Author Archives: Alex B. Hill

Map: Gaps Downtown in Detroit’s Urban Decline

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This diagram and map from Charles Waldheim (Stalking Detroit, Waldheim et al, 2001) of Downtown shows the growing gaps in downtown development over the years. They help to illustrate the reality of Detroit’s decline and the dispersion (sprawl).  Detroit’s “urban core” was critical to its early development from “frontier town” to city. Downtown became rife with poverty, drugs, and murder in the 1970s and 1980s – pictured aboce (1994) and from historical data the decade of the 1990s wasn’t much better. In a few years (2016)  it will be almost stunning to look back at the last 100 years of downtown Detroit and see how it rose and declined.

Boulevard, Avenue, Road, and Street in Detroit

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Over the last three years working as a community health worker in Detroit, I have logged over 80,000 miles on my tiny car with the majority of those miles being from getting around Detroit to meet with clients, families, and community events. After a while I became really interested in street naming.

I first saw this street name mapping idea from Bill Rankin’s work in Vancouver to the Derek Watkins applying a similar effort to the Portland – Seattle area. I was finally given my last push and decided to create this map after following Bostonography. The piece that took the longest was finding a good file of Detroit streets (finally acquired one from my GIS professor this summer).

In order to understand the layout of Detroit “streets” you really have to know Detroit’s history. The different groupings of “street” names shows the development of Detroit and its expansion over the years. Arthur Mullen of Cityscape has a great explanatory article, here are some highlights:

“In the immediate downtown area, the earlier French physical imprint was removed by the devastating fire of 1805. Nearly the entire small village was destroyed by that fire and the new territorial governor, Judge Augustus B. Woodward, decreed that the town would be reconstructed utilizing a grand urban grid based on a spoked wheel system […].”

“The French rectilinear grid was built off of their “ribbon farms” which was their method of dividing property near Detroit. These farms, usually ranging between 200 to 400 feet wide, stretched linearly inland for approximately three miles, thus the name. […] After the fire of 1805, the new Woodward grid was laid on top of the French property grid in only the central portion of downtown.”

“Eight Mile road became the Base Line for all of this surveying in the NW territories. (For your information – Eight Mile Road stretched across Lake Michigan becomes the border between Wisconsin and Illinois.) […] The outlaying parts of Detroit and the suburbs follow this true north south grid pattern as evidenced by our regions north-south and east-west mile roads. This explains why there are three basic grid systems in the City of Detroit. Their existence physically illuminates the early history of the city of Detroit.”

“Our Native American heritage is also evident in the physical layout of the city. Michigan Ave.– aka U.S. 12, Chicago Road, Sauk Trail — follows an old Native American trail used for trading to circumnavigate around the south shore of Lake Michigan. This earlier history is visible in the subtle twists the road makes as it nears Dearborn, and it becomes even more profound as you head west on the road.”

Maybe that was more than you wanted to know, but the history of Detroit gives incredible insight into its present day make up. As evidenced by all the orange in the map, the term “Street” was used widely in all three of Detroit’s street grid systems. It’s hard not to go anywhere in the city and not drive on a street.

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Detroit’s “Avenues” show the lasting impact of Detroit’s initial plan of 1806, Augustus Woodward’s hub-and-spoke grid plan. These Avenues are still important connectors to other Michigan cities and regions. It seems that “Avenues” also became popular again after official US control of Detroit, notably on the Westside and as important cross-city routes.

detroit_avesBoulevard’s aren’t the most widespread in Detroit, but they are some of the most prominent streets in Detroit’s history. The most recognizable “Boulevard” is Grand Boulevard, which at one point was one of the most prominent streets to build your house. Modeled after the French design, Grand Boulevard encompassed the outer limits of the city in 1913 and was decorated with beautiful landscaping.

detroit_blvds“Roads” in Detroit follow the convention of the true East-West Mile roads and North-South street naming after official US control of Detroit after 1837. It is easy to see that “Roads” are limited to the outer areas of the city, away from the city center.

