The article I chose to read for this week's blog prompt was "The Problem With Rebuilding Detroit" by David Uberti (link below). his article was an interesting read for me because it was written two months ago, so I had more insight and perspective than the author did when he wrote it. I recently attended Ford’s train station announcement there Ford publicized its plans to revamp the Michigan Central Station and turn it into the technological and innovative hub it once used to be. This article was written before Ford confirmed this project, and talks a lot about how if this were to happen what the tradeoffs would be between private cash and public benefit would be.
The energy I felt during the train station announcement was quite exciting. The motivational speeches accompanied with wholehearted cheers from the audience really sparked excitement and couldn’t stop me from feeling that major economic changes were actually coming Detroit’s way. While it seems as though this will inevitably lead to positive changes, I think the article does a great job of being critical. There isn’t much bias in the article as the author doesn’t seem to lean one of or the other. Rather, he provides arguments and ideas from both sides about the situation.
I do agree with a lot of what the article has to say. Sure, bringing the Michigan Central Depot back to life is seemingly exciting for the potential economic growth, but the article made me look at the situation from a different perspective. Who is really benefitting? Will the residents reap as many benefits as we think, or will it primarily be the company’s middle-class employees who move in? The article also touches on how Detroit’s situation, in general, is a disaster, as wealthy investors were able to amass too much real estate as the city spiraled into shambles. Moreover, while a lot of the residents are excited about the change, the article poses a lot of realistic questions such as, where would the hundreds of employees park their cars? While these questions seem rather insignificant and are somewhat overshadowed by the excitement of such a major change, I appreciated how the article
The article ends on the note of why the Ford deal hasn’t gone through yet, guessing that it’s the money, vision or both. From what I observed at the public announcement, the vision is clear: to revitalize Detroit and make it as successful as it was during its prime. While there will be speed bumps in the way, I’m still critically optimistic about what this will do for Detroit in the future.
Link:https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/problem-with-rebuilding-detroit-michigan-ford-gentrification-cities_us_5ae31cffe4b02baed1b991c9
The energy I felt during the train station announcement was quite exciting. The motivational speeches accompanied with wholehearted cheers from the audience really sparked excitement and couldn’t stop me from feeling that major economic changes were actually coming Detroit’s way. While it seems as though this will inevitably lead to positive changes, I think the article does a great job of being critical. There isn’t much bias in the article as the author doesn’t seem to lean one of or the other. Rather, he provides arguments and ideas from both sides about the situation.
I do agree with a lot of what the article has to say. Sure, bringing the Michigan Central Depot back to life is seemingly exciting for the potential economic growth, but the article made me look at the situation from a different perspective. Who is really benefitting? Will the residents reap as many benefits as we think, or will it primarily be the company’s middle-class employees who move in? The article also touches on how Detroit’s situation, in general, is a disaster, as wealthy investors were able to amass too much real estate as the city spiraled into shambles. Moreover, while a lot of the residents are excited about the change, the article poses a lot of realistic questions such as, where would the hundreds of employees park their cars? While these questions seem rather insignificant and are somewhat overshadowed by the excitement of such a major change, I appreciated how the article
The article ends on the note of why the Ford deal hasn’t gone through yet, guessing that it’s the money, vision or both. From what I observed at the public announcement, the vision is clear: to revitalize Detroit and make it as successful as it was during its prime. While there will be speed bumps in the way, I’m still critically optimistic about what this will do for Detroit in the future.
Link:https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/problem-with-rebuilding-detroit-michigan-ford-gentrification-cities_us_5ae31cffe4b02baed1b991c9
Big Sean performing at Ford's announcement
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