From Meroë to the Senilac Peroglyphs

Part 2 of 13 in our journey from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo
(connecting landmarks in Michigan and African history)
 
Some 1,000 years ago, a Native American sat down next to a slab of sandstone near the Cass River just outside what was to be Bad Axe, Michigan and began carving. Undiscovered until a brush fire revealed his work in 1881, the carvings depict swirls, lines, handprints, flying birds, and bow-wielding men. Known as the Senilac Petroglyphs, the artist’s tribe remains unknown. Archaeologists theorize that the site was a tribal meeting place, making the site for some, mystical and sacred. Damaged by natural weathering and graffiti, our time to discover their true purpose is limited.

Thousands of miles away, deep within the African country of Sudan, along the Nile River’s 5th and 6th cataracts, lies what is considered to be the world’s largest archaeological site. What remains are remnants of a completely unstudied civilization. And like the petroglyphs of Sanilac, Michigan, they are in danger of being lost forever.

The center pieces of the ruins are pyramids. But these pyramids share distinctly different characteristics from their more well know cousins to the north in Giza, Egypt. And incredulously, they outnumber them by some 200 spread over three complexes. Their style is unique and undeniably African.

They are built of stepped courses of horizontally positioned stone blocks and range from approximately 19 to 98 feet in height, but rise from fairly small foundation footprints that rarely exceed 26 feet in width, resulting in tall, narrow structures inclined at approximately seventy degrees. Most also have offering temple structures abutting their base. By comparison, Egyptian pyramids of similar height generally had foundation footprints that were at least five times larger and were inclined at angles of between forty and fifty degrees. These Sudanese pyramids use smaller blocks, and unlike the Egyptians, are monuments over tombs.

So who were these people who were such prolific pyramid builders? There is very little that archaeologists can acknowledge. Our understanding is limited due to our inability to decipher their unique language, Meroitic Script. But what we do know is that from about 760 BC, the Nubians of the Kush Empire invaded and conquered Egypt beginning the period of the Black Pharaohs. They made Meroë (pronounced mayor-way) their capitol. They built Jebel Barkel (or Napata) as a sign that Egypt belongs to Nubia. And for their Kings and Queens, who ruled equally, they built these distinctly Nubian pyramids. Their kingdom would last longer than the Egyptians and would end with their defeat by another African empire, the Kingdom of Axum in 656 BC.

So as one gazes at these desert ruins, I hope one is inspired to understand a forgotten and unstudied people. And like me, realize that there is a rich and distinctively African history that remains to be studied. A history that can refute notions as expressed by the philosopher David Hume,

I am apt to suspect the Negroes and in general all the other species of Men (for there are four or five different kinds) to be naturally inferior to whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white, nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation. No ingenious manufacturers amongst them, no arts, no sciences.

Our history remains to be discovered, not ignored, in Meroë.

Timbuktu and the Detroit Public Schools

Part 1 of 13 in our journey for Timbuktu to Kalamzoo
(connecting landmarks in Michigan and African history)

Half of all Detroit public schools will be closed by 2014. 59 schools were closed in 2010 and another 70 schools were announced to be closed in 2011. Student enrollment has been halved over the last decade, falling 83,336. [1] Schools are being closed so quickly, that they are not fully emptied and sealed as if frozen in time. The School District’s graduation rate is 62.27%.[2]

It seems unlikely that this condition would find similarity with a city thousands of miles away along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, just north of the Niger River within the West African country of Mali. Present day Timbuktu (or Timbuctoo) is a city of 54,000 that has long since succumbed to political and economic decline. But at its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries (under rule of the Songhay empire), 25,000 students (one quarter of its population) studied at its universities. It was the center of the Islamic intellectual world, and the site of one the world’s first universities (Sankoré Madrasah or Sankoré University).[3]

The salt comes from the north, the gold from the south and the money from the whites, but the stories of God…these we find at Timbuktu.[4]

An author,Granadan born Hasan ben Muhammed al-Wazzan-ez-Zayyati, but known to Europeans as Leo Africanus, would write about his travels to Timbuktu in 1510 in his book Descrittione dell'Africa (Description of Africa). His own biography is just as fascinating, which includes being sold into slavery, being baptized and freed by Pope Leo X, and possibly serving as the basis for Shakespeare’s character Othello.[5]

In Timbuktu there are numerous judges, scholars and priest, all well paid by the king, who show great respect to men of learning. Many manuscript books coming from Barbary are sold. Such sales are more profitable than any other goods.[6]

His descriptions fascinated Europeans, but it wouldn’t be until 1828 that the first European would live to return and provide their own firsthand account (Frenchman René Caillié). By that time, the City had long been ravaged by decline.

