Malequi Picazo || Fifth Year || The Reparation of America: Detroit is Only the Beginning

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ARCH 251 Social and Environmental Justice - Fall 2020 Prof. Olon Dotson Malequi Picazo The Reparation of America: Detroit is Only the Beginning Detroit has faced countless problems over the past 70 years including extreme decrease in population, mass abandonment, increasing crime rates, insurmountable debt, and many others. By examining some of the proposed solutions and responses to these issues, such as was presented by Toni Griffin with "Detroit Future City,"1 it seems likely that a response to broader issues can be offered as preventative measures to other American cities. Many cities across the country are facing similar problems as Detroit, so by reflecting on Detroit's reactions and preparing specialized responses, a variety of reparations can be applied to America's cities before they deteriorate to the severity seen in Detroit. It is worth noting that the process of Detroit's devolution is extremely complex and took place over many decades. For the sake of resolution, this history will be simplified and consolidated at the risk of leaving out important details and events in history. In order to calculate an applicable response or set of guidelines for other American cities, it is worth asking the question, "What went wrong in Detroit?" Detroit, Michigan, at one point, was considered to be the fastest growing city in the world. As of 2012, it was considered one of the fastest shrinking cities in the world. 2 While a city may benefit from minor shrinkage, the case of Detroit has seen nothing be hardship and deterioration. As Mark Binelli so keenly identified, "Often, people incorrectly isolate the 1967 riot as the pivotal Detroit-gone-wrong movement, after which

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Toni Griffin, "A new vision for rebuilding Detroit," TED, October 2013, www.ted.com/talks/toni_griffin_a_new_vision_for_rebuilding_detroit#t-190571 2 Detropia, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (2012, Detroit, MI: Loki Films, LLC), Online.

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