> It's funny that both of you think this is a non-list topic. I think it's > bang on topic for the list personally and would love to hear more about > this side of things. > > Better than some of the topics we've had recently, ahem. > > robin...
If we enter this topic, I take my best working keyboard, the one with multimedia options/accessories and little space at bottom to support our tired hands along a big coffee .. ;-) No seriously, it's interesting to discuss about what Detroit peoples are doing in and around Detroit to reach a better way of life, at least to change the most bad things related to the city. Happy with it or not, the city has put a lot of efforts to renovate Dowtown, ok, I already hear a lot of peoples coming to say yeah but they destructed the old Motown Building and few other historic ones, they invest only in Downtown, the SuperBall is the only reason, etc... True but in same time this have a dynamic and positive action on the Detoit 'view from visitors' who mostly don't care of the old motown building, who don't come to Detroit since years because it's still the murder capital in their mind. And there is some who care about the SuperBall, some of them being truely techno fans or simply who would love to know more about the city and don't do it just because of the bad reputation. Detroit was in the top ten of murder city in USA past years and today it's not anymore the first one... After years at top, it's something appreciable to see that Detroit is becoming maybe more 'cool'. Even if it's still very hard, I agree. there is still cops found dead in the back of supermarkets ... On a more precise point, about peoples living there, there is teams and associations of peoples who act right and move things like organising groups who goes during sunday morning to Cass Corridor ( well know area regarding drugs, guns, homeless peoples, it's history ...) and try to clean up as they can the area, sure it's not revolutionnary but they do it and it's already something better than staying behind tv, there is mountain Bike clubs, there is photography clubs and meetings, the fall down of the industry is definitely responsible of the decay, the lot of homeless peoples and criminal things we know, of course, no job = no money, no money = another way to eat each day. But in these sad things, a lot of artists and peoples found a benefit or something to use at their motor to growth and expand ... I think if UR today is strong, it's because they suffered of this environement, they found a way to extract the good things from the bad ones and today, they make a living out of it. It's all positive. I read/hear a lot of peoples saying it's stupid to create lofts in Downtown or in another area because there is no one to rent them at this price... Ok, but with the effort to renovate Detroit done by a lot, each one at his level, why not count on future moves to Detroit of business owners, even if they creates jobs for only 2/3 peoples, its again already something. And it's again a benefit for atists since in place of making music out of the decay, hardlife, they could work with business owners for their multimedia promo campaigns, with tv's, radio's, all sound design related jobs for the business side as well as producing for the art side... Of course, there is tons of other problems and toubles much more important but from my position, as I can hear and see from peoples I know, I 'm optimist regarding the future of this city. There is little actions there and there, an envy from a lot to live in a better environement, it's relatively fresh, I mean ten or twenty years ago, this positive thinking was out of question if we relate to all what we hear about Detroit from medias, artists themselves, various travellers experiences... Open to the discusion ! Dimitri -- Dimitri Pike http://wildtek.free.fr http://www.myspace.com/wildtek
