Author Archives: Alex B. Hill

Mental Maps of Detroit

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These mental maps of Detroit come from Jeffrey Gordon of the Detroit Geographic Expedition Institute (DGEI) and build on the “hand map” example from Detroit.

“A full time member, the cutting edge of Expedition, faces three tasks. First he must get “unlost.” We mildly haze those who are spatially illiterate and it is a condition that must be ruthlessly corrected. We simply can not take the time to explain every location that comes up in conversation. We have two potential instructors in the “Get Found” course.

[…] several different schemes can be used one after another.”

The hand map is the first example followed by these other mental maps as an important method to “unlost” in Detroit.

Do you use a different mental map to know your way around Detroit?

Map: Vehicles in Detroit as Percent of Total Population 2012

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In response to a few comments that the last “motor vehicles in the motor city” would be better based on vehicles as a percent of population, here is the updated version with the new 2012 data. I actually think it might even be better to look at vehicles available per household, but the Census is still an imperfect measure of vehicle ownership.

I could go on for a few paragraphs, but the short answer is that Detroit needs a public transit system.

Updated Detroit Metro Transit Fantasy Map

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We originally shared a post from Jackson Woods (jwcons) and his proposal for Detroit Area Rapid Transit (DART) fantasy transit map, which received over 12,000 views and 3,000+ shares on Facebook. I was finally able to track him down and found out that he has some great route and design updates to the map, which was recently featured in a Wired Magazine piece on fantasy maps. He has shared the absolutely most up to date version with us. Here is a snippet about the map from Jackson’s new website:

“My first attempt at a Detroit rapid transit map was based on a specific historical what-if: what if Detroit had built a metro system during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Atlanta, Washington, DC, and the Bay Area were building MARTA, Metro, and BART respectively? The new map is more expansive, and it’s more of a best case or dream scenario. Since the 1980s, Los Angeles has made a major effort to build a modern rapid transit system, going from nothing to about 90 miles of track in less than 25 years with much more still to come thanks to Measure R. What if the Detroit region were able to take a similar course?

What I ended up with is surely deserving of the title “fantasy map.” The Detroit Metro is a system comprised of 155 miles of track and 119 stations. This compares to the 90 miles of track and counting in LA, 129 miles with 97 stations in Washington once the new Silver Line is completed in 2018, and about 220 miles of track with 145 stations in Chicago. The circumferential St. Clair line is a big contributor and the main layout difference from my earlier map, adding nearly 40 miles of track on its own. If your fantasy maps need to have stricter limits to be enjoyable for their plausibility, just imagine the map without it.”

Read more about Jackson’s process and transit ideas. . .

Map: Houses Deteriorating and Dilapidated in Detroit 1960

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This map was published in Discussion Paper No. 1 from the Detroit Geographical Expedition led by William Bunge. It is interesting to see that the areas with the highest percentage of deteriorating or dilapidated houses are focused in areas at the time that were predominately low-income and minority communities. Today those same areas of Detroit are the focus of massive development along the Woodward Corridor, Corktown, Southwest, and along the Riverfront.

This is an important map as independent groups, led by Dan Gilbert, attempt to tear down every vacant structure in the city. In 2009, the Detroit Residential Parcel Survey helped inform Mayor Bing’s initiative to tear down 10,000 blighted structures even though the DRPS recommended that only 3,480 needed to be demolished. Mayor Bing was able to demolish 8,966 structures during his term. Now the Motor City Mapping initiative (Loveland Technologies & Data Driven Detroit), funded by the independent Blight Authority is completing a repeat survey and including every single structure in the city.

“Maybe I’m out of my mind, which I am for various reasons,” he said. “You get these structures down and, I mean, all of them, not most of them, all of them.” – Dan Gilbert

Detroit Neighborhood Markets Map

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It is unclear what year this map is from, but my guess is around 2009. The map includes Detroit Future City (DFC) demonstration areas which would have come at the beginning of the DFC process. The map demonstrates how there Detroit’s core has been devoid of development and strong neighborhoods which in turn caused the population to move to the outer edges of the city or to move out of the city all together. Most telling is the “steady” distinction along the Woodward corridor surrounded by a sea of red “distressed” areas.

