Cities & Short Breaks TTG Features Rebirth of Detroit Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson has said Detroit is “beginning to boom again”
Detroit may not be an obvious city break choice, but a new route from Virgin Atlantic puts it firmly in the spotlight: Sophie Griffiths finds an edgy American city with a story to tell
T
he street appears broken. A burnt-out shell of a car robbed of its wheels sits in a patch of overgrown grass.
Alongside sits a house, unloved for years. Where glass windows once were, there are only black squares, and a lone curtain billows outwards in the breeze. We prop our bikes up, and gaze down the road, where identical houses echo the same sense of disrepair and neglect. They are separated by empty plots of land, where houses have been torn down and grass has grown over their foundations. Looking down this road, I can see
why Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, originally expected a new direct route from London to Delta hub Detroit to merely serve as a point of transit for those wanting to reach other parts of the US. I’ll admit too, that my first
thoughts about visiting Detroit were
less about seeing the city. Reports suggested it was a tired and often dangerous place to visit. Truth be told, I was more interested in tracking down my favourite celebrity (and first true love) Eminem, who grew up in Detroit’s famous “8 Mile” area, and still lives in the suburbs of the city. After just two nights in the Motor
City, however, Branson changed his mind about Detroit. And within two days, I have also fallen in love with the city.
Ripe for renaissance The largest metropolis in the US to have declared bankruptcy, Detroit has more than its fair share of rundown neighbourhoods and lost 60% of its population in 50 years due to de-industrialisation and a high crime rate. But Detroit is so much more. It is experiencing a renaissance and people are moving to the area in their
droves to become part of its rebirth. “This city is beginning
to boom again,” Branson announced at the press conference marking the start of Virgin Atlantic’s new routes. “I want us to do our part in making it absolutely great again.” Detroit is a city filled with hope and a hungry desire to become the epitome of the American dream. And the locals
embody this passion. The bike tour I’m on is just one
example of this. Our guide is Detroit native Jason Hall, who founded the the Slow Roll initiative – a weekly Monday night group cycle ride – in 2010 to encourage locals to rediscover their city. Since its inception, which saw just a few people join Hall and his co-founder Mike MacKool, the Slow Roll has grown into the city’s largest weekly bike ride and has now spread to eight other cities. It attracts some 2,700 participants the week we visit. As we move on
from the abandoned street,
Slow Roll’s founder Jason Hall with Sophie
Hall explains that the city is slowly tearing down deserted houses and turning empty lots into green space in a bid to tackle the serious
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