The Fight Over Graffiti: Banksy In Detroit
The boy looked back at me, his eyes defiant. Dressed in head-to-toe black, he was standing in a Detroit police station, holding evidence of his crime ...
SGS Presents: Behind The Sign, Episode #3
Bernie Naworski, owner of Play It Again Sam, has devoted the last 38 years of his life to the repair and sale of vintage audio equipment. Much has changed since 1979 when Bernie first opened his doors to the public.
Planting Seeds of Hope
In 1988, We in Detroit were at one of the great turning points in history. Detroit’s deindustrialization, devastation, and depopulation had turned the city into a wasteland ...
Cleveland Shouted ‘Stay’ — An Unexpected Move Home
“Where’d you go?” “What happened?” “Are you OK?” The texts poured in; my phone buzzed off the edge of the hospital bed nightstand. It chimed in the passenger side cup holder, chirping from Elko to Oglalla.
The White People Are Not Marching On Cleveland
Detroit is gaining white people! CityLab has announced the “March of the Young White People” featuring Detroit's spike in caucasians, and the Detroit News reported that the white population of Detroit is up 8,000 people since last year.
Still The Vehicle City: Back To The Bricks Reminds Flint, And The World, Where The Auto Industry Was Born
“I think people are seeing this can have a lot to offer,” said Beth White as she walked along the dozen or so red-bricked blocks of Saginaw Street that constitute Flint, Michigan’s downtown.
The City-States of the Rust Belt
I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. During the summer, on weekends and breaks, my friends would often go to Milwaukee (1 1/2 hours drive ) and Chicago (3 hours) with their families for vacations.
What Remains: An Interview with Matt Bell
Matt Bell’s new novel Scrapper, out this month from Soho Press, begins with a sweeping history of Detroit told from the Packard Plant floor. “See the body of the plant,” the novel directs us, as if sung by a ghostly chorus.
From River Bottom to Topsoil: Recycling Cuyahoga River Sediment in Slavic Village
Each year, tributaries flowing into Lake Erie carry millions of cubic yards of sediment to the river mouths. On the Maumee, Cuyahoga, and Grand rivers and others, sand and clay particles travel downstream ...
Why I’m Not Watching the Browns
The Browns are on. There was a time when that meant I would have been on the couch in front of the TV or in a sports bar in front of a TV or at a friend’s house in front of a TV.
Demolition Means Progress? An Interview With Author Andrew Highsmith
No state’s cities are more decrepit than Michigan’s. Detroit has become a showcase for urban blight, an international symbol of decay that attracts art photographers and ruin pornographers from all over the world.
Wasserman Projects: One Man’s Addition To The New Detroit … Whatever That Means
Don’t call it a renaissance. Or a revival. Also out: Revitalization. Do not, do not, bring up Brooklyn when you’re talking about Detroit, not unless you’re ready to have that conversation with Gary Wasserman.