Detroit Free Press can we get a year reference on this data?

Map: Birthplaces of the Mayors of Detroit 1802 – 2014

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The theme of mapping birthplaces began, I think, when redditor “pete8789” made a map of “Number of US Presidents born in each State,” others followed including, Birthplaces of: South African Presidents, French Presidents, New Zealand Prime Ministers, Leaders of the Soviet Union, Australian Prime Ministers, Swedish Prime Ministers, Dutch Prime Ministers, etc.

I think Detroit should be a part of the fad and has a very interesting map that reaches across the Atlantic showing Detroit’s days as a “frontier town.” The majority of early Mayors came from states on the East Coast, which is not surprising given the level of immigration moving from the East to the Midwest. Detroit was a main way point as immigrants made their way West to new areas of the United States. Detroit’s proximity to Canada earned it two Mayors born in Ontario. Emblematic of the Great Migration of African Americans from the South starting in 1910, Detroit had one Mayor who was born in the South, Coleman Young. His family moved to Detroit in 1923 and he began working for the Ford Motor Company.

In the last 130 years only 9 Mayors were born outside of the City of Detroit.

Source: Wikipedia

A People’s Atlas of Detroit: Kevin Joy 2010

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This map comes from the AREA Chicago project called “A People’s Atlas.” In Detroit, the blank map templates were handed out at the US Social Forum in the summer of 2010. I assume that is where Kevin Joy, best known for window graffiti in the United Artists Building, received a copy and completed the map with a great deal of information. A series of the maps from 22 different cities were published in “Notes for A People’s Atlas.”

I have to say that I’m not a big fan of the very odd Detroit outline that AREA Chicago employed as well as the absence of Belle Isle. I wonder who created the template for Detroit. Do you want to #MapDetroit? Click on the Participate link!

Map of Flickr Photos in Detroit

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This screen grab comes from the Luminous Cities project of UK based TraceMedia (try it out!) They have generated an interactive search option for all geotagged flickr photos back to 2005. In Detroit, it is easy to see the upside down “T” (“eet”) of eateries, attractions, and new investments in the Downtown/ Midtown area. There is a cluster of photos from DEMF, a cluster for Comerica Park, Eastern Market, the DIA, and more from WSU Campus up to the Fisher Building in New Center. Beyond that clusters of regularly visited places include Detroit’s iconic ruin porn, Michigan Central Station and the Packard Plant. Smaller clusters can also be seen in the Villages, Mexicantown, Russell Industrial Center, and Hamtramck, but they aren’t as dense and tend to be in the evening hours. The cluster to the far left of Downtown is the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. It would be very interesting to overlay this map with geotagged Instagram/Facebook photos.

 

 

Map: Motor Vehicles in the Motor City

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As the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) brings in major motor vehicle companies and big names (Joe Biden, Fernando Palazuelo) there seems to be the regular disconnect between the “Detroit” as the Auto Industry (Big Three) and “Detroit” the most recent city to enter bankruptcy with a population of over 700,000. The memorable editorial headline read “let Detroit go bankrupt,” but that was a reference to the Auto Industry not the municipality and its residents. (See how different people define “Detroit” in “100 Maps of Detroit“)

Just within Wayne County where the City of Detroit is located there is a significant divide in vehicle ownership. This in the city where Henry Ford revolutionized motor vehicle production as well as motor vehicle ownership affordability. A notable difficulty in motor vehicle ownership is the high cost of auto insurance (one of Duggan’s campaign topics) in Detroit as compared to the suburbs. However, there is also a high percentage of unemployment, poverty, and low property values that only add to the difficulty for many Detroit residents to own a motor vehicle. This map demonstrates a serious need for improved and innovative public transit in the City of Detroit that also connects to the suburbs to help Detroit residents get around, get to jobs and reduces the number of cars/ traffic from the suburbs.

This is a side thought, but since a very minor amount of revenue from the Auto Industry actually benefits the residents of Detroit maybe the dollars from the private NAIAS Charity Preview could be funneled into the new Regional Transit Authority (RTA) which is in serious need of funding. Just forget the fact that promoting public transit is against the corporate interests of those who produce individualized transportation vehicles.

