This project examines the case of Detroit through a finely-grained account of the disparate narratives chronicling the existing realities and projected futures, their representation and mediation. We argue that traditional land use planning approaches do not recognize improvisational activities in highly vacant areas, failing to project alternative, more just city futures. Looking at what happens to leftover spaces after abandonment enables us to uncover how ordinary people experiment and improvise, developing coping strategies designed to substitute ingenuity for the lack of resources and institutional support.
Three neighborhoods targeted under the 2012 Detroit Future City Framework as High Vacancy Zones are the sites of investigation: Brightmoor, Poletown East and Riverbend. By demarcating these areas as testbeds for production and ecological innovation, this philanthropy-sponsored effort set a 50-year scenario recasting these neighborhoods into seas of greenery.
While setting the quest for a more sustainable future, the chronic lack of investment speak of different priorities. Yet, despite this legacy of lack of support, residents have instigated the emergence of alternative urban imaginaries.