Jim Schaefer and John Gallagher write in today’s Free Press about the increasing amount of positive press being given to the city of Detroit by national media outlets. Could the tide be permanently turning finally?

Yes, the narrative seems to be changing.  Those outside of Detroit are finally starting to come around and realize what many of us already knew.

But, here’s where the biggest challenge begins, at least I think so. Because, for so long Detroit has been the underdog, the hopeless city, the forgotten town that always had to prove itself.

Now that we’ve finally gotten the attention we deserve, we can’t simply declare victory because we’re nowhere near the finish line. Truth is, there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done. There’s still unemployment, there’s still a failing public school system, and Detroit’s population is still not where it should be.

But at least now, the rest of the country, and maybe even the world is watching, and maybe now they’re more willing and eager to root us on than tear us down.

And what sparked this latest wave of affection from afar? Growing signs of a rebound. And the same thing that so often draws the national spotlight: our sports teams. With an almost perfect storm of success, the undefeated Lions, the Yankee-killing Tigers and winning seasons for our two big college football teams are once again driving the deconstruction, reconstruction, explanations and excuses of an underdog town.

Check out some of the coverage the D has received recently:

Wall Street Journal - Detroit Sees Signs of Turnaround…

USA Today - Detroit Rising

Read the whole story here.

Eric Milliken/Detroit Free Press

Good news coming out of the Free Press this Sunday.

According to a new poll conducted by the Detroit Free Press and WXYZ-TV Channel 7, no matter where in the state some 72% of Michiganders agree that a healthy, vibrant Detroit is either essential or important to Michigan’s future vitality.

No surprise that view of importance is viewed more strongly in and around the surrounding Metro Detroit counties of Wayne, Macomb and Oakland.

One interesting finding: Young voters (ages 18-40) and seniors 65 and older were identical in their views. Among both groups, 72% said Detroit is “important” or “essential” to Michigan’s economy.

Check out the entire story here and place your vote.

Graphic courtesy of Detroit Free Press

Borrowed money from a bond sale will fund the much-anticipated $221 million dollar renovation of Detroit’s Cobo Center. Those bonds would be paid back from revenues from Cobo.

For those of you thinking the current look of Cobo is pretty jab it’s understandable considering the last major renovation of the convention center was some 20 years ago in 1989.

While the new plan doesn’t expand the size of the convention center as originally planned, it instead better utilizes the space already there by transforming the little-used Cobo Arena into a 40,000 square foot ballroom with a huge atrium overlooking the river.

In my opinion though, the coolest feature to be added may be the huge video walls that will be on the front of the building facing Jefferson Ave.

The entire project will be completed in three phases and is expected to be finished by the time the 2014 North American International Auto Show rolls into town.

Check out the animated fly-through video below of what the new Cobo will look like and click here to read the entire Freep article detailing the renovations.

Remeber when….

back on February 8, 1985, Stroh’s, born and brewed in the D, announced it was shutting down it’s brewery after 135 years?

The plant, at Gratiot and the Chrysler Freeway, topped out at 1 million square feet and had a 7-million barrel capacity. Stroh’s, Stroh Light, Goebel and Signature were made at the 71-year-old building. The company was the third-largest beer maker in the U.S. at the time.

Picture from Detroit News and quote from Detroit Free Press

The ongoing challenge to shrink the city of Detroit continues to move forward as highlighted in today’s Free Press interview with Mayor Bing.

Bing said he’s been working to encourage residents to relocate to more densely populated areas but made a point to clarify that no one will be forced to move. Though one would have to ask why anyone wouldn’t leap at the opportunity to move themselves or their family to a better, safer, more aptly served neighborhood if given the chance. The good news though is that so far it appears that a majority of Detroiters are ready to jump at the opportunity and get on board with the plan.

“We’re going to be encouraging them to move and put themselves in a better situation. … They are much better off moving into a more dense area so that we can provide them with the services they need: that would be water, sewer, lighting, public safety — all of that,” Bing said. “We think that getting our city to be more dense with its population is the right route.”

The interview also delves into Bing’s reign so far as mayor and how the outcome, or at least development, of the right-sizing plan could be the ultimate defining factor of Dave Bing’s term.

The plan could become a political lightning rod for Bing, who also said Tuesday he will seek a second term.

“I can’t fix the problems that the city has in one term,” he said. “I’ve been here in this office almost 18 months, and we’ve fixed and improved a lot of areas, but there’s so much more work to do. …

Read the complete article here.

Pictures courtesy of Detroit Free Press

Kid Rock at the American Music Awards last night singing one of his new songs “Times Like These” inspired by Detroit’s tough strength. Hometown pride like no other.

Making us proud Kid.

At the beginning of September I posted an entry on The Freep’s John Gallagher’s forthcoming book Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City. Today online, The Detroit Free Press posted another excerpt from the book that I thought was worth sharing for those who hadn’t swung around to the Freep’s website yet to see it.

The topic of the excerpt focuses on what Detroit could, and very well should, become going forward: greener and more navigable by foot by way of a more densely populated urban center.

Densely packed urban neighborhoods attract retailers, so a city that builds up its healthier districts and connects them with greenways would be one where residents can find much more of what they need close at hand. Right now, shopping requires Detroiters to get in their cars and drive miles to find the stores they favor.

As the nation struggles to cope with rising global temperatures and soaring fuel prices, Detroit may emerge as the city that figured it out first — how to use its open lands to foster a local food economy, how to create a network of greenways that permits its residents to park their vehicles, how to help community-based entrepreneurs create a financial safety margin for a city once yoked to global economic swings.

You can click on over to Freep.com here to read the entire excerpt from Gallagher’s book. I’m not dropping an hints or anything but I think this book would make a great stocking stuffer this Christmas.

Picture courtesy of Freep.com/Susan Tusa (2007)

It is one of Detroit’s most storied and treasured gems.  Through the ups and downs that the city of Detroit has endured over time, Belle Isle has remained a constant and reliable place for the Detroit community to gather at and enjoy.  Belle Isle, at 985 acres, remains the city’s largest park and it’s mere size eclipses that of New York’s Central Park.

Freep.com offers up a special presentation, Belle Isle: Revealed, that showcases the island’s beautiful and often forgotten features and usually under-explored gems.  The film also explores the ongoing battle to improve and preserve the island park for generations to come as well as highlights the best spots on the island to kick back, relax and enjoy a day-well-spent in Detroit.

The film is not only well produced but also visually beautiful to watch.  It truly offers a glimpse into a side of Belle Isle that I honestly never knew existed.

You can read more about Belle Isle and watch the entire special here.

John Gallagher, in the Detroit Free Press today, discussed his forthcoming book Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City. Gallagher’s book focuses on a topic that has been widely discussed for some time now on why Detroit must become smaller in order to become better.  

Gallagher goes on to discuss why the continuing pipe-dreams of returning Detroit to it’s original hey-day status and size will only continue to hinder any progress in rebuilding. Instead, Gallagher claims that we must now embrace the idea of a smaller, yet more efficient and environmentally sound Detroit.  The question however, still remains: can it be done?

You can read the whole Free Press article here.  You can also purchase the book on Amazon.com here.

Picture courtesy of Freep.com