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  1. Notes from the Field: Detroit then and now Wednesday, November 11, 2009

    Melinda Taylor is a Senior Design Fellow at CreateHere. This week, she’s visiting different organizations and innovators in Detroit, a city she’s met before. This brings us this dispatch.

    Before this week, the last time I stepped on Michigan soil was over twelve years ago. But my lengthy absence was not for a lack of love for this city. Even after living in fourteen cities in seven states within ten years, I have always held my hometown closest to my heart. Sure, we all see the same images of a gloomy, dark ghost land in the media, but I see more than that.

    I see the memories of my childhood: the Franklin Cider Mill in fall, the Grand Prix in summer, trips to the state fair, the aquarium, the Dream Cruise… so many jewels the city had to offer. And I’d love to say that it’s all still here upon my return. The Michigan State Fair, held at Woodward and 8 Mile Road, is no longer as of this year. Known as the oldest state fair in the United States, it was cut from the budget after 160 years for lack of attendance. This comes quickly after the closing of the oldest aquarium on Belle Isle in 2005. Even the Grand Prix was closed this year because of budgetary constraints.

    And while I learn that these places that I held in my memories are no longer, I am not struggling to find beauty here. Elana said it best while walking around Hamtramck on Monday: “You have to find the little pockets of love.” And it’s true. This industrial city in a post-industrial world still has much to offer anyone who is willing to look. There are people here who have such love and pride for their city and spend their resources and time, no matter how limited, to making Detroit an engaging community.

    When we spoke with Nina Bianchi of Design 99, she admitted that she often sounds negative when discussing the battles she faces in her community. But she’s still undoubtedly filled with hope and determination. Detroit’s own Henry Ford once stated, “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Detroit definitely has the opportunity to begin again. And the power of design can help rebuild the city’s ailing economy. And so Bianchi and many others around her are working to make this happen.

    Detroit, and all of Michigan, has always held a special place in my heart. And I have always felt proud to say that I am from here. But I am also proud of Chattanooga, and even more proud to be a part of a team that is doing what it can to make it a more dynamic city, much like the people we’re meeting here this week. I’m excited to continue the conversations we’ve had with the artists here after my return to Chattanooga. I hope to work in tandem to create more dialogue of ideas for creating more and bigger pockets of love in both cities. I feel a part of and a responsibility to these two very special cities. Detroit is my hometown. Chattanooga is my home.

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