This came up in the Border Culture class today and I had to post it.
$1 homes in Detroit.
The Pink Fence
PowerHouse over in Detroit has started a blog! This is great, as I had previously wondered about the timeline of their activities, being able to read a blog really helps to contextualize their progress. Rather than trying to recount the story behind this pink fence in my own words, I’ll give you a brief quote from their blog:
“Anyway one day I mixed up some pink paint and employed two neighborhood theives to help me paint the fence. The house that the fence belongs to had gone vacant in another foreclosure and was slowly being taken apart. My two painters were not unlike many in the neighborhood that were taking advantage of the foreclosures, in fact they had taken advantage of this very house on occasion. So I set them up with brushes and rollers and paint and we went at it.” (pinkfence)
Head over to their blog, add it to your RSS reader, and keep an eye out, I think there’s going to be a lot of interesting things coming out of there.
Power House Detroit
I’m still trying to understand the relationship between Detroit UnReal Estate Agency and Power House (and maybe they’re the same thing and there’s no other relationship to understand), but at any rate, the Power House project is an incredible idea. In short, “The house is to act as cultural catalyst and opportunity for cultural exchanges through workshops and residencies. It will also provide lessons in wind, solar, and sustainable strategies by implementing these systems and introducing them to the community.”
Basically, there’s a neighbourhood in Detroit that has been informally adopted as a site for this cultural catalyst. Many homes in the area have been foreclosed or set on fire, or both. Empty lots are going for $500, while homes are going for $2000. So, the Power House group proposes to purchase these lots and homes and flip the area from a drain on the tax base, bank holdings, and the local economics to a community asset.
I think this could be an excellent group to connect with.
Song/Video about Detroit’s Industrial Glory Days By Canadian Artist
I thought this was kinda cool, because a few of the shots in the video resemble ones i’ve taken myself. I do think it’s strange that Sam Roberts wrote a song about Detroit though, seeing how he’s not from this area.
Nice shout out to the Ambassador Bridge!