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“Streets” and “Avenues” may be timeless as far as street naming in Detroit, but “Boulevards” and “Roads” reveal Detroit’s historical planning past. Depending on where you live in Detroit, there may be some street names that you never encounter – but everyone will live or drive on a “street” (from Census 2010 data, Social Explorer).

detroit_st_popdenSee also: Map of Detroit Land Annexation 1806 – 1926

Detroit Median Family Income Map 1965

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From the Field Notes II of the Detroit Geographical Expedition Initiative with William Bunge, this map shows how downtown and Cass Corridor areas became impoverished and abandoned over the years. Now we see these areas as the primary focus of redevelopment. This is a good reminder of historical information allowing us to better understand present day developments.

Detroit Smallpox Map 1920

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Published in the City Health Bulletin, May 1920 (Page 3) by George T. Palmer, Epidemiologist – this map shows how the first cases of smallpox were concentrated in the Black Bottom where the small black population resided. Since smallpox spreads easily by close contact and housing conditions in the Black Bottom were less than ideal, it is no wonder that the disease found easy vectors.

Epidemiologist Palmer notes that the “unprecedented influx of people to Detroit, combined with a woeful lack of suitable housing” causing overcrowding aided in the spread of disease by close contact.

The disease among the colored is confined largely to the unmarried adult male, from 20 to 50. This is mainly a roving population, living in rooming houses. Two-thirds of the colored cases have been in Detroit in less than a year. Never having been successfully vaccinated, this group furnishes a fertile field for smallpox once introduced.

Detroit Techno Pac-Man Map

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Canadian artist group, Price Budgets Boys have made a series of interpretations described as a mix of Piet Mondrian, Pac-Man and Boggie Woggie music. The videogame board consists of Piet Mondrian’s painting “Broadway Boogie Woogie” (1942-43), which in its turn is inspired by Manhattan’s street grid and boogie woogie music.

They created three versions after the initial NYC version: “Detroit Techno” (2005), “Tokyo Techno” (2006) and “Toronto Techno” (2006). The labyrinths in the new versions are created by stylized street grid from each city, executed in the style of Piet Mondrian.

See also: De Troit a la Mondrian – population change map in Piet Mondrian style

Detroit Future City Mini Maps & Open Data

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For the massive Detroit Future City report, piles and piles of data were compiled and aggregated from many different sources, yet only a small portion of this data is open to the public.

  • Hamilton Anderson – Land Use and Neighborhoods
  • Stoss Landscape Urbanism – Landscape, Ecology, Environment
  • Initiative for a Competitive Inner City – Economic Growth
  • Mass Economics – Economic Growth
  • Interface Studios – Economic Growth
  • Happold Consulting – City Systems
  • Center for Community Progress – Public Assets
  • Carlisle Wortman – Zoning
  • AECOM – Landscape, Ecology, Environment
  • Skidmore Owings & Merrill, LLP – Urban Design
  • HRA Advisors – Public Land

As Detroit changes and grows, I challenge these businesses and groups to open up their data and share it for the benefit of all of those living in Detroit, working in Detroit, and making steps to revitalize Detroit. Open data can only be a benefit to the city, its economic, and most importantly its people.

Map: Nonlocal Land Use in Detroit 1969

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This would be a really interesting map to replicate today if the data existed. There are plenty of interesting maps on privately owned land and largest land owners, but a more comprehensive picture would be cool to see. With the rise of the Wayne County auction and renting in key areas of the city I wonder how much of the city is owned by people living within the city limits.

This map from William Bunge’s Detroit Geographical Expedition Field Notes II on School Decentralization.

Map: Renovating Homes & Ponzi Schemes in Detroit

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Back in February, the Free Press covered Metro Property Groups great success at revitalizing Detroit homes.

