and I drive past two vacant homes, a vacant school, three vacant lots, and a vacant business.  Finally, we turn onto a block where most of the houses seem to be intact.  The rain is pouring down and we are unprepared.  Holding clip boards over our heads, we make a dash to the home’s covered porch.

We ring the doorbell.  “Who is it?” an elderly woman yells through a door that remains locked.  I answer that we are doing a survey for the Detroit Housing Commission.  “I don’t know anything about a survey” she answers.  I offer that she can call someone with the Housing Commission and she can confirm our presence with them.  The door cracks open.  She asks for ID.  I offer her a photoless ID as I also start to call my contact at the Housing Commission.  Handing the phone to her, she speaks to the person.  After a brief conversation, she re-opens the door and only allows me inside.  My colleague is left to stand in the rain.  I begin the survey.  The elderly woman silently follows me into every room.

Aging in Place.  The statistics are striking. 89% of 50+ year old Americans intend to remain in their own homes as long as they possibly can.  Experts define this as “aging in place.” According to a 2003 National Transportation Availability and Use Survey, 3.5 million Americans never leave their homes, and more than half of the homebound are people with disabilities.

As designers, we must address these striking statistics.  With 13.5% of Detroit’s population at or over the age of 60, designers must help the City attract and retain its senior population.  As concluded by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), we must create, “…communities that design for livability, empower their residents to remain independent and engaged, and offer a better quality of life.”

According to the AARP, there are three factors that control senior quality of life: independence, comfort and health. The following projects are meant to demonstrate designers’ attempts to improve these factors for one of the most at risk urban demographic: Seniors.

House No. 12: We returned to this particular house for the second time.  This time, the tenant opened the door.  The home was dark and filled with a lifetime of furnishings.  The memories so bountiful, I could barely open bedroom doors or walk in basements.  I explained the purpose of our survey, trying to alleviate concerns that the elderly tenant might be relocated to high rise senior apartment or nursing home.

Independence.  In 2005, the City of Santa Cruz won awards from the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for their efforts to give seniors independence.  The award winning program amends the zoning ordinance to allow for accessory dwelling units.  Accessory units are separate ±500 square foot residences that may be attached to the main house or located elsewhere on a residential lot.  With an accessory unit, seniors have an opportunity to draw additional income or live with an additional family member.  More importantly, the flexibility of these dwelling units allows seniors to continue living independently while maintaining connections to community and family.

House No. 21: A jovial woman in a motorized chair answers the door.  Glancing around the unit, I notice that every partition is scored horizontally at a consistent height about 30” from the floor.  She explains that for the first couple of weeks after receiving her chair, she was unable to adjust the arm rests.  I begin to ask questions about her mobility, recognizing the DHC’s commitment to meeting t the needs of its disabled residents.  Neighbor’s help her with navigating her front steps.  She agrees with my suggestion to add a chair and grab bars within the shower area.  I notice the kitchen is also not wheelchair accessible.   None of the countertop heights are adjusted to barrier-free standards. 

Comfort. In an effort to improve homeowner comfort, a coalition of Georgian homebuilders and advocates, including the AARP, developed the EasyLiving Home Program.  The program features three primary design features:

Easy Access – a step free entrance with a threshold not more than one-half inch rise from a route into the main floor.

Easy Passage – a minimum of 32 inches of clear passage for every interior passage door on the main floor, including bathrooms, and the exterior.

Easy Use – at least one bedroom, a kitchen, some entertainment area, and one full bathroom located on the main floor.

House No. 52: As I begin the survey, I notice an elderly woman sitting in a living room.  Her hair is being combed.  She is singing in a soft childlike voice – a nursery rhyme.  A younger woman continues to gently stroke her hair.  I catch the elderly woman’s eyes and say hello.  I get no response, just a blank stare.  I look away and can feel her eyes watching me as I move into the kitchen.

Health.  Keeping seniors connected to community and family is key to giving them access to services.  In the words of Mitch Green, former chairman of the AIA Design for Aging Group, “Until now, residents have been moved into different rooms or wings when they require more intensive care. Tomorrow’s residents will want to remain in their apartments and have the care brought to them.”   He continues by pointing out that architects will need to design communities that can accommodate health care services wherever they’re requested.  This is particularly relevant to Detroit, where 89% of seniors surveyed suffer from at least one chronic illness.

Beacon Hill Village is a membership organization in the heart of Boston.  Begun in 2001, it enables a growing and diverse group of Boston senior residents to stay in their homes by organizing and delivering programs and services that allow them to lead safe, healthy productive lives in their own homes.  Organized as a cooperative, people buy shares and have access to a wide variety of social options, learning opportunities, health and wellness choices and health care.  It is a model being replicated nationally.

Livable Communities.  The AARP defines livable communities as, “… one that has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services and adequate mobility options.  Together these facilitate personal independence and the engagement of residents in civil and social life.”

Developed by Mercy Housing California, the $43.7 million dollar Mission Creek Senior Community project combines 140 apartments with the City of San Francisco’s first new library branch in over 40 years.   According to Affordable Housing Finance magazine, its site was chosen for its “peaceful location in a vibrant, service-enriched neighborhood that is highly accessible by public transit…”

One of the important components of the development is the Adult Day Health Center (ADHC).  Pioneering a unique service model, the sponsors provide onsite adult day health services to both residents of the building and those living within the neighboring community.  In doing so, they are able to keep a local senior population that is plagued by behavior and metal health issues out of nursing homes and aging in their own homes.

Solutions for the 21^st Century.  A recent report by the Detroit Area Agency for the Aging (DAAA) concludes that our City’s, “older adult population is dying at a dramatically higher rate than their counterparts who live in other parts of the state of Michigan…”

The needs of Detroitseniors are very simple.  They desire spaces that:

• Evolve with their physical needs
• Remain connected to community services and family
• Costs are compatible with their incomes

They desire livable communities that help them remain independent and engaged.  Their needs are simple, but the solutions are complex.  The design community is currently missing an opportunity.  Michael Graves, who struggles with his own disability, states:

“Just as the Renaissance was an explosion of design and technology that reflected an infusion of new public participation in European life at the end of the Middle Ages, architecture and design are being asked to create tools and spaces for a new diverse 21^st century public.”

Let’s help put Detroitat the forefront of finding 21^st century solutions.