C I TY LI F E DETROIT


The birthplace of Motown and the Model T car, this industrious Michigan city has


gone from boom to bust and back. Today, it’s carving a niche for inclusive music and art


WORDS: DOUG LOYNE S PHOTOGR APHS : RYAN S COT T


Detroit’s story is often told in three acts. First came its rise. Once the beating heart of America’s manufacturing industry, it was Motor City’s assembly lines — the first of their kind in the world — that set the wheels in motion for an automotive revolution that brought motoring to the masses. Jobs and prosperity followed and by the 1950s, Detroit was among the richest cities in the world, its skyline stacked with art deco icons like the Guardian Building, which acted as beacons of industry. Next, act two: the fall. In the second half of the 20th century,


automation in manufacturing and the outsourcing of production to cheaper locations ushered in widespread factory closures and layoffs. White flight to the suburbs, coupled with growing unrest among Detroit’s African Americans — a group who had long suffered discrimination in housing and employment — left a segregated and struggling city. By 2013, years of poor financial management led to Detroit filing for the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. The city became synonymous with urban decay, crime and the collapse of the American dream. And now, the third act: the renaissance. New investment has


rejuvenated Detroit’s once hollowed-out neighbourhoods; in the central Corktown area, red-brick row (terraced) houses now sit alongside trendy coffee shops and international restaurants, and previously boarded-up buildings like the Michigan Central Station — once the poster child of the city’s ruin — have enjoyed a $1bn facelift. So too has the Detroit Riverfront, a former industrial site with new parks and cycle lanes. Last year, for the first time since 1957, Detroit’s population began to rise. While its modern history is a tale of three acts, the city can attribute


much of its success to its people — the Detroiters who have persevered even when the odds have been stacked against them. Fuelled by an enterprising spirit born from recent adversity, many have found new ways to inject life into their communities and cultural arenas. In Midtown, where the rhythms of jazz bars carry into the streets, a flourishing arts scene spills out of celebrated galleries like the Detroit Institute of Arts, while crumbling industrial corridors have been transformed into art-filled alleyways. The city’s creative energy is finally enjoying the financial backing of major corporations, philanthropic foundations and grassroots initiatives, all fostering inclusive growth in a city where nearly 80% of the population are African American. Along with investment in the arts, there’s been a bevy of new


businesses, bars and restaurants opened by chefs of colour with a licence to do what Detroiters do best: rip up the rulebook. Because through boom and bust and back, one thing has always been a constant: Motor City’s engine of innovation has never stopped running.


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