Population Decline, Abandoned Areas and Neighborhood Revitalisation
Cities, like civilizations, are changing over time. Some are thriving, some others are failing. Some are getting more crowded and active, some others are getting less populated. Some are stressed by urbanization, some others are struggling to survive with more and more people leaving. I would like to focus on the issues of population decline in cities (a contrast to urbanization), abandoned areas as a result of this population decline, and attempts to revitalize and reactivate these abandoned areas. This phenomenon is currently happening in several cities of the so-called superpower country: the USA.
Let's start with the windy city, Chicago. Theaster Gates, a potter in Chicago, shares his story on how to revive abandoned parts of his neighborhood by reintroducing culture and social interactions. It also tells a story of urban resilience: the ability to reactivate neighborhood by inventing new "fire" - a critique to "zoning mindset" fallacy, that instead of being static, the built forms should be adaptable and flexible to fit the new context. It's an example of how positive transformation can be made by anyone who is persistent and passionate in what he's doing, no matter how small it is (even things like making pots). The full video of this talk can be watched on TED website or below.
The most evident case when it comes to declining population and abandoned urban areas is Detroit. The population of the city has decreased from 1,850,000 in 1950 to merely 700,000 by 2010. That is a 61% loss of population. More and more homes have been abandoned, public facilities have started to stop functioning. Michigan Central Station, once the tallest railway station in the world at the time of its construction, is one of the most obvious icons of this city's deterioration. Homes are being abandoned and crumbled into ruins, as dismally documented through comparison of google street views time to time. Image below is an example of these dramatic decays of neighborhood.
The second talk I'd like to share in this post is about the attempt to revitalize Detroit. Toni Griffin, an Urban Planner, shares her visions on how to reactivate Detroit. It seems like an impossible task but she believes there are opportunities left there. She sees there are entrepreneurial potentials (such as transforming vacant lands into farmland) that the city can offer. They can be used as sustainable strategies for the future of the city. The full video can be watched on TED website of below.
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