What remains are no fewer than 700,000 manuscripts on a multitude of topics that have been taught at Timbuktu since near its beginning. For 400 years, these Arabic manuscripts have been passed from family to family as proof of its former glory. Their topics include, but are not limited to astronomy, law, mathematics and history. Scholars are just beginning to uncover their unstudied Black African secrets.

But for all the monument that have been reduced to rubble and for all the other terrible cruelties visited upon the African people, the denial of their fundamental equality of intellect has been, perhaps, the most long lastingly destructive. It is this denial of the mind of Africa that the legacy of Timbuktu refutes with devastating finality.[7]

Funding from the Malian government, UNESCO, Arab governments and international foundations fund the Timbuktu Manuscript Project which is attempting to preserve and catalogue these volumes.

Today, the word Timbuktu is synominous with places that are impossible to reach. Perhaps as Detroit attempts to reinvent itself and the world begins to recognize Timbuktu’s legacy, a City can be inspired to reform its educational system and more importantly inspire its youth to reach their full potential.

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[1] CNN Money Article dated February 22, 2011 by Ben Rooney, Michigan Approves Plan to Close Half its Schools.
[2] Detroit Free Press Article dated January 16, 2012 by Kristi Tanner, Database: Dropout and graduation rates for Michigan public schools.
[3] Said Hamdun & Noël King (edds.), Ibn Battuta in Black Africa. London 1975, pp. 52-53.
[4] Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, Wonders of the African World, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999, p. 143-144.
[5] Verde, Tom (2008), A Man of Two Worlds, Saudi Aramco World (January/February 2008): 2–9.
[6] Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi’s Ta’rikh Al-Sudan Down to 1613 and other Contemporary Documents, trans. John Hunwick (Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1999), 280-281.
[7] Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, Wonders of the African World, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999, p. 146.

Filling the Historical Void

THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2012

About two years ago, I finished reading Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s, Wonders of the African World and Basil Davidson's, The Lost Cities of Africa. In two weeks of reading, I learned more about the architectural history of Africa than in my seven years earning degrees in Architecture and Urban Planning. I am deeply affected by at best ignorance and at worst blatant denial of this history. I find it almost criminal that not one architectural history course felt African architecture (excluding the pyramids) even worthy of a passing mention.

In order to celebrate Black History month, I'd like to do my part to fill the void of ignorance. It's a history that I hope appeals to everyone, since the principals of good building are not culturally or ethnically exclusive. And as the saying goes, those that do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.

It therefore seems appropriate to start with the City of Timbuktu. It's the story of the world's first university. It's a story that runs juxtaposed to the problems of almost every urban school district, where schools are being closed due to attrition, where schools are chronically plagued with low state test scores and graduation rates. Could revealing the intellectual power of Timbuktu motivate young African-Americans to demand more from our broken public school systems? One can only hope.

Below is our itinerary. We will disembark at Timbuktu, weave our way along the Nile river, through the Sudan, along the east African coast passing through Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. We'll pick up again along the west African coast to find the Great Mosque of Djenne in Mali and the Ashante architecture of Ghana. We'll visit South Africa and one of the worlds most unique resorts, Sun City. And we'll end our trip in Ghana, the first African nation to declare its independance from colonial power.  I hope you enjoy the journey.

