Week 3: How to Kill a City – Detroit Community-Engaged Research Program

Week 3: How to Kill a City

We read the book How To Kill a City this week. The book was really eye-opening and I learned many things I had not known before. I thought the author did a good job reiterating that gentrification is caused by high-level government/business decisions rather than individual people and businesses.

While reading about the gentrification of Detroit’s downtown and Midtown, I began to realize that I’ve bought into the capitalism that led to this gentrification- I have gone downtown and eaten at the shiny new restaurants, I have shopped at the trendy boutiques, etc. In retrospect, it makes me sad to know that I have benefitted from the effects of gentrification while so many others have suffered. I feel a lot more motivated to support smaller businesses on the outskirts of Detroit during the rest of my time here.

The book also changed how I think about current urban revitalization efforts in Detroit. I will be much more critical of these efforts and who they aim to benefit or attract to the city moving forward.

2 thoughts on “Week 3: How to Kill a City”

  1. I loved how you self-reflected and applied the book to your everyday life! I think, if anything, how you view your actions makes you more self-aware. I think supporting native businesses will make a difference. Thank you for sharing!

  2. I really appreciate your reflection on these thoughts. I think our time here presents an interesting dichotomy. On one hand, we’re here to work with local communities. A lot of us spend time outside of the 7.2 nearly every day, and we’re making a concerted effort to engage the community with our work. Meanwhile, we’re also living in Midtown. We go downtown to festivals, markets, and trendy restaurants, because it’s a fun way to explore and fill time. We’re doing community work, but we’re also tourists. We’re here to help the city, but we’re also directly benefiting from the system that has hurt it. It makes me think a lot.

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