City Councilman Election Frontrunners 1969

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From Field Notes II, this map represents the political climate of 1969 where the core of the city was liberal leaning. Detroit hasn’t had a conservative (Republican) Mayor since Louis Mirani’s term ended in 1962. One of the front runners, Van Antwerp, had served as Detroit Mayor from 1948-1950 and served on the City Council until his death in 1962.

Detroit Heat Map: Climate Impacts on Housing

detroit heat map 2Dr. Larissa Larsen, Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Natural Resources at the University of Michigan, led a study looking at the oldest housing in Detroit in order to understand the impacts of climate change, specifically extreme heat events, on the built environment and the residents living there.

“We looked at these heat events to find the best adaptive strategies – adding trees, removing unnecessary hard surfaces, and home weatherization to make homes more efficient and reduce the cost of utilities,” said Larsen. “The key to the project will be public engagement and working with people to implement the most practical responses.”

The Detroit Climatology Report 2013 by Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (DWEJ) estimates a steep increase in heat related deaths. In recent years extreme heat events have led to many deaths, especially among the elderly. Many studies have also demonstrated the causal link between increase heat and increase crime/ homicides as heat causes tempers to flare.

“Climate change is an issue that is quickly gaining momentum throughout the country, particularly in urban communities, as increased heat waves, air pollution and infectious diseases are more prevalent in low-income and minority communities,” said Kimberly Hill Knott, director of policy for Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice.

Map: Detroit overlaid with Chicago Transit Routes

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This map comes by way of the Changing Gears public radio program focused on the industrial Midwest. The map was made by reddit user, northsider1983.

Oddly enough both the Chicago lakefront and Detroit riverfront create a similar geography where imagined rail lines make sense along the waters edge as well as a a handful of routes that radiate from the downtown area. With the exception of so many rail lines bunched together in the same direction, Chicago’s L routes would seem to work fairly well for Detroit.

Thoughts?

Neon Detroit Map in the Madison Building

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If you’ve been inside the Madison Building lobby, then you couldn’t have missed this map on the wall. There is slight problem with the location of the neon circle. The Madison Building is not off of Woodward as it seems to appear on the map, but rather off of Broadway and closer to Grand Circus Park. Hopefully the yellow neon on Michigan Ave. and Gratiot Ave. represents the next streetcar rail development that Dan Gilbert will fund?

Can anyone identify the base map that they used?

Detroit Streetlights Overhaul Map

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After Charlie Le Duff’s report on the horribly outdated street light infrastructure and the pushpin map to track street lights, this map from the Detroit Free Press  sheds more light on the City’s plan to survey and improve street lights in Detroit. What is most interesting here is the choice to start with the outer neighborhoods where there is higher population density as opposed to improving downtown first. It is likely that downtown has already gotten the investments to improve street lighting, but this is a positive step in prioritizing areas where there is high density of Detroit residents over corporate or commercial interests.

Map: Integrated Voting Attitudes 1969

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This map was a part of the Detroit Geographical Expedition Institute’s Field Notes II on school decentralization. The argument this map portrayed was that idea that the opposite of racist was integrationist. DGEI found that the school board was placing all the power in the hands of those with racist attitudes. The totally white areas of the city represented increased racist attitudes in voting. The other part of DGEI’s argument was geographic proximity of people of different races along with their voting attitudes.

Detroit Population Change Map 1950 – 2000

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This fun infographic comes by way of the New York Times and utilizes US Postal Service data on vacancy rates as well as Census data on population density. The best part of this infographic are the 3D representations of population density. It’s very interesting to see the shifting population over time.

Detroit White Population Map 2011

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There have been maps of Detroit’s black population through every decade, but what about its white population? I decided to make this map after taking some friends around to a few hot spots in Detroit. We hit up Northern Lights before getting dinner at Green Dot Stables and then headed over the Sugar House for evening drinks. The venues progressively became less diverse. The Corktown area establishments seemed to be dominated by the young, hip, and white of Detroit.