From Timbuktu to Kalamazoo
1. Timbuktu and the Detroit Public Schools
2. From Meroe to the Senilac Petroglyphs
3. From Abu Simbel to Brewster-Douglass Homes
4. The Queen of Sheba and Prince Hall
5. From Aksum to Hart Plaza
6. From Lalibela to Sacred Heart
7. From Zanzibar to the Shrine of the Black Madanna
8. From Kilwa Kisiwani to Highland Park
9. The Spirit of the Great Zimbabwe and the Memorial to Joe Louis
10. From the Detroit Bungalow to the Ashanti Traditional Home
11. From The Great Mosque of Djenne to Muhammad’s Temple No. 1
12. From Sun City to Motor City
13. From Accra to Kalamazoo

For a comprehensive list of African heritage sites as determined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) go to: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

Taking Comfort in Wayne County's Hines Park

I was recently part of a team asked to analyze the condition of more than 20 comfort stations that are linked like a necklace along Hines Drive.  Similar to Fairmount Park in my home town of Philadelphia, the park follows the Middle Rouge River as it weaves more than 15 miles south towards the Detroit river starting in Northville and ending in Dearborn Heights.  It's an amazing park system with an equally amazing history.

Upper Hines Park
Image credit: Mobile Maplets

Lower Hines Park
Image credit: Mobile Maplets

The vision of the park became focused during the turn of the 20th century and was guided by the "Good Roads Movement."  This movement led to the creation of  Wayne County's first road commission.  It's first commissioners would include Cass Benton, Henry Ford, and Edward Hines (who the park was re-named for in 1937).

As with many of the landmarks in Southeastern Michigan, the park came to fruition partly through the partnership Mr. Ford forged with his fellow road commissioners. Per an agreement between Mr. Ford and the commission, road improvements and land acquisitions were made between 1920 and 1933 as part of Mr. Ford's experiment with village industries.  By 1944, all the lands and mills associated with the experiment were turned over to the county and incorporated into the park.

During the Great Depression, more park land was acquired and many of the comfort stations were built as part of President Roosevelt's Work Progress Administration or W.P.A.   Many highlight distinctive architectural styles which feature corbeling brick, limestone keystones and quoins, steeply pitched slate roofs and their original leaded windows.

Below are photos of some of the more memorable comfort stations:

Plymouth Riverside
Patterned after a train station, this structure features intricate brick and stone detailing, leaded windows and a slate roof.  Per the stone marker that sits prominently at the base of it west elevation chimney, the building was completed in 1930.

Gunsolly Mills
Built on the former site of a carding mill used by Henry Ford's family, the exterior of this small, symmetric, comfort station has been restored to included copper gutters, copper roof flashing and copper snow guards.

Cass Benton
Situated on land gifted to the park by one of the first Wayne County Road Commissioners, Cass Benton, this Tudor styled station sits hidden along one the parks tree covered trails.

Haggerty
Named after one of Wayne County's early Road Commissioners, John Haggerty, the building was completed in 1937 by Jesse Merle Bennett.  The Tudor styled building was meant to launch the concept of the round the clock travel center.  Original plans called for the building to be occupied by a 24 hour attendant.

Inkster

Kinloch 

Though not located directly along the Middle Rouge River, these almost identical comfort stations feature Tudor detailing.  In particularly, the walls are decorated with multi-colored glazed, corbeled brick.

Kinloch has been serving the picnic and play areas that line the Lola Valley Creek in Redford Township since 1933.

Inkster sits along the lower Rouge River within the heart of the City of Inkster.

Newburg Pointe
The lake was originally constructed as a millpond around 1819.  In 1935, the old cider mill was demolished by Henry Ford and replaced with a new "Village Industry Plant". In 1997, the entire pond was drained, decontaminated and restocked with fish.  The Tudor style building was built in 1935 and continues to also serve as a canoe livery.

Perrin

These almost identical comfort stations include round leaded windows, slate roofs and once featured copper cupolas topped with spires.  Perrin's original construction drawings date to 1955.

Warrendale

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Sources:
Nancy Darga, "Historic Summary of Wayne County Parks", http://www.co.wayne.mi.us/dps/dps_parks_resources_history.htm

Gary Thomson, "Henry Ford", http://cruisinhines.com/graphics/hfstory.pdf

MDOT, "Hine Drive / Old M-14", http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9620_11154_11188-29293--,00.html

"Wayne County Department of Public Services," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_County_Road_Commission

2012 Detroit Strategic Framework Plan: Detroit Future City

After reading the entire 347 page Detroit Future City Report, I thought it useful to provide this brief outline.  My goal here is to give the reader a quick overview of the report and to encourage more detailed reading where interests are peaked.  The report is filled with fascinating facts and detailed strategies.  Below are just the broad brush strokes of a more detailed and colorful painting.

