Detroit is the poster child for failed rust belt cities, having lost over a million people in the past few decades – not to mention auto manufacturing jobs and possibly the city’s soul itself . The massive scale of abandonment combined with the stunning architecture from a golden era long gone has made Detroit a ground zero for photography and documentary films in what has been called “ruin porn”, but there is much more to the story that hasn’t been told nearly as much. A fashion company called Palladium Boots decided to (in a possibly genius buzz marketing strategy) tell the other story of Detroit by producing a short film series that may leave you with a much more optimistic feeling about the future of this once great city.
Before you watch the videos (below), consider the parallels between Detroit and Dayton you may have heard others talk about. Some claim Dayton to be a smaller version of Detroit, with its own rich manufacturing legacy and subsequent decline and abandonment. Like Detroit, many have given up on Dayton altogether and have left for other cities or have retreated to the burbs where jobs, shopping and entertainment have followed to the point that many no longer have a reason to go into the city-proper. Yet while many have given up on Dayton, there are others who have figured out that they can do things in this city that are almost impossible in most other cities – like pursuing creative passions while enjoying an extremely low cost of living, being part of an inviting community of like-minded urban dwellers, or getting involved and being able to make a real impact on the reinvention of the city.
Watching “Detroit Lives”, I saw many similarities in some of the cool things happening in Detroit and Dayton. Russell Industrial is Detroit’s version of Front Street in Dayton. Northend Studios is Detroit’s version of c{space in Dayton. Greg Willerer of Brother Nature Produce is doing in Detroit what Ken Carman and Feed Dayton are doing in Dayton. Yes, the parallels are there indeed, though I did notice the differences that may give Detroit the advantage. It seems as though many of Detroit’s young creatives (most from other cities) have moved into abandoned neighborhoods where they can buy a house for less than the price of a used car; Dayton has certainly seen its share of abandonment but young creatives are nowhere to be found in Dayton’s empty neighborhoods, instead choosing to live in historic districts that are vibrantly thriving in comparison but sometimes with entrenched “you can’t do that here” attitudes. And while Dayton’s government is struggling with perhaps its worst budget crisis ever, there are still at least for now enough resources to make sure that strict downtown building codes are enforced – making efforts such as c{space still enormously difficult if not impossible without large amounts of money. I’m not suggesting that building codes shouldn’t be enforced but I sense that Detroit’s lack of enforcement resources compared to its massive size (not to mention decades of corrupt and inept government) has allowed for the DIY creative culture there to thrive in an almost wild wild west environment. It is ironic that Dayton may have failed to fail enough to become known as a creative magnet like Detroit!
Still, after watching Detroit Lives I was left with a new optimism for the future possibilities in Dayton. That optimism has been a series of ebbs and flows in my seven years of living downtown (with the past couple years being the most challenging) but I continue to be energized by the MANY people who have planted their stakes in the ground here and fight to make Dayton into what we all know it can be. And for non-believers who say it is impossible, just take a look at what people are doing to bring back Detroit – it can happen here.
(more interesting commentary about Detroit at the excellent blog The Urbanophile, including this money-quote: “Though a lot of the examples in the film are old hat, it is very exciting to see the Urban Laboratory/New American Frontier/Rust Belt Chic meme continuing to spread like crazy. I’m telling you, for many people now is the time to be alive in many of these Rust Belt cities. How often do you have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor like this, to be a pioneer, to be a founder? This is the generation and these are the people that will be written about in tomorrow’s history books. The call of being able to shape history is worth more than all the triple soy half-caf lattes you could sip by the light rail in some other city where your presence won’t make one bit of difference good or bad.“)