Beydoun’s Metro Property Group, founded in 2009, is getting a lot of notice for its up-tempo approach to renovating distressed houses. Buying in bulk from a variety of sources, Metro Property Group renovates dozens of houses each month, renting them to qualified renters who may one day turn into home buyers.

Many individuals, nonprofits and companies renovate homes in the city, but Beydoun may be among the few doing it on an industrial scale, refurbishing around 60 houses each month. Each house gets a new hot-water tank and furnace; floors are buffed; kitchens and baths redone.

If you know much about their target areas highlighted in the map – these are areas of high crime, high poverty, and haven’t seen as much investment from foundations and non-profits. The story was too good to be true.

Late last month another story hit the presses, “Metro Property Group turns investors into “unwitting and unintentional slumlords.” The Metro Property Group is called the top buyer of distressed homes, which matches the Free Press’ “60 houses each month” stat. Baydoun (sp Beydoun) who is a Dearborn City Council candidate allegedly intimidated investors and falsified legal records in order to cover up the scam.

Detroit Streetcar Rail Map 1941

DSR-map_railservice-1941The Department of Street Railways (DSR) used to dominate Detroit’s roadways. The 1940s and 1950s were a time when public transportation was real in Detroit. Just check out the guy in the picture below (circa 1955) using a light up map to find his desired streetcar. The rise of the automobile industry is be credited with destroying the streetcar rail network as it pushed the adoption of it’s motor coach buses after World War II. During the war there was a need to conserve gasoline and rubber, so rail car was the preferred public transit option. By 1956, all streetcars had been converted to Ford motor coach buses.

The M1 Light Rail is now less of “light rail”and follows the streetcar model that can best be seen in Portland and Seattle. Hopefully future developments follow the main arteries as seen in the DSR map with streetcars running along Woodward, Gratiot, Grand River, Michigan Ave., Jefferson Ave., and Fort St. The most important consideration for future streetcar rail development should be on commuter flows.

DSR-ServRobotInformationMachine_1955

Map: Where will the new Neighborhood Police Officers program focus?

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Detroit Police Chief James Craig has made a lot of big changes since taking the position on July 1st. There have been a number of senior staffing shake-ups as well as a shift to getting more patrol officers on the street.

This last Saturday, October 5th, at his “Call to Action” attended by almost 400 Detroit residents, Craig announced that the new Neighborhood Police Officers (NPO) program would focus police activities around liquor stores, gas stations, and schools.

New Neighborhood Police Officers (NPO) program will place officers around schools, gas stations and liquor stores.

— Michigan Citizen (@MichiganCitizen) October 5, 2013

Earlier in the week on Wednesday, October 2nd , Craig asked gas station and party store owners to clean up their properties to deter crime.

“We have too few police officers,” he said. “There can be no expectations that we can do it all. Through a partnership, we can do it all.”

At first blush it would appear that Chief Craig plans to just focus on the entire city (see first map). There are 582 liquor stores, 449 gas stations, and 105 schools. That makes 1,136 key locations that Craig wants neighborhood officers to focus on, but how does that break down by neighborhood? Which neighborhood might see an increased presence of neighborhood police?

(Note: neighborhood is a very fluid term in Detroit, so we relied on the City of Detroit Master Plan neighborhoods GIS shapefile)

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By aggregating these 1,136 locations by neighborhood, we can see where police might increase presence or at least be more noticeable. Connor just below the Osborn (Mt. Olivet) area, Finney on the far East side, and Cerveny/ Grandmont (Grandmont-Rosedale) to the West have the highest numbers of these locations. This is not surprising based on the fact that the city’s population is more dense to the far East and West. This map also helps to show greater prevalence of locations on the greater West side than the East side. Ok, great so now we know in general which neighborhoods have a greater number of locations that the new NPO program wants to focus on, but how does that map with crime trends in Detroit?

dpdcraig_homicide

In general, homicide rates follow the same trend as property crimes (burglary, larceny, car theft). The best available data is on homicides, so that was used a general crime marker. In comparing the two maps it would appear that neighborhoods that have higher density of liquor stores, gas stations, and schools also tend to have higher prevalence of homicide. It appears that the Detroit Police Department and Chief Craig have made good on their promise to utilize more data driven approaches to crime prevention. Hopefully the NPO program is able to improve safety in these neighborhoods. What remains to be seen is the implementation of Stop-and-Frisk in these neighborhoods and if these neighborhoods also become hotspots of unjustified frisks.

