Alex B. Hill

A while back I saw this analysis completed by the WNYC Data News team on park access and wanted to recreate it for Detroit.

There has been a lot of change with parks over the years from the near closing of 50+ parks during Mayor Bing’s time, to an influx of funding to keep them open, then the widespread adoption of parks by community groups, now the new parks master plan, and $11.7 million being dedicated to 40 smaller neighborhood parks this summer.

The map was created by giving every census tract a half-mile buffer and then calculating how many acres of park space fell within those extended boundaries for each census tract. Those acres were then matched to the number of residents living within each census tract.

Some of Detroit’s more populated areas have much smaller parks. With more people and smaller park spaces that leaves fewer acres…

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Map: Urban Agriculture in Detroit 2014

Development

DETROITography

detroit_urban_ag

I created this map to be included with an article, titled “Urban Agriculture: It’s not a Food Desert, it’s about Food Sovereignty,” that I contributed to the Progressive Planners Network publication.

Without running any statistics, there are some obvious overlaps in where people are and the locations of gardens and farms. In particular, there is a higher density of people (and incomes) on the Westside and similarly a higher density of gardens.

The data is based on information shared by Keep Growing Detroit and the US Census Bureau.

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Map: Rating Accessibility of Detroit’s Pedestrian Bridges

Development

DETROITography

pedbridges6

I had the pleasure of working with the 71X research team to visualize the data that they had collected on Detroit’s pedestrian (only) bridges. The student research team surveyed all 71 pedestrian bridges in Detroit.

From the 71X Team:

This is an independent study—an awareness-builder, too—introducing one side of a three-pronged problem in the City of Detroit. The intersection of accessibility, public health and safety. The team is comprised of Urban Studies’ students and community organizers working toward a more accessible Motor City. We study infrequent public transit and below standard “non-motorized” infrastructure with a commitment, again, to a prosperous Metro Area. From our vantage, Detroit is a big, three hundred and fifteen year old city severed into over a hundred neighborhoods. What is easily noticeable is its one-of-a-kind, sunken expressway network. It snakes through town, and detaches the city from itself. Interstates 75, 94, 96, and State Highways…

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Map: Detroit Neighborhood Coffee Shop Density 2015

Maps

DETROITography

DetroitCoffeeDensity

Some research has said that the existence of coffee shops is a marker of gentrification (Papachristos et al., 2011). A Zillow study found a correlation between Starbucks locations and rising rent and home values. The problem is that Starbucks stores often locate in wealthier neighborhoods, so it becomes difficult to say what is the true relational direction. However, in 2008 Starbucks closed some 600 locations in relatively poorer areas. If anything the jury is still out on coffee shops being a driver or simply an indicator of broader social policies that contribute to gentrification.

Specifically in Detroit, where do home values have to go but up? Demolished seems to be the only other option. In October 2015, Dynamo Metrics release a report funded by the Skillman Foundation and Rock Ventures that attempted to model spatial-temporal impacts on home values from demolitions. The study followed commonly held knowledge that…

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Map: Children’s Traffic Fatalities in Detroit 2004 – 2014

Data, Maps

DETROITography

In rethinking the Detroit Geographic Expedition and Institute’s (DGEI) maps on “where black children get run over” and “citywide patterns of child traffic deaths and injuries” it became apparent to me that the pattern was partially due to the distribution of children in Detroit (map). For example Southwest has a higher density of children and also more traffic fatalities of children. However, there are some anomalies, such as the higher numbers on North-South streets in the Lower Eastside, on John R. North of Highland Park, and on Conner near the City Airport.

Detroit is known its high infant mortality rate, high rates of gun violence, and poor education system that all contribute to a harsh environment for children. How do we better protect the children in our neighborhoods from cars?

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Map: Detroit’s Digital Divide

Data, Maps, Research

DETROITography

I’ve often shared information here that notes 40% of Detroit households have no access to internet, both broadband and cell phone access. In a city that faces countless issues with connectivity and communicating with pockets of people spread across a large area, there is great potential for internet to bring Detroit together, improve communications, and equalize access – jobs, education, resources, etc.

The latest numbers from the 2014 American Community Survey show Detroit has 95,825 households or 37% of all Detroit households have no internet access. The city sadly ranks #2 nationally for cities with over 50,000 households. The logical next step in saying that 37% of Detroit households have no internet is to then ask where are those households located? Who is impacted?

From the above map you can see the obvious outline of Detroit with low broadband internet access. Downtown, Boston-Edison, Grandmont-Rosedale, Palmer Woods, and a handful…

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Map: What is Greater Downtown Detroit?

Data, Maps

DETROITography

greaterdowntown

This is somewhat of the same old story where different groups of people with a lot of money don’t agree on what boundaries matter.The question is really less: “what is Greater Downtown” and really more “What will Greater Downtown become?”

Downtown

There have been a slew of recent articles noting the growth and expansion of Detroit’s “heart.” Whatever that means. Bedrock Real Estate and Rock Ventures have pushed the Quicken Loans Downtown plan with Capital Park quickly being renovated, assumedly with the Woodward Corridor being next (M1 streetcar). Dan Gilbert has said that its time to start going vertical Downtown before office space runs out and seems to have firm plans to build skyward on the old Hudson’s site.

Midtown

Always in the news for the events, cultural attractions, and new happenings, Midtown doesn’t have as much new development left except around the edges. There are a handful…

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Map: United Strohs of America

Data, Maps, On the Ground

DETROITography

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 12.15.54 PM

Detroit’s iconic beer brewer has a storied past of fire brewing beer in copper kettles, switching to near-beer during Prohibition as well as ice cream to finally losing all of its billions of dollars after the company tried to take on national brands without the necessary budget.

Currently Stroh’s is distributed 126 zipcodes in 21 states. The Stroh’s brand is now under Pabst, which manages a number of small yet iconic beer brand names.

My colleague Matt Elliott and I began wondering where can you get Strohs in Detroit right now? Is it on tap anywhere?

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Map: Landscape of Children vs. Elderly in Detroit

Data, Health, Maps, Research

DETROITography

children-elderly-det2

I’ve been interested in the impacts of various issues on children in Detroit, from traffic fatalities to areas with the most children. The flip side, focusing on the elderly, is also very important and often overlooked in current development efforts in the city.

The age balance or imbalance across the geography of Detroit results in some interesting areas where children or the elderly make up a majority. Not surprisingly many of the areas with the most children also have fewer elderly residents. The riverfront has a larger elderly population often associated with the senior apartment high rises. Grand River cuts an interesting pattern along the Westside where there are more elderly above the Avenue and more children below.

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