What are the Assets Detroit can build upon?

• A Top 20 Largest US City
• Home to 714,000 Residents
• Contains Global Economic Assets (intermodal border crossings and industrial infrastructure)
• Known globally for its ingenuity and "making things" innovatively
• Committed, Proactive Community-based and Philanthropic Organizations
• Land-Rich Environment
• Michigan's Leading Urban Center

Why there needs to be a new way of looking at the problem?

• Safety, Education, Health and Prosperity - Detroit needs to be safe, have better educated youth and adults, provide healthier living environments, offer access to jobs that pay at least a living wage
• Detroit's population - 700,000 live in a city built for 3 million
• Detroit's unemployment - There is only 1 job for every 4 Detroit residents
• Detroit's land vacancy and land use - 20 square miles of vacant land (equal to the size of Manhattan)
• Detroit's City Service Delivery Systems - Tax base doesn't meet service needs

By using the framework, what can be accomplished by 2030?

• A stable population between 600,000 and 800,000
• Instead of 27 jobs for every 100 city residents, 50 for every 100
• An integrated regional public transportation system
• Detroit will lead the world in developing landscape as infrastructure (ex. carbon forest that clean air, stormwater management landscapes that collect, treat and recycle water)

What does the Framework do?

"... guides decision making among individuals, institutions, businesses, organizations, and neighborhoods towards a future city, which is culturally rich and offers opportunities for all Detroit's residents, institutions, businesses, and neighborhoods." (page 17)

"...is not a static, traditional "plan," but rather a living and growing structure for change, and a guide to decision making." (page 335)

The Five Planning Elements

1. The Economic Growth Element: THE EQUITABLE CITY

Employment Districts

The Goals

• Build upon Four Economic Growth Pillars:
• Local Entrepreneurship
• Education and Medical
• Industrial, Digital/Creative
• Create Seven employment districts:
• Downtown (digital/creative)
• Mid-Town (education, medical, digital/creative)
• Dequindre/Eastern Market (industrial and creative)
• Southwest (industrial)
• Mount Elliot (industrial)
• McNichols (education, medical and creative)
• Corktown (industrial and local entrepreneurship)
• Encourage Local Entrepreneurship and Minority Business Ownership
• Improve Workforce Skills with Improved Education
• Synchronize education programs with skills demanded by employers
• Improved Land Regulations
• Land bank commercial/industrial properties so larger parcels can be created 

2. The Land Use Element: THE IMAGE OF THE CITY



The Framework Zones

The Goals

• Create Multiple Employment Districts
• Insure People are Connected to Jobs and Services (ex. regional transit and "complete streets")
• Create Landscapes that contribute to Health (create a new urban form)
• Create Distinct and Attractive Neighborhoods

Implementation Strategies

• Framework Zones - Defines vacancy levels over the entire city
• Land Use Typologies - Divides framework zones into three categories:
• Neighborhood (New-Green Mixed-Rise, Live+Make)
• Industrial
• Landscape (New-innovative productive)
• Development Types - Divides land use typologies into four categories:
• Residential
• Commercial
• Landscape
• Industrial
• Create an open space system for the city (use vacant land as opportunity to create new urban forms.  Link new and existing open spaces)
• Redefine corridors and complete streets (resize under-capacity streets and provide for multiple modes of transit)
• Develop innovative regulatory reform (revise the City's current Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance)

3. The City Systems and Environment Element: THE SUSTAINABLE CITY

Future Public Transit Routes

What Systems?

