Mobility in the Motor City
Mobility is a word that has multiple meanings, I'm going to explore two: transportation and socioeconomic structure.
Let's start with transportation: as the auto capital of the world, Detroit is actually not a city that promotes public transportation, and the system it does have is limited. Our primary public transportation method is freeways. We have buses, but they are not rapid, and they are mapped out and set up in a way that can be difficult to adjust to for the new bus rider. Our only light rail is something we call the "People Mover".
The "People Mover" is 2.9 miles of single-track elevated trains encircling the business district of Downtown Detroit. With 13 stations at the largest buildings and commerce points in the city, it serves only a limited population, generally non-residents. In 1976, President Gerald Ford offered $600 million dollars to Southeast Michigan to build a rail transit system, and the only result was the People Mover. It was a competition to see who could build the most effective light rail transit system with the funds. It would seem that Detroit lost to its competitor, Miami. However, in recent news, Detroit plans to begin construction on the Woodward Light Rail Project which will connect to the People Mover, creating a more useful light rail system, which will also connect to the main passenger rail line, Amtrak.
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| (Credit: Farley, Couper, Krysan, 2004) |
To connect transportation to mobility is natural. We can now draw the line of transportation/mobility to class/mobility. Detroit is an incredibly poor city, we are considering bankruptcy as an option this year to solve some of our budget woes, and a financial state of emergency is in place. The city is poor, and the people are poor. A city with sharp racial divides - the city contains about 70% of all blacks in the Detroit Metropolitan region, and only about 5% of all whites. The staggering amount of poverty in the city is a sharp contrast to the suburbs as well. This causes incredible feelings of stress and hopelessness in regards to upward mobility for those who live in the city, and an equally incredible amount of privileged attitudes for those living outside the city.
The Renaissance Center (a.k.a. GM Headquarters) is located in the heart of Downtown Detroit. It is a symbol of hope to some, a symbol of automotive power to others, but to me, it is a symbol of Detroit's future mobility of both class and transport. As residents of Detroit, we rely on the automobile and its continued success and innovation. As the most visible building in Detroit it is one of the central stops of the People Mover. Rich and poor alike admire it, but only people with money will enter it to use its many features. However, the outdoor view is astounding, and the fountains along the river front outside of it are frequented by children from all over the city, visitors, and residents alike.
I have found that something as simple as sharing space with someone who relates differently to the world makes us grow. If we can take these interactions and expand them, we might create new ways of becoming mobil in both socioeconomic status and transport. To examine all the elements of race, class, transportation, mobility could fill volumes. I am only briefly examining how these ideas are connected, and I invite you to share your thoughts.
Race, class, transportation, mobility: all are connected to our ability to move, interact, and develop as a city and as individuals. The fact that we are the Motor City, does not make us the Mobil City. But I think we're getting there.
Sincerely,
Kaity Nicastri,
Detroit Lover
To see this post in its original form (without all the cool linked tidbits), go to Urban Vignettes!
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