Detroit's legendary urban decay... Coming to a theatre near YOU.

[UglymanCometh]

Filmmakers see Detroit as test case for ideas on urban revival
BY JOHN GALLAGHER • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • July 14, 2009

Studying Detroit and its problems appears to be a growth industry.

This spring and summer, the British Broadcasting Corp. and the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service were filming documentaries about the plight of Detroit and the city's hopes for a revival. A gaggle of other documentarians and journalists were doing the same.

Local experts say Detroit has achieved something unique. It has become the test case for all sorts of theories on urban decay and all sorts of promising ideas about reviving shrinking cities.

"It's unbelievable," said Sue Mosey, president of the University Cultural Center Association, who has been interviewed recently by two separate PBS crews and an Austrian journalist writing about Detroit.

"All of us have been inundated with all of these people who somehow think that because we're so bottomed out and so weak-market, that this is this incredible opportunity," Mosey said.

Robin Boyle, a professor of urban planning at Wayne State University who has been interviewed by numerous visitors, echoed that sentiment.

"They realize that there is an interesting story to tell, that has real characters, but even more, they discover a place that is simply not like everywhere else," he said.

Projects in the works
In addition to the BBC and PBS documentaries, Detroit is the focus of several other projects, among them:

• A young French independent filmmaker, Florent Tillon, shot footage around downtown last week for his documentary about Detroiters coping with unprecedented change.

• San Diego State film student Amy Sheppell captured scenes at the Earthworks Urban Farm on Detroit's east side on a Saturday in late June, part of a feature she's shooting on urban agriculture.

• Heike Warmuth, the U.S. correspondent for the Austrian newspaper Der Kurier, was in town in early June conducting interviews for a feature story on the city.

These and other filmmakers and journalists were drawn not by Michigan's lucrative film tax credit, which doesn't apply to the work they do, but by the urgency of Detroit itself, said Tillon.

Tillon is raising about $40,000 to spend on his film, which he hopes to market through a French production company. He expects to make little, if any, profit. "I don't think about money," he said.

Why Detroit?

George Hencken, a producer for BBC, said her documentary focuses on the auto industry and its relationship to Detroit and its people. The film is to run on the BBC in November.

"Why Detroit? Because the influence of Detroit, both musically and through the cars that still symbolize the American dream, has reached throughout the world," she said. "And now as the city struggles with a post-industrial, post-urban future, it could be a model for issues that will affect urban centers across the globe."

Sheppell found that Detroit's growing number of community gardens offered the most material for her feature on urban farming.

"I filmed in San Diego, New York and here to compare what urban agriculture could mean to each community," she said. "So far, it seems that in Detroit, it could really mean the most to this city, providing local food for its citizens and hopefully providing more of a community feeling and more of an economy."

Detroit's status as the nation's poster child of urban decay no doubt draws many filmmakers, said George Steinmetz, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan who released his own film about Detroit's past a few years ago.

Steinmetz said ruins such as the Michigan Central Station fascinate people on a deeply psychological level. That helps explain this year's focus on Detroit. The city offers many different meanings.

"Ruins," he said, "become a metaphor for the kind of struggle between life and death."

Contact JOHN GALLAGHER: 313-222-5173 or jgallagher@freepress.com

[rs913]

Speaking of Detroit, urban decay, and "movies", I found this video on YouTube quite interesting....

Driving from Grosse Pointe to Detroit on Jefferson Avenue

The neighborhood seems to change very dramatically when he crosses an intersection at the one-minute mark. How is that possible? I realize that's the city limit, but NO buffer zone between well-maintained suburbia and boarded-up abandoned buildings?

[DecoJim]

Originally Posted by rs913

Speaking of Detroit, urban decay, and "movies", I found this video on YouTube quite interesting....

Driving from Grosse Pointe to Detroit on Jefferson Avenue

The neighborhood seems to change very dramatically when he crosses an intersection at the one-minute mark. How is that possible? I realize that's the city limit, but NO buffer zone between well-maintained suburbia and boarded-up abandoned buildings?

The ills of Detroit are legion and have built up over the last 50 years but today the main problem is an ineffective and corrupt city government that is also plagued by chronic deficits. The city population is roughly 900,000 down from over 1,850,000 in 1950 and the tax base is probably only 25% of what it was in the 1950s (adjusting for inflation). There are simply too many buildings, houses, and road and too few people to use them. Even within the city limits there are nice neighborhoods such as Indian Village that are well maintained and prosperous looking that are partially surrounded by gutted or poorly kept up houses and small commercial structures. Another example is Rosedale Park in which the interior streets have nice homes but the main streets are lined with defunct one story commercial buildings.

Grosse Pointe, on the other hand, started out as an enclave of the rich and has not had to share the problems of Detroit

[hudkina]

The border isn't actually the intersection, but the alley behind the intersection. The building with the green awnings is the "end" of Grosse Pointe Park, while the building on the other side of that alley with the ripped green awning and the ugly 70's-era planters is the "beginning" of Detroit.

It just goes to show you how much of a stigma Detroit has. It would be perfectly reasonable to assume a business could do reasonably well there, but for the most part you only find vacant buildings.