Waste, Water. Transit, Energy, Lighting, Telecom

The Goals

• Reform Delivery System
• Aligning systems with actual need as defined by framework zones
• Create Landscapes that Work
• Invest in 'blue/green infrastructure', i.e. retention ponds, detention basins, swales, carbon forests, industrial buffers
• Reconfigure Transportation
• Reconfigure under-capacity roads and connect employment centers
• Enhance Communication Access
• Resident, government and commercial access to state-of-the-art high-speed data networks
• Improve Lighting Efficiency
• Solar and LED lights
• Reduce Waste and Increase Recycling
• Expand existing recycling programs
• Actively Manage Change

4. The Neighborhood Element: THE CITY OF DISTINCT AND REGIONALLY COMPETITIVE NEIGHBORHOODS



The 50-Year Land-use Scenario

 

The Goals

• Dramatically Improve Quality of Life for All Detroiters
• Promote a Range of Sustainable Densities across the City

Quality of Life Elements (13) (Metrics which define progress)

• Safety
• Health
• Education
• Prosperity and Income
• Community
• Physical Condition
• Housing
• Public Services
• Mobility
• Environment
• Recreation
• Culture
• Retail Services and Amenities

Residential Neighborhood Types (5):

• Urban Mixed-Use (Ex. Mid-town, New Center, CBD)
• Urban Live+Make (Ex. Eastern Market, Corktown)
• Urban Green (Ex. Warrendale, Lafayette Park, State Fair Ground)
• Traditional Neighborhood (Ex. Boston Edison, East English Village)

How to Select What to Build (Matrix on page 122-123):

1. Refer to Framework zone map (establishes vacancy level)
2. Locate property location and assigned Neighborhood Type
3. Selected a recommended Development Type base on Neighborhood Type 

Implementation Strategies

• Address Quality of Life Challenges that affect all Detroiters
• Create Dense, Walkable, Mixed-Use Neighborhoods (Urban Mixed-Use)
• Regenerate Neighborhoods through Fusion of Art and Industry (Urban Live+Make)
• Repurpose Vacant Land to Create Green Neighborhoods (Urban Green)
• Renew Traditional Neighborhoods
• Utilize Productive Landscapes as the basis for a Sustainable City (Blue/Green infrastructure)

 5. The Land and Buildings Assets Element: A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO PUBLIC LAND




Future Open Space Network

The development of policies and strategies that control the acquisition, disposition, holding, maintenance and demolition of public lands across organizational and institutional boundaries.

12 agencies must coordinate their missions and goals related to the use and reuse of public lands:

• Detroit Land Bank Authority
• City of Detroit Planning and Development
• City of Detroit Planning Commission
• City of Detroit General Services
• Wayne County Treasurer
• Wayne County Land Bank
• Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority
• Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
• Michigan State Housing Development Authority
• Detroit Housing Commission
• Detroit Public Schools
• Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

Tool: Decision Making Matrices

Implementation Strategies

• Target Vacant Public Land and Buildings in Employment Districts for Economic Growth
• Use Vacant Public Land as a Tool for Neighborhood Stabilization
• Transform Largely Vacant Areas Through Blue and Green Infrastructure
• Ex. Create stormwater boulevards and rain gardens
• Link Public Facility and Property Decisions to Larger Strategies
• Ex. Coordinate the consolidation of Detroit Public School and Recreation Department properties
• Incorporate More Innovative Vacant Land Maintenance Approaches
• Ex. Discontinue current policy of mowing all city owned properties
• Use more Aggressive Regulatory Tools
• Enforce new vacant lot ordinance and absentee landlord policies

----------------

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

 

An engaged City includes:

• Robust Democratic Participation
• Willing and Committed Investors
• An Atmosphere of Collaboration among Sectors
• A Strong Sense of Place
• Advocates and Implementers

Actions:

• Establish a Detroit Strategic Framework Consortium
• Enlist Additional Champions for Implementation and Policy Reform
• Inform, Educate and Equip Key Stakeholders
• Strengthen and Complement the Public Sector
• Report Back for Transparent and Ongoing Progress

Strategies:

• Expand Capacity for the Long Term: Building on Strengths to Extend Range
• City Government, Philanthropy, Detroit Institutions, Detroit Residents
• Informed, Inclusive Decisions: Developing, and Sharing Knowledge and Information
• Robust and reliable data, open and transparent access to information, integrate engagement with communication efforts, support blending of community and technical expertise
• A Mosaic of Tactics for a Mosaic of People: Diverse Platform of Opportunities to Engage

Detroit Future City: The Statistics

image credit: HuffPost Detroit

I just finished reading Detroit Future City, the most recent product of the Detroit Works Project's long term planning.  Before discussing the report, I'd like to re-state some of the statistics that motivated its creation.  They are startling. They demand our attention.  They scream for a plan of action.  As Detroit declares bankruptcy, the shear size of the problem is revealed in numbers.