Map: Children’s automobile ‘accidents’ in Detroit

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Not much more explanation is needed for this William Bunge map. The important and critical piece is his question: “If you can predict an event, why call it an accident?” I feel like this can easily be applied to many issues in Detroit. Many crises were predictable, yet there was a lack of interest to act. Bunge reminds us that we need to utilize data to better predict and improve conditions for all residents of Detroit. In many ways the city’s environment can be improved to assist in the health and well-being of residents.

Map: Asthma Prevalence by Zipcode in Detroit 2010

asthma_zipcode

Asthma is another chronic condition that has high prevalence in Detroit, above the national average. This map showing hospitalizations resulting from asthma comes from a current Geography Professor, Dr. Annalie Campos, who is also working for the Center for Urban Studies. Interestingly the data doesn’t match 48217’s title as the “most polluted zipcode.” The Drawing Detroit blog has more:

The above map shows persistent asthma prevalence rates for children (under 18 years of age) enrolled in Medicaid in 2010 for each zip code in the City of Detroit. The asthma prevalence rate for children in Medicaid in the City of Detroit in 2010 ranged from 4.6 percent to 7.9 percent. Five zip codes recorded the highest rates (6.71%-7.9%) among all 27 zip codes.  These five zip codes are: 48201, 48207, 48212, 48213, and 48216. As depicted in Table 1, the persistent asthma prevalence rate for children (under 18 years of age) enrolled in Medicaid in the entire City of Detroit in 2010 was 6 percent.

See also: Detroit Asthma Morbidity Map

Detroit Blue Green Open Space Map

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This Detroit Future City map imagines Detroit’s landscape with expanded blue/ green open spaces. While land use like Hantz farms has been extremely controversial, there are many issues to cover before these ideas will become reality. Belle Isle was (again, controversially) leased to the State of Michigan this week and the figures are that $10 million will be invested to improve the park/ island’s infrastructure and amenities. In particular on this map I would love to see the expressway zones look like forests. I’m imagining what it looks like driving in Northern Michigan (tall trees on either side of the road), but instead I would just be driving along the Lodge to get home. I wonder when the Greening of Detroit will move from neighborhoods to overpasses (sarcasm). Also can you really imagine a “innovation ecological” zone right behind MotorCity Casino or the new Red Wings Stadium? Maybe if Illitch gets a new stadium he should also be responsible for maintaining an equal square mileage of green space for the public.

Detroit Racial Tensions Map 1968 – 1969

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Following the race riots of 1967 racial tensions were still very high. William Bunge’s DGEI mapped incidents of housing discrimination which was rampant in Detroit. Many homeowners associations were white only and denied black families the ability to purchase housing in their neighborhoods. This is a great map for historical context and present issues as well. On this map the Northend stands out as a dense cluster of racial discrimination, but today the Northend is known for poverty, poor housing, and high crime. Highland Park’s early decline spread to the Northend, but now many foundations are investing in the Northend, it is designated as one of the Skillman “Good Neighborhoods.”

Also see: Detroit Investment Zones Map

Detroit Infant Mortality Map 2009 – 2010

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Infant mortality has been a persistent problem in Detroit that accompanies racial health disparities, low income, and environmental factors. This map compares infant mortality rates per 1000 to those of other countries around the world.

The Women Inspired Neighborhood Network (WINN), formerly Sew Up the Safety Net is a collaborative program with the major health systems in Detroit and has had incredible success in educating mothers and improving infant lives in a short time period.