[LMich]

Originally Posted by DecoJim

Grosse Pointe, on the other hand, started out as an enclave of the rich and has not had to share the problems of Detroit

To me, that's probably the biggest defining reason. All of the other factors (i.e. the stigma of simply being 'in' Detroit whether you're a foot or a mil into it) definitely play a role, but the stark change from the City to the Pointes is pretty unique when you consider the rest of the border lands of Detroit. The difference really is that the Pointes were founded essentially as wealthy residential enclaves which means the zoning is going to be different on either side of the border. If the far eastside had been developed as a mansion district, I doubt there would be much difference. It's why that the difference between Warren and Detroit or Redford and Detroit, or River Rouge and Detroit, or Dearborn and Detroit aren't anywhere near as stark, if distinguishable, at all, on many streets. The zoning is essentially the same at these entry points.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Where in the hell within Detroit city limits are there vast woodlands, as depicted in the remake of Assault on Precinct 13?

[vid]

Here in Thunder Bay, two blocks and a busy street separate turn of the century mansions from a dilapidated, primarily aboriginal "ghetto". It's a pretty stark contrast. A ten minute walk separates alleys full of garbage and homeless people from Victorian mansions and manicured lawns. We have a boardwalk that is well maintained on one end, and trashy on the other (including a garbage can that was torched over a year ago and still hasn't been replaced). And this is within the same city, just opposite sides of a street.

[LMich]

Speaking of The Pointes:

Disputes over taxes erupt in Pointes

Maureen Feighan / The Detroit News

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Grosse Pointe Woods --In between the manicured lawns, neatly kept houses and quaint storefronts, discord is brewing in the genteel Grosse Pointes these days.

Angry residents in two communities -- Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores -- are waging recall campaigns against elected officials over recent tax increases they say should have been avoided. Normally staid meetings have drawn standing-room-only crowds. And letters to the editor filled the opinion page of the local newspaper over politics in both cities, with foes exchanging attacks over who is lying and who isn't about tax increases.

"People are mad," said Nancy Hames, a lifelong Grosse Pointe Woods resident and former city council candidate who is leading a recall against Councilmen Joseph Sucher and Arthur Bryant, two of six councilmen who voted in June to increase the city's taxes 1.75 mills. "We're all trying to keep our household budgets in line and they didn't do the cutting to the degree that a lot of people are having to do in their homes just to stay above water."

Sucher and Bryant blame a small group of former politicians and council candidates for the unrest in their community. Both stand by their votes and say for 80 percent of Woods residents, taxes went down this summer due to falling property values.

"This is about politics," Sucher said. "This is not about taxes."

In Grosse Pointe Shores, irked residents say their gripes are about more than higher taxes. They say it's about sky-high pay rates for department heads -- the former city manager made $205,000 and his wife, who was his administrative assistant, made $149,000 before they both retired last year, according to W2 forms -- and a tight-lipped political culture. Some also say they feel misled that just four months after voters there approved a new charter to become a city -- resetting the city's tax ceiling at 20 mills -- their taxes were increased.

"If they'd been upfront and said we're thinking about raising taxes, a lot of people would've voted against the charter," said Dr. Robert E. Lee, a vascular surgeon who is looking into a recall against the five council people in Grosse Pointe Shores who supported a 1-mill tax increase in June, including the mayor, and has even created a Web site for it. "I feel lied to."

Mayor James Cooper denies residents were misled about the charter or the possibility of higher taxes.

"We explained the need for a 1-mill increase at our June council meeting," said Cooper, a dentist, who previously served as the Shores' village president before being elected mayor in February. "There was no intention to deceive or trick the public."

Seething under the calm

Nasty politics is probably the last thing that comes to mind when Metro Detroiters think of the Grosse Pointes.

Well-groomed bungalows and colonials line the residential streets of Grosse Pointe Woods, the largest of the five Pointes with 3.3 square miles and 16,311 residents, according to June SEMCOG figures.

Just east of it is Grosse Pointe Shores, one of the smallest of the Pointes with just 1.1 square miles and 2,600 residents. This affluent community -- the median home value was nearly $600,000, according to 2000 Census figures -- was so attached to its identity as a village, that when it became a city this spring it still didn't let go of its village name. It's now the "Village of Grosse Pointe Shores, a Michigan City" -- and even its Web site refers to it that way.

But like communities across Metro Detroit, property values have cooled in both communities, leaving less in city coffers.

Faced with a roughly $1.2 million shortfall in its 2009-2010 budget, which started July 1, Grosse Pointe Woods raised its millage rate 1.75 mills as part of a three-pronged approach to address the shortfall. Sucher said the city also made about $800,000 in cuts and used some of its fund balance.

"We really just want to do what's right for the city," Bryant said.

But Hames believes the council could have "looked harder for ways to reduce expenses." She said health benefits are given to the city's contracted attorneys and its municipal judge. And a pay freeze was just imposed, she said.

Hames didn't target the other four council members who supported the millage increase because they're up for re-election in November and state law prohibits a recall in an elected official's last six months of office.

