Metropolitics

Demystifying Urban Agriculture in Detroit

Flaminia Paddeu — 2017-12-14T05:30:00Z

Urban agriculture projects in North American shrinking cities have been the subject of much media attention in recent years. Taking the example of Detroit as her starting point, Flaminia Paddeu asks what the real benefits of this practice are for the residents of cities in decline.
---- Series: Shrinking Cities The French documentary Demain, showcasing a world tour of ecological alternatives and viewed by more than a million people to date, depicts the city of Detroit as a Mecca of

- From the Field / deindustrialization, Rust Belt, Baltimore, urban agriculture, agriculture, farming, Detroit, Philadelphia, vacant lots, urban decay, shrinking cities, urban decline, Cleveland, smart shrinkage, urban shrinkage, degrowth, shrinkage, wasteland, revegetation, ecological transition, socio-ecological transition

Urban Decline Is Not Natural

Jason Hackworth — 2017-04-11T05:00:00Z

Is urban decline inevitable for cities affected by deindustrialization? While many scholars espouse the idea that it is a normal part of a place's economic life cycle, Jason Hackworth argues that urban decline is not natural, but rather produced, typically by factors that have little to do with economics and everything to do with social and political—and often racial—conflict.
---- Series: Shrinking Cities The fate of formerly industrial cities in the Global North—places like Detroit,

- Essays / racism, Rust Belt, Montreal, race, Detroit, urban decay, shrinking cities, urban decline, social conflict, Global North, Liverpool, Leipzig, Belfast, Duluth, Cleveland, Buffalo

Overcoming Decline Through Graffiti? The Case of the Open Space Gallery in Halle (Saale)

Nina Gribat — 2017-04-04T05:00:00Z

Open Space Gallery, a collective in Halle (Saale), Germany, turned the marginalized neighborhood of Freiimfelde into an open-air street-art gallery by painting the façades of vacant houses, improving the area's image—and, unintentionally, also its marketability. Nina Gribat examines how, following invitations by policymakers to participate in other projects, they have managed to walk the line between grassroots and mainstream action.
---- Series: Shrinking Cities Open Space Gallery (OSG;

- From the Field / Germany, urban regeneration, graffiti, urban decay, street art, community development, shrinking cities, Halle (Saale), makeshift urbanism, creative city, urban decline

When Cities Fail, Babies Die

Monica J. Casper — 2016-02-02T06:00:00Z

Detroit, Michigan is often identified as the worst city in the United States, with excessive poverty, racism, and social disorder. The city also faces high infant and maternal mortality rates. Monica Casper explores interconnections among these issues.
Motor City
Detroit, Michigan, has been in the news in recent years as a city in horrific decline, a post-apocalyptic hub of industrial collapse, white flight, acute poverty, and municipal malfeasance. Once the nation's economic engine with

- Essays / racism, Rust Belt, United States, poverty, race, Detroit, neoliberalism, biopolitics, necropolitics, infant mortality, Make Your Day, maternal mortality, urban decay, ruin porn