Whether we like it or not, a small number of visitors to a city that has suffered a series of unfortunate events come to witness, photograph, and write about the most physical manifestations of those events: our ancient buildings.

These buildings, which both dot our skyline and our neighborhoods, obviously don’t tell the whole story of what’s happening now in Detroit. But they are so amazing that people just can’t look away, much like when given the opportunity to secretly see people with physical deformities. So for years, city leaders have hoped to remove these “eyesores” from the landscape.

Whether this is really for the better of Detroit is still up for debate. A number of high profile ruins have been saved after years, decades, in a state of “ruin” or the perception of abandonment. See: the Stott, the Book-Cadillac, the Argonaut, the Fort Shelby Hotel (Doubletree), the Kales Building, the Detroit Building, the Whittier Apartments, and others including a great number of smaller ones. And the David Broderick Tower in progress and whatever happens after Dan Gilbert finishes purchase of the First National Building. Yes, there is still the United Artists (an Illitch property) and the infamous Michigan Central Station (Manuel Moroun). So there will still be ruin porn for photographers for the near future.

All of those words I wrote are an introduction to an article that appeared in Guernica, a magazine of art and politics. The article is “Detroitism“. It’s a long read, yes, but it talks about the ruin porn aspect of Detroit. The people who come looking for it, publish luxuriously priced books on it, the people who sell or refuse to sell it. And what it all means to the rest of the country, and in the minds of interested artists throughout the world. Detroit ruin photography is so interesting to non-Americans because to them Detroit and the state its currently in represents America to them. And they’re baffled at how the world’s richest nation allows it to continue. Similarly, Detroit represents southeast Michigan and the entire state of Michigan to the rest of the country. Nobody outside of Michigan knows what a “southeast Michigan” is. But the shame of Detroit’s ruins keeps them, in their own weakness and lack of self-confidence, from admitting that they’re from Metro Detroit.

There’s the saying that any publicity is good publicity. I’m not sure I believe that. Detroit gets mostly bad publicity. The worst comes from self-hating Detroiters themselves as you’d see most places online. There’s the saying “shitting in your own back yard”. But national media is guilty of this. Partly because they find it easier to republish what others have already said. Even Guernica is guilty of this. The recommended article that came up is about Detroit as a food desert. While there’s some truth in lack of Walmarts, the city does have chain supermarkets and large full-service independent supermarkets.

And Whole Foods is opening soon, so can we stop with the ruin-porn-food-desert-ification of Detroit?

But there will be some shifting around even in the US. San Francisco will drop several places, but Atlanta will rise above it. Phoenix, Minneapolis, and San Diego will drop off the list altogether.

With the current debt ceiling crisis, loss of confidence in the world’s largest economy, and the weakening of the dollar (which is otherwise good for American exports but would reduce the size of cities on this list), what does the future hold for American city economies?

Metro Detroit must stay competitive and be aware of the world economy. We must stop thinking Oakland County versus City of Detroit.

economic outlook - Largest city economies in the world in 2005 and 2020

The vast east side of Detroit, already having worse problems compared to the west side of Detroit, experienced the deepest population losses. But areas surrounding Hamtramck saw large gains, a sign of positive influence from that enclave. There are other notable bright (green) spots and basically stable (yellow) blocks.

Oklahoma, Texas, and much of the south and far west Midwest are at risk of tornadoes, like the recent massive twister in Alabama. Michigan does get some every so often, but not as regularly.

The west coast, especially California, is at risk of experiencing a Tokyo, Japan magnitude earthquake, and who knows if we’ll be as well-prepared for the aftermath. But there’s also a high risk of earthquakes in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, as well as South Carolina. Again, the Midwest isn’t completely safe.

When it comes to hurricanes though it’s generally the south. Not only is Detroit getting all the jobs whereas Miami, Florida is still losing them, but Floridians can generally expect hurricanes every year.

Several Michigan projects have a chance at winning prize money. Never mind where the money is coming from as it’s not coming from Michigan.

The Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center is currently in 12th place to get $250k. Only the top 2 will get funded. Funding would support ongoing research, generate a list of new therapies to improve quality of life, and empower patients through advocacy, education, treatment and research. This would not only be good for Michigan but for anyone in the country since anybody could potentially get a brain tumor and benefit from any medical research.

