Tactical Urbanism: How can we activate more spaces in Detroit?

Our friends at Michigan Municipal League are organizing a contest called "It's About Place," inviting residents to submit ideas for underutilized spaces in our communities. Do you have an idea for Detroit? Check out the information online at http://letssavemichigan.com/.

Posted Mar 26, 2012

We have seen many spaces being activated by citizens of Detroit through Detroit SOUP. There is a playground revamped by those in the Woodbridge community on Avery between Merrick and Putnam. Folks in Highland Park took a vacant lot that was used for dumping and took the materials and made them into what they have now called "Bridge to the Garbage King". We have seen spaces being activated for uses of performaces, plays, and bands. Many community gardens are also being curated on tested soil or raised beds to grow healthy fruits and vegetables for the neighborhood. There are so many wonderful possabilities!

Posted Mar 27, 2012

Communicate. Coordinate. Cooperate. The smiles that you see at Recycle Here are the building blocks of a community... Building community is much easier when you can engage with people through conversation. Projects that inspire and last are projects that bring diverse people together around a common goal. I am excited for the summer at the Lincoln Street Art Park / Ghetto Louvre... This unique neighborhood collaboration will make you ask somebody about something, and that is all it takes...

Posted Mar 27, 2012

Noah from The People of Detroit [http://thepeopleofdetroit.com]. The precipitous decline in Detroit's population has led to wide swatches of under-used roadway. These swatches are de facto bike lanes. As a bicylicist in the city, I'd like to see more Detroiters utilize these wonderfully wide and flat patches of asphault. As someone who has spent time in larger, more densely populated cities where bikes are in much closer contact with heavy traffic, I regard Detroit's less-heavily traveled roads as a rare, untapped resource. 

Posted Mar 27, 2012

In September 2011, for the first Detroit Design Festival, we hosted a competition called "Mind the Gap" to invite public ideas for "in-between" spaces. Some submissions were real places, others imagined. The real ones -- including Tashmoo Biergarten, Lincoln Street Art Park, The Alley Project (TAP), Woodward Windows -- were all great examples of how creativity & sweat equity (sometimes moreso than $$$) can go a long way to fill the "missing teeth" in our urban fabric. Some highlights here. 

Posted Mar 27, 2012

I recently posted my feelings on Face Book after seeing an entire block in my neighborhood up for sale by a Real-estate Company. First came anger, and then came the hope that someone would seize the opportunity to do something innovative with that space.  A few innovators have reached out to get the information and location. The fact that there are those in our city who can see this through the eyes of innovation and opportunity; who want to build something meaningful that can benefit the community is nothing short of divine. 

If there were no obstacles what would you do with a city block?

Posted Mar 27, 2012

Some of the most exciting efforts in my opinion include grass roots reclaimations of under utilized spaces, Friends of Cass Park come to mind right away. Just by cleaning up and advocating for the maintenance of the space one can start the process towards a more developed form of activiation.

In addition I am very fond of groups that build community and identity through their spaces, TAP Gallery, Ponyride, The Green Garage, and OCD all come to mind in this respect.

Posted Mar 28, 2012

I should also mention that the lead photo for this conversation is from The Alley Project (TAP) in Southwest Detroit -- one of my favorite spaces in Detroit. Erik Howard, you are amazing. (You can read more about Erik and his work here.)

Posted Mar 28, 2012

You may already know of these folks, but if not, you might find interesting ideas or resources at the UK's Meanwhile Space Community Interest Company. Many of their projects lean a bit more toward community service than the arts, so might serve the needs Delphia's talking about particularly well, especially since they're designed to lead to permanent use of the building/s or site.

There are several temporary-space outfits in the UK, and there's beginning to be a real appetite for it. Urban Design Group's magazine just released a useful and inspiring issue on Temporary Urbanism this month too.

Good luck + will follow your progress!

LT / 5sensecity.com

Posted Apr 13, 2012

Here's a good article today about "conventional planning" vs. "tactical urbanism" from Urban Times.

"The situation as it lies now, is that government/centralized/bureaucratic planning has stalled or at least slowed in its ability to reach new solutions...These are exciting times to be a planner, because it seems that we’ve awoken to the idea that it’s sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission..."

Hello all,

My name is Thomas Stineman. I am excited to see people making a difference in the City of Detroit. I am someone who is moving into the city in September, but I currently work at Covenant House Academy Central on MLK Blvd. We don't offer much as for extra curriuclar activities or give students a chance to participate in the community. Students are often looking for work/volunteer hours to recieve credits. So I am looking for ideas in the area that my students can help out with. So I am offering bodies and help, and also a great opportunity for the youth to really be participate in changing the future.

Thank You all,

T. Stineman

Posted Apr 27, 2012

Better Block x Detroit Design Festival

Hey all!

My name is Kyle Christensen and I represent the USGBC Detroit - Emerging Professionals Committee.  We are putting together Detroit's first Better Block project in the New Center neighborhood!  If anyone is interested in collaborating, we would love to hear from you.  Specifically, we are concerned with cleaning up the area and making it visually appealing/safe, organizing food/drink/entertainment, and featuring aspiring small businesses.  We are a very creative bunch, so no idea is out of the question!  Claire, I love the work you've done so far in the city and hope that this call for entries becomes an active dialogue for building better communities in the city!  Please post here if you'd like to get involved or contact me directly.

Better Block (www.betterblock.org)

USGBC Detroit (www.usgbcdetroit.org)

Detroit Design Festival (www.detroitdesignfestival.com)

Thanks everyone,

Kyle Christensen

kylechristensen3@gmail.com

Posted Jul 30, 2012

I spent 11 years in the city of Detroit and I have a lot of strong feelings, positive and negative, about the city.   First, some of the greatest people I have ever met live there.  However, the actual geographical size of Detroit will continue to make is extremely difficult to combat the vacant structure problem.  The city is huge! Please check out the photos on www.motorcitymuckraker.com.  Here's a link to an article I wrote about leaving Detroit: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/the-next-page-broken-windows-in-the-motor-city-a-detroit-exit-journal-280081/

Posted Aug 30, 2012