During this past week a few program participants and I decided to play soccer on Belle Isle. Having not been to Belle Isle in quite some time (I’m guessing around 7 years), I was interested to see how the micro-island had changed. Upon arriving I could tell that much had changed from the formerly unkept, overgrown isle to which I had become used to. After crossing the bridge to the Isle, we were greeted by beautiful landscaping and a clear and beautiful pond near the center of the isle. Once we found soccer nets we began playing a tiring game of “lets see who is the worst soccer player” (or just “soccer”). Unsurprisingly, I feel as though I had won that game with sore legs and heavy heaving.
As the game came to a close I began to realize the sheer number of people in the park area around us. Some were fishing, some were playing frisbee, some were laying and looking at Detroit’s skyline, etc. It was a truly beautiful site. The last time I had been on Belle Isle, none of this would have happened and now with the permanent fixtures, such as the aquarium, and the non-permanent events, such as the Grand Prix, it seems as though Belle Isle is back to its former glory.
I would like to think this development is analogous to the development of the greater city of Detroit, however I know that that thought is overly optimistic. With the majority of development focused to the downtown and midtown areas, the neighborhoods are often left out to dry. While this is largely unintentional and merely a by-product of the viability of developing in those areas, it seems as though there is occasionally some level of ignorance of the neighborhoods that comes with developing property in the midtown and downtown areas.
Optimally, with the influx of people in the heart pf Detroit, developers will begin to see possibilities in developments that reach farther into the neighborhoods. I am very curious to see what the city has in store, however I do realize that uplifting the neighborhoods will likely take much longer than the turnaround of the downtown and midtown areas.
Belle Isle is beautiful! It would be interesting to see what it looked like unkept. I imagine a lot of high grass and trash everywhere! I hope developers do not continue to ignore the surrounding neighborhoods and invest without displacing residents.
When we went to Belle Isle for you all to play soccer, it was the first time that I had ever been there. I was impressed by the amount of amenities on the island. I was unaware of the zoo, aquarium and botanical gardens on the island before visiting. I am eager to explore Belle Isle some more later on!
I also would be curious to know what Belle Isle looked like before it was cleaned up. Do you know when the island changed from what you remember?
I am glad that you all had fun playing soccer this week!
Pretty sure Gwen and I took the cake on “lets see who is the worst soccer player”. Belle Isle was so beautiful that I never stopped to wonder what it might have looked like even a few years ago. Thanks for providing some meaningful perspective on its development!