WARREN SPECIAL REPORT FROM CR ISIS TO PROJECT
families have been increasingly joined by African-American, Hmong, Chaldean and Muslim groups. Old and new groups could exchange and share community values as well as strategic techniques and projects to deal with the crisis. Gran Torino, filmmaker Clint Eastwood’s motion picture of Detroit metropolitan life shows the difficulties as well as the virtues of changing communities. Immigration has been and continues to be central to the region’s vivacity. History shows that culturally diverse and open communities are essential to job growth, entrepreneurship, innovation and the dynamism of our cities. New partnerships have the potential to create new
opportunities to reposition Warren in the region and counter the city’s over reliance on the automotive industry. Energetic groups of unlikely partners – local homeowners, businesses, politicians along with local and international institutions and professionals – now have the chance to rethink how the city organizes itself, specifically with regards to the relation between housing, work, transportation and leisure. As such, the City of Warren needs a Master Plan to enable regional collaboration, catalyze innovation and facilitate alternative forms of ownership and production. In addition, projects such as the Van Dyke-8 Mile Gateway Collaborative (V-8) and Design 99 Powerhouse project provide examples of new approaches that should inform the city’s planning process. The V-8 consists of partners from Detroit, Centerline and Warren actively developing regional strategies that support physical revitalization and social equity activities, unrestricted by municipal boundaries. The Powerhouse prioritizes small-scale do-it-yourself entrepreneurship and production. Projects such as the Powerhouse are simultaneously community based and networked through media technologies with like-minded efforts that locally produce energy, food, furniture and all kinds of niche goods. These initiatives illustrate the importance of leveraging shared assets and experiences to enhance economic viability and quality of life. Finally, a new collaboration, a partnership of hope must be built between the City of Warren and the corporations that call it home, particularly General Motors. The crisis urges both public and private partners to reconsider their methods, values and opportunities in the interest of shared solutions. Community and commercial ventures should be engineered in smart ways. Advancement in manufacturing and engineering as well as infrastructure and transportation are likely common
The situation is grim but American optimism has beaten ghosts and giants ILLUSTRATION: TAYLOR SHEPHERD
STRENGTH IN PRODUC TION ; SPACE FOR SOLUTIONS
... PROJECTS BASED ON NEIGHBORHOOD SELFORGANIZATION, INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WILL DETERMINE WARREN’S FUTURE. goals. While the road ahead may already be paved, creative partnerships have the capacity to spark a broad-minded, more sustainable version of urban development. Instead of restoring old values, projects based on neighborhood self-organization, innovative entrepreneurship and creative partnerships will determine Warren’s future. Once a gateway out of the central city, Warren could become a model for how the suburb can redirect the region’s focus towards reinvigorating the American Dream in previously unimagined ways. The ingenuity, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of metropolitan Detroit was a fundamental force in the 20th century; it literally moved the world. Join us in envisioning where Warren moves us next. Toni Moceri is a Macomb County Commissioner representing the northwest portion of Warren and a lifelong resident of the city. Christian Ernsten is editor at Volume Magazine and partner in Partizan Publik, based in Amsterdam.
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