News

Detroit, once one of the powerhouses of modern America, has fallen into economic decline. To what extent can the arts and especially music help to revitalise its esteem?

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Bike sharing is a concept that has been around for nearly four decades. It’s come a long way, though, since early iterations like Vélos Jaunes (Yellow Bikes), a concept launched in La Rochelle, France in 1974 that depended on distinctive paint color and the honour system for an operational mandate.

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Late last week, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder decided to name a financial overseer for the city of Detroit, whose operations are nothing less than a mess. In doing so, Snyder ended a political debate that has raged for months, and opened the door to a semblance of order in the troubled city.

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Private industry is blooming here, even as the city’s finances have descended into wreckage.

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Detroit has become the only two-time winner on the top five list of fastest growing tech cities, according to the New York City tech job site Dice.com.

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Take a walk through a number of Detroit neighborhoods — Corktown, Midtown, downtown — and you will see new and exciting things happening. New businesses, patrons walking on sidewalks, festivals and exciting initiatives working to better the city are popping up everywhere. A new energy is taking hold of the Motor City and the nation is taking note.

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Reclaim Detroit is included in this round-up of green renovation trends for 2013.

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"Following up on my review of Detroit City is the Place to Be by Mark Binelli, Next City invited Francis Grunow, a consultant with New Solutions Group, to discuss the book and the issues it raises. Grunow has worked inside both city and state government and has run various organizations devoted to improving the quality of life in Detroit. He was also a key member of the successful Detroiters for Council By Districts campaign.

'Here, he talks about making neighborhoods work without destroying them, the legacy that looms over Detroit’s recovery, and the perennial 'hipster question.'"

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Amanda Brewington, owner of Always Brewing Detroit, discusses her decision to live in and own a business in the city.

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"You could say everything old is new again.

'In an era when almost anything published on paper can be accomplished with a few keystrokes, followed by hitting "Print," the technology invented in 1439 by Johannes Gutenberg — the letterpress and moveable type — is making an unexpected comeback among artists and graphic designers.

'After virtually disappearing from the marketplace, four letterpress shops have opened in Detroit over the past year, signaling a revival many chalk up to the over-digitization of our age and a desire for more physical, intimate contact with the production process."

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"Like me, you’ve probably kept up with the plans to lease Belle Isle to the State of Michigan as a cost saving measure for the city.  After hearing city council members talk about the first offer I agreed that all parties needed to go back to the drawing board and they did.  But the recent announcement that the deal has fallen apart takes us right back to the drawing board.  Not a bad place to be if you don’t mind thinking outside the box."

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"Get ready for an artful spring, Detroit. The biannual Art X Detroit festival is returning in April for five days of visual art, dance, musical and theatrical performances, literary readings, workshops, panel discussions and more."

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Detroit is a city of opportunity. LiveWorkLaunchDetroit is giving you the opportunity to win $10,000 and other great prizes to help you grow a startup business in Detroit. All you have to do is PITCH! Anyone who has an existing for-profit startup or an idea for a new for-profit startup. Pitches may be from individuals or from teams.

Pitches must be received by February 15. More details and online application forms available here.

"Detroit's tech industry growth is outpacing national hubs like Silicon Valley, Boston and Chicago in a number of categories, according to the latest annual report from Automation Alley."

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The Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan (ROC-Michigan) seeks a dynamic and entrepreneurial individual with deep ties to the food justice and worker cooperative movements who can play a leadership role in founding a COLORS Co-Op Academy for emerging, worker-owned good food businesses in Detroit. The COLORS Co-Op Academy is an intensive learning experience designed to cultivate new worker-owned good food businesses rooted in principles of democracy, sustainability, and justice. The COLORS Co-Op Academy will serve as a model to inform the launch of similar COLORS cooperative incubators around the country. We envision a community-based economy in which all people are contributing with dignity, respect, and ownership. We work towards this vision by developing worker cooperatives grounded in the leadership, resources, and needs of communities most affected by social and economic injustice. By linking our actions with movements for worker, food, and racial justice, we collectively re-imagine and transform our workplaces, communities, and local economies.

For more information about this position and to apply, click here.