Copper Harbor, MI is hoping to use $250k to build an ambulance garage. They are in 11th place.

The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division is in 30th place to receive $250k

Southeastern Michigan Veterans Stand Down, Inc. is in 92nd place to receive $25k

Coats for Kids/Grace Lutheran Church of East Tawas, Michigan is in 7th place for $5k.

Sara LeBourdais was already awarded $5k to save animals in Midland, MI
Monroe Center Cancer Connection was awarded $5k for free transportation to cancer patients in Monroe, MI.
Golightly Educational Center was awarded $5k to take inner city students to an educational, 3-day science camp from Detroit.
The Detroit Area Diaper Bank also received $5k.

Voting for this round ends on October 31st. You can find more Michigan-based projects at http://www.refresheverything.com/search/?q=michigan

Four years ago, I’ve been granted the chance to interview Big Proof.
This interview has never ever been published…it has been done through Rude of IF just a few months before Big Proof died…Attention, please! This is from January 2006. Love you, Big Proof:)))

Proof interview Q & A’s

Deshaun Holton aka Proof aka Derty Harry, thanks for accepting this interview.

1. Many people know you as the D12 member, but less people know you as a solo artist. Is that the main reason that motivated you to create Iron First?

Yeah, it seems that the people forget the origin of D-12. All solo artist an who ever gets on comes back for the rest

2. What is the main difference between the D12 artist and the solo artist you actually are?

Basically too different perspective to speak from..

3. In your Searching For Jerry Garcia album -tight album, by the way- suicide seems to be a recurrent theme…can you tell us a little bit more about your fascination with suicide and about « Club ‘27 »?

It’s a metaphor, the death of Derty Harry, a cocoon state, its a new beginning… Club 27 is some spooky shit to me, a lot of incredible artists…

4. Besides your love for your hometown that is present in your Cds and mixtapes, what or who is your main source of inspiration?</span>

Man life is the greatest inspiration, hands down.

5. D12 and Proof fans are familiar with your E.S.H.A.M track and have followed your beef with local rapper Esham. On your Grown Man Shit mixtape, you apologize to him. I have heard that both of you have reconciled in Detroit at your birthday party. Do you have some collaborations with Esham included in your future projects?

Yeah, me and Esham gonna do some work very soon.

6. I Miss The Hip Hop Shop that beautiful mixtape of yours recalls the days of the Hip Hop shop in Detroit. Back in the days, what do you miss most about the early stages of Detroit hip hop?

Wow! That’s an ill question … I miss the innocence, the vibe and the adventure.

7. What is the most difficult challenge you had to face in your whole career?

Separating the streets from the industry….

8. Besides D12, you have many collaborations with local artists at your active. Which Detroit artist (s) has (have) recently attracted your attention because of his (their) talent ?

Supa Mc, Woofpac, an J Hill. They all are very talented, an ,of course, Purple Gang.

 Who are you keen on collaborating (whether on the local scene or on a national scale) with in a near future?

Mike from Alien Ant Farm, he’s a cool cat.

10. What kind of projects will you be working on after « Searching For Jerry Garcia »?

Hand to hand mix cd due out march 7th … P.G. album, Woofpac, Supa M.C. then Club 27, we just started on the 3rd D-12 album …. so be on the look out we coming full steam ahead.

Copyright©2006 by Isabelle Esling

All Rights Reserved

What you’re looking at is a bunch of little dots which together form a pretty accurate outline of the city of Detroit. You can see Woodward going straight out NW, the railroad going due north. But this isn’t because of lines drawn on a map. The colored dots represent race.

There is a clear blue/red division on 8 Mile which separates blacks in Detroit proper from whites in Oakland County just a few steps north. Each dot represents 25 people of a given race. The orange area in southwest Detroit is Mexicantown. Hamtramck is shown as a melting pot, whereas Highland Park, the other nearby enclave is completely undiscernable.

This can’t be healthy for a region, can it? On the other hand, the city of Chicago has fairly extreme divisions by neighborhood and street as well as between city and certain neighboring suburbs.

Chicago race map

And the original Detroit race map is on flickr.

I don’t have the higest opinion of the show so far but anyways, let the audience make up their own minds, right? View the pilot on ABC