This map demonstrates the divide in new neighborhood developments in the city: Hamtramck as a hip place to live, Downtown and Midtown bringing in students and young professionals, and Corktown/ Southwest as the coolest place to live in Detroit. It also represents the racial/ ethnic association with being “white.” Southwest Detroit appears to be a most densely white, but in reality many individuals of Latino heritage respond to the Census Bureau with “white” as their race/ethnicity. The numbers may be skewed, but there is no doubt that these areas do have growing young and white populations along with increased investment dollars.

Compare with Wayne County White Population

Map of Detroit School Closings 2010 – 2012

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Detroit has seen many schools close in the last decade. Many schools closed in 2007 due to low enrollment numbers. In, 2009 it was announced that almost half of the schools in Detroit would be closed. In 2010, consolidation of high schools was announced. School closings have slowed since then, but there have still been a handful of school closings in recent years.

Anyone know where we can find a comprehensive list of school closings since 2007 or 2009?

Hyperloop Transit from Detroit

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After the popularity of the Detroit Area Regional Transit map from jwcons, someone mentioned the Hyperloop and here it is as crafted by Michael Kelly for Popular Science. We captured the map with Detroit as the central hub. Imagine being able to get from Detroit to Washington D.C. or Atlanta in about 2 hours or Miami in 3 hours. It would become no big deal to visit Chicago (36min), St. Louis (57min), Pittsburgh (36min), Toronto (1hr), New York City (1 hr), etc. Have a meeting in Silicon Valley, no problem it’s just a day trip (3hrs 30min). Prefer to go skiing in the Rockies (2 hrs), just a couple hours and you’re there. The hyperloop doesn’t make any sense for a regional solutions, but would be an exciting future for a national transportation system.

More from the Popular Science article (also visit the article for an interactive version of the map):

In August, Silicon Valley darling Elon Musk—CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors—unveiled his concept for the Hyperloop, a high-speed system of 28-person pods that would shoot through low-pressure tubes on air bearings. Musk’s published proposal calls for the Hyperloop to link San Francisco and Los Angeles; pods would blast down the I-5 corridor at 760 mph, reducing the journey from five and a half hours by car to just 35 minutes.

Musk envisions the system connecting cities less than 900 miles apart—beyond that, he writes, “I suspect supersonic air travel ends up being faster and cheaper.” Using the 900-mile limit, we calculated other areas that could be connected by the Hyperloop. Theoretically, pairs such as Memphis and Chicago or Salt Lake City and Seattle could bridge the distance of a morning commute, blending economies and cultures, and reshaping the continent.

Map: Parks, Open Space, and Recreation in Detroit

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Detroit Future City has some grand plans for expanding green spaces in the city. I would argue that the city already has  more parks than it can manage with the closing of 51 parks last  year (map). Belle Isle is set to become the “Mackinac Island of the South” and others have grand plans for Rouge Park while there is still the development of controversial Hantz Farms/ Woodlands and SHAR Recovery Park. If these green spaces can be better developed and maintained it can help boost the health of Detroit residents and reduce crime.

The “areas to consider new parks” seem to create barriers between areas where there is higher population density and the Downtown/ Midtown region. Seems like areas to consider new parks would better fit where former industrial sites might have been. The exciting part of this map is the development of Greenways. I can’t wait for the loop to be complete that will connect the entire city in a bikeable pathway. Any future development of bus rapid transit or streetcars needs to also include dedicated and buffered bike lanes along major road arteries, such as Woodward, Gratiot, Jefferson, Grand River, Michigan Ave.

Hand and Finger Map of Detroit

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Have you ever wanted Detroit in the palm of your hand? Now you can! Other cartographers have made fun maps with their hands such as finger planning in Portland and hand turkey maps of Boston.

This hand based map of Detroit comes from the Field Notes I, Discussion Paper No. 1 by William Bunge. The Detroit Geographical Expedition needed a way to help orient its “field members,” typically students, many from “out of town.” This example comes from a checker cab taxi driver names Lee in 1968. Supposedly in the 1960s this was taught to school children and people in the streets would use it to give directions. I think this needs to come back because it works so well with fingers as the main arteries in Detroit. Perhaps it would make more sense to have the pinky finger be Michigan Avenue and say that Fort St. follows along the river just like Jefferson Ave? Where is that six-fingered man when you need him?

Send us your maps (in hand form) of your favorite places in Detroit! Click the Participate link