See also: William Bunge’s infant mortality map 1969.

Map: Current and Vacant Commercial Corridors in Detroit

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This Detroit Future City map is interesting in that it appears there a numerous commercial corridors around the city that are thriving, but Downtown and New Center have the most space that remains vacant. This may be a good representation of the dispersion of the population and the absence of an economic presence Downtown for many years. This will be interesting to reassess in a few years as Downtown is increasingly an investment focus for Dan Gilbert and others.

Inequality between Detroit City and Suburbs 1970

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In 1970, William Bunge’s Detroit Geographic Expedition compared the neighborhood assets in two different communities: Mack Avenue in Detroit and an area of Bloomfield Hills.

From the MIT Civic Media Center:

[…] Field Notes III contains more qualitative data in the form of personal accounts, ethnographic interviews, and testimonials. Gwendolyn Warren mapped the 21 homes she inhabited growing up and provided harrowing details of rat-infested tenements and their impact on the children in her family. A team of researchers conducted interviews with children on playgrounds in a predominantly white neighborhood and a predominantly black neighborhood, detailed their own observations of the two places, and mapped the visual aspects of the two neighborhoods to characterize the relative dangers and affordances of children’s lives in each.

This reminds me of a more modern example of inequality from space by Tim de Chant, see more: Detroit Inequality from Space

Detroit Transit Alternatives Map: Toward Public – Private Partnerships

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I’ve been thinking about transportation in Detroit and how a number of alternatives to DDOT and public transit have been blossoming. Most recently I was surprised and excited by the University of Michigan (UM) launching a new, free shuttle service between its Ann Arbor campus and the UM Detroit Center in Midtown. The plan will also include shuttle routes to Eastern Market, Cultural Center, Southwest, and Downtown.

Most recently, the city has seen the development of The Detroit Bus Company which launched to “reinvent” how Southeastern Michigan gets around by offering rides to students to get to after school programs and helping suburbanites get into the city without a congested commute. Before there was the Detroit Bus Company, the College of Creative Studies was running a free shuttle for students around the city. A few years ago Wayne State University (WSU) teamed up with DMC and Henry Ford Health System to create the Midtown Connection Shuttle, which can take you from DMC through WSU’s campus with connections to Henry Ford through New Center. (When writing this the Detroit Bus Company didn’t have regular routes posted on its website, so those were not included on the map.)

The transit alternative giant in Detroit is Quicken Loans. CEO Dan Gilbert has been a huge supporter of the new M1 Light Rail plan along Woodward Avenue, launched a company-wide bike share program this year, and has been operating the Opportunity Detroit shuttle buses for employees. This private shuttle system is the largest alternative transit system in Detroit even though it is only focused Downtown and Midtown.

Additional transit alternatives have been enacted by various organizations to help shuttle senior citizens to farmers markets, to get clients to medical appointments, and to take congregations beyond their neighborhood boundaries. An idea in the vein of many transit alternatives is the HealthLine Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Cleveland, funded by the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital, it is designed to help patients get to appointments by offering a regular and reliable transit to the health center. This seems like a perfect model that could be replicated in Detroit where the health systems already have their own shuttle networks in place and need to help patients get from the dense corners of the city to the center where the health systems are located. If UM is willing to fund a route to connect Ann Arbor and Detroit, might they be interested in funding a BRT along Michigan Avenue? MSU could take Grand River Avenue and maybe Quicken Loans could get talked into covering Lafayette Ave. and Fort St. Then DMC and WSU could partner to run BRT along Warren Avenue and Henry Ford could cover Grand Boulevard.

There are limited options for funding public transit, but there are plenty of social good and private interests that could make public transit a reality in Detroit. A working transit system helps patients get to appointments on time, helps employees have a happier commute without car congestion, and also helps residents get around and visit the businesses potentially partnering to fund the transit system.

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