"There's absolutely support" for a recall, she said. "...This was a 13.5 percent increase."

Time may be Hames' biggest enemy, though. She has until Friday -- 90 days before the election -- to gather 2,500 signatures. Hames has assembled a 10-person committee to go out into neighborhoods, create mailing lists and collect signatures.

Ledgers closely held

In Grosse Pointe Shores, meanwhile, tensions have been rising for months after two newcomers, Dan Schulte and Ted Kedzierski, were elected to the city council in February, both pledging to improve fiscal responsibility and transparency. Their supporters say they're tired of the "culture of elitism" at city hall, the lack of openness, and how Schulte and Kedzierski have been "handcuffed" from doing their jobs.

Kedzierski, who is a forensic accountant and lawyer, said he had to wait three months to see the city's general ledger, a computerized summary of each check posting to the city's various accounts that shows where the city is spending its money. On July 6, after the budget was passed, he said he was finally allowed to see it for three hours -- with the city manager, finance director and another councilman present.

"It was discouraging," said Kedzierski, who was the highest vote-getter in February's election but wasn't named mayor pro-tem as the charter stipulates because Brian Hunt, a dentist like Cooper, got the job. "I was surprised that they were being so guarded."

Cooper denies there's a lack of openness in his city. "The group behind the recall will really say anything to support their cause," he said. "Contrary to their criticisms, we have been very open and transparent to our residents."

But Schulte contends the city has always had a history of being tight-lipped. He remembers attending a council meeting with his wife after his family moved to Grosse Pointe Shores roughly 16 years ago. They were asked why they were there.

"They weren't used to it," Schulte said. "This community has been used to doing things without anyone aware of what they're doing."

But a lot more residents seem to be paying attention these days, likely driven by the economic downturn, Schulte and Kedzierski say. At a crowded council meeting in June, there was standing room only as Cooper scolded Schulte for e-mailing certain residents about the city's trash services -- "rogue behavior," he called it -- and asked him not to attend finance committee meetings in the future, saying it violated the Open Meetings Act. The city's attorney said Schulte could attend so long as he didn't participate in the discussion.

Resident Janice Pemberton is "amazed at the disrespect" shown by the council and said meetings are "more autocratic than democratic."

"The meetings have been stifling for residents to be able to say anything," said Pemberton, who ran for the council in February and lost.

Lee will have to wait until Oct. 1 to officially start his recall campaign. State law prohibits a recall within a politician's first six months of office. He'll need 500 signatures and will use the next few months to meet with neighbors to see where people stand.

"There's a whole list of issues that have people up in arms," he said.

mfeighan@detnews.com (586) 468-0520

I don't have any sympathy for the recallers in The Shores, at all. If they couldn't see that the push to incorporate was at least partly to be able to levy higher taxes then that's on them. That's almost always one of the central reasons for any village to incorporate as a city, and in the case of the Shores it was probably the main reason given the shrinking population base and extremely small size of the municipality.

[hudkina]

Originally Posted by LMich

If the far eastside had been developed as a mansion district, I doubt there would be little difference.

Exactly. In fact, you can see that with the transition from the East English Village into Grosse Pointe. The style of housing on either side of the border is very similar, and both sides of the border are generally well-kept.

While the businesses on the Detroit side of Mack Ave are different from the businesses on the Grosse Pointe side, it's not nearly as startling as the transition along Jefferson Ave.

[Exodus]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Where in the hell within Detroit city limits are there vast woodlands, as depicted in the remake of Assault on Precinct 13?

Good question As far as I know there isn't. Maybe urban prairies with overgrown weeds and a some trees spotted here and there, but actual woodland, and vast woodland at that ? Oh yeah, that's right, Bell Isle, but it's a park. Also I think it was filmed at the 4th prcnt., don't know for sure, never watched the movie. But this is a prime example on why you can't trust everything hollywood puts on film.

[hudkina]

It was filmed in Canada, either Vancouver or Toronto. My guess is that since the forest they used was a coniferous forest, it was in the Vancouver area...

The ironic thing is that the old 13th precinct was in the heart of Midtown, miles from anything even remotely forest-like.

[vid]

I live watching movies and, at random, saying "That's Vancouver." or "That's Toronto."

[volguus zildrohar]

I can't make a separate thread with just this link but I just came across it on AOL and felt I should share it.

For anyone who loves Detroit here you go.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by vid

I live watching movies and, at random, saying "That's Vancouver." or "That's Toronto."

My personal favorite is Los Angeles standing in for New York (or anywhere, for that matter). Or Pasadena (and sometimes Long Beach/Bixby Knolls) standing in for a random suburban neighborhood in the Midwest.

Because you know, the Midwest is just chock full of neighborhoods with California Craftsmen homes and bungalows with palm trees out front.

[UglymanCometh]

Originally Posted by hudkina

It was filmed in Canada, either Vancouver or Toronto. My guess is that since the forest they used was a coniferous forest, it was in the Vancouver area...

The ironic thing is that the old 13th precinct was in the heart of Midtown, miles from anything even remotely forest-like.

Forest Street is a few feet away to the south

sorry... couldn't resist