DAAP Works 2020 | Vincent Cusumano | University of Cincinnati

Productivity Re:Gen Detroit Urban Farming + Modularity + Movement A Rejuvenated Motor City Within the last half century the city of Detroit has suffered greatly from the downfall of the American car industry. Massive job losses led to race riots and rampant depopulation and destruction of the built environment at a massive scale. With many communities destroyed, the city now takes on the characteristics more similar to that of a rural area. In Detroit today, access to healthy food options is low and the large scale of the city’s limits make public services incredibly inefficient.

Re:Gen Detroit is an architectural starting point to counter these specific problems.

Modular urban farming and market hubs will be created throughout influential points in the city to bridge the gap between downtown where wealth is starting to be accumulated and the rest of the city. Over time, the forms and architectural principles from these hubs can be taken and be re-established to other vacant parts of the city. This urban realignment around town centers will densify the population of Detroit to make public services more efficient. It will also give communities a sense of place and increase the city’s production resulting in a diversification of Detroit’s post-industrial economy. With the value of the land increasing people will take greater responsibility for the protection of their local communities and increase the city’s currently low tax base.

Design Iterations