“Socrates admitted that he knew that he did not know, but with Detroit it seems to be the opposite.”
Took the summer off of blogging to prepare myself for the next stage of my life, which turned out to be graduate school. Almost a month into my Master’s of Urban Planning program at the University of Illinois and I could not be happier with the path that I chose. But more on that later.
To start the new season, my next two years of studies, and my embarking into the more “professional” world of planning, here is an e-mail I sent to a friend about a month ago concerning equity in community development and planning. I have been trying to explain these thoughts and feelings on Detroit, MI to my cohort members for the past few weeks, and have often referred to this to keep myself on track. There are so many nuances of that area, and such a contentious history, that trying to give a concise explanation of why the public transit sucks to a friend who hails from Ukraine within a ten-minute bus ride is…well, it’s near impossible. I love Detroit, and I love Michigan, but I am also happy to be out of that environment for the next few years. I am ready to open my mind to planning practices and policies outside of southeast Michigan, and perhaps to eventually bring my new experiences back to my hometown.
So, without further adieu…
Dear (…),
My mind was racing at work (per usual) and I was finally able to boil down an idea I have been wrestling with into a singular question.
When working in the public realm, I feel as though it is often the case where either people are being spoken for, ignored, or blatantly rebuked. This is what bothers me so much about the whole “Detroit” thing — there are over 700,000 people in this city who are unfortunately left out of the glitz and glamour of downtown; who have been in this from the beginning; and whose problems cannot be fixed by hosting weekly movie nights in local parks or buying watches that are overpriced simply because they are “made in Detroit.” These are the people who know that this “new Detroit” may not be for them — just look at the articles interviewing residents who are slowly being priced out of their neighborhoods. They see the gentrification coming, they acknowledge it’s good parts, but they also know that it may lead to their own destruction and upheaval. How sad is that?
I think, especially with Detroit, that people who tend to be in positions of power (whether that be economically, socially, etc) feel that they can “help” the “people of Detroit” by advocating for them without really even talking to them. This bothered me about our Advanced GIS project too — it was like we were throwing all this data together without really knowing if this was what the (community organization) people were looking for or wanted. It’s like performing a tap dance for people who are starving and being like “Well, don’t you feel better now?” This bothered me about (name) too — for all he talked about the city and it’s problems and how much he loved it, he didn’t interact with residents at all. Socrates admitted that he knew that he did not know, but with Detroit it seems to be the opposite. People know nothing, or they know very little, and they seem to think they are now an authority on an urban area and its problems; not only that, but they adopt a “father knows best” attitude towards the people who live and have lived here, who have struggled with everything from darkened streets and water shutoffs to gun violence and horrendous, unreliable transportation. How dare they — how dare they make assumptions about a life/lives that they have garnered from ruin porn and Dan Gilbert-isms.
I think it is great that the opinion on Detroit is changing, but the ignorant attitude with which it is being done is troublesome to say the least.
Anyways, I finally arrived at this question that I asked myself, and that I plan on continuing to ask myself as I begin my graduate studies and into my eventual career:
Are you trying to speak for people, or are you trying to let them be heard?
Essentially, are you using your own voice to speak for others, or are you empowering others to use their voice? Are you expressing your opinions, or listening to others express theirs? All perspectives are important, and I am not trying to discredit experts/”experts”…but I think the question is an extremely valid one for anyone who works in the public sector, or interacts with the public at all.
So, do you agree or disagree?