But the numbers aren't all negative.  There are definitely assets to strengthen, to grow and to promote.  The positives are just outshone by the depth and overwhelming nature of the negative.  The key to the report is re-fashioning the negatives as opportunities.  Vacant land is seen as an opportunity to invent a new urban form.  Under capacity industries are seen as opportunities to create jobs.  Oversize streets are seen as opportunities to recondition them to accept high-speed buses, bicycles and stormwater treatment.  In the words of the report,

"...Detroit is facing head-on what many other cities are on the cusp of: the need to create more sustainable, resilient civic centers for the new millennium.  The world needs Detroit's example.  The country and the world also need Detroit's success, as a critical American city in the next century global economy." (page 325)

All of the statistic listed below are taken from the 2012 Detroit Strategic Framework Plan. 

The Economic Growth Element: The Equitable City (page 42)

• 61% of employed Detroiters work outside the city
• 21.5% of Detroiters do not have access to a private vehicle
• 70% of Detroit jobs are held by commuters
• There are 27 jobs per 100 Detroit residents
• 20% of Detroit two-year degree holders live in poverty
• 68% of Detroiters without a high school diploma are unemployed or do not participate in the labor force
• 83% of Detroit's potential workforce is African-American
• 12% of the revenue earned by all Detroit firms was earned by African-American owned firms

The Land Use Element: The Image of the City (page 98)

• Detroit has suffered a 61% population loss between 1950-2010
• 20 square miles of Detroit's occupiable land area is vacant
• 22% of Detroit's industrial zoned land is vacant
• 36% of Detroit's commercial parcels are vacant
• The amount of money spent on groceries outside the city could support approximately 583,000 square feet of additional grocery retail space in Detroit
• Detroit contains 6.7 acres of park space per person (National Recreation and Park Association recommends 10 acres of park space per 1000 residents)
• 65% of Detroit's total citywide housing supply is single-family detached
• 66% of the total housing demand in Detroit's greater downtown is for multi-family

The City Systems Element: The Sustainable City (page 160)

• Detroit has suffered a $336 million decline in property tax revenue from 1950-2010 (60% decline)
• 20% of Detroit's potential revenue generating land area is vacant
• The average Detroit household spends 32% of their annual income on transportation
• 27% of Detroit's 3000 miles of public roads are in poor condition
• Only 35,000 of the existing 88,000 street lights work in Detroit
• Buses run at 75% capacity during peak hours.  The national average is 105%
• Detroit's water system operates at 40% of its overall capacity
• Detroit classifies 42 billion gallons of water as 'unaccounted for water'
• Detroit has three times higher rate of children with elevated blood lead levels than the national average
• Detroit has three time higher rate of children with asthma than the national average
• There were 36 combined sewer overflow discharges into the Detroit river in 2011.  All but 5 could have been prevented with a comprehensive citywide blue infrastructure system (pages 186-187)

The Neighborhood Element: The City of Distinct and Regionally Competitive Neighborhoods (page 210)

• $1.5 billion of Detroit resident expenditures are made outside the city each year
• Detroit has the 2nd highest violent crime rate in the U.S.
• Detroit has suffered a 66% loss in median housing sales prices (2006-2010)
• Detroit is ranked last in acres of park space per resident
• 69.1% of Detroiters are obsess or overweight
• Deaths resulting from heart disease in Detroit are 50% higher than the national average
• Detroit has suffered a 60% decline in public schools enrollment from 2001-2010

The Land and Buildings Assets Element: A Strategic Approach to Public Assets (page 272)

• 13,000 Detroit properties were in Wayne county's October 2011 auction
• 50% of all properties from the October 2011 auction reverted back to public ownership
• 45,000 Detroit parcels have been tax foreclosed since 2010
• 98% of all contiguous publicly owned parcels in Detroit are less than one acre in total size
• 46% of Detroit's recreation centers have closed since 2005 (14 out of 30)
• 130 public schools have been closed or converted to charter schools in Detroit since 2005
• 83% of Detroit's vacant parcels are zoned residential

It is from within this context that Detroit must now create a framework for developing its future.

Part 3: MiTrain - Ann Arbor to Detroit High Speed Rail

As dawn slowly breaks in the distance, a bell ringing locomotive pulls its shimmering collection of silver double-decker commuter cars into station.  Stepping onto one of the cars, I stroll my way along the center aisle.  Throwing my bag on an overhead shelf, I settle into a window seat.  I open my morning paper, take a quick sip of the orange juice I bought at the station's juice bar and I say hello to a few of the regulars who take their self assigned seats in front and behind.  The paper forecasts a sunny day with a high of 85.  It's another day off to work.

One full MiTrain set: A locomotive, a cab car and a coach car
SEMCOG

The above experience could easily take place within cities like Chicago, New York or Philadelphia.  And it fit Detroit until 1984 when SEMTA ended rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit.   With years of failed attempts to revive the service, commuters between Ann Arbor and Detroit have continued to wait almost 30 years to share in the convenience and reliability of rail service again.

Refurbished MiTrain rail car
SEMCOG

On June 14th of this year, at Ann Arbor's 10th annual Green Fair, a refurbished Metra commuter rail car on long-term lease from the Great Lakes Central Railroad was unveiled to the public for the first time.  It is one of 23 cars currently under lease by MDOT for use along the proposed Ann Arbor to Detroit rail line.  Back in November of last year, six of the cars were tested and approved for use by both Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration.

The 38.2-mile rail line with five stations (Ann Arbor, Ypsi, Airport Connector,

Dearborn and Detroit), four daily 55-minute round-trips (all during peak periods),

and three round-trips on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

The plan is to run four daily trips between Ann Arbor and Detroit with stations in between at Ypsilanti, Westland (for connection to Metro Airport) and Dearborn (for connection to Greenfield Village).  Contracted Amtrak locomotives and crews would be used to operate the commuter trains.  Two hurdles remain before service becomes a reality: the securing of operating funds and the completion of new stations at Ypsilanti and Westland.

Dearborn Intermodal Rail Station
City of Dearborn

The state's new Regional Transportation Authority's ability to generate revenue provides a path for clearing the first hurdle: finding operating funds.  With a new station in Dearborn already under construction and designs for a second in Ypsilanti beginning, the second hurdle is already being cleared.  Finally, track improvements currently being completed between Dearborn and Detroit's New Center Amtrak station, which will separate freight and passenger traffic, are part of a collection of improvements being completed along the entire Chicago to Detroit corridor.  The USDOT estimates by 2016, trains will be able to reach 110 mph on 80 percent of the corridor.

Ypsilanti's Michigan Central Freighthouse, near Depot Town,
 is the proposed location for Ypsilanti's new rail station.
Detroit1701.org

Carmine Palombo, Director of Transportation Planning at SEMCOG, estimates that it will take two construction seasons before the rails are in the shape necessary for daily trips between Ann Arbor and Detroit.  However, special event trains for Detroit's Thanksgiving Parade, a football and/or baseball game could be up and running as early as this summer.


Proposed Fuller Road Station in Ann Arbor

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

A new Ann Arbor train station planned for the state's busiest Amtrak hub has been placed on hold.  Once the rail line is operating, Ann Arbor's Mayor John Hieftje hopes to double ridership over the next three to four years and prove to the city's tax base the need for the new station.  Leaders have given Mayor Hieftje estimates that 700 to 900 people would move into downtown Ypsilanti within the first few years of operation just to enjoy the 10 minute Ann Arbor commute to work.  Experts also estimate that another 10,900 University of Michigan employees live in zip codes along the proposed rail line. Four thousand of which live in Ypsilanti.

It appears this time, visions for running high speed rail between Ann Arbor and Detroit are finally coming into focus.  And as someone who has commuted between Ann Arbor and Detroit for over 12 years, I promise to be one of the first to enjoy the ride.

-----------------------------
Sources:

"Ann Arbor mayor: Commuter rail to Detroit can happen in 3 years with regional support", Ann Arbor.com, June 14, 2013.

"In Michigan, One Step Closer to Commuter Rail", Sustainable Cities Collective, February 20, 2013.

"USDOT, Michigan approve funding for West Detroit connector track project", Progressive Railroading, May 10, 2012.