In the past month, the New York Times has written three overly positive articles about Detroit from a variety of different angles– a look at business growth, a look at neighborhood growth and a look at art as a tool to create social change. The most recent of which was the the article on neighborhood development through a discussion of Midtown and how it is remaining stable throughout the ongoing recession and housing crisis. The article claims that “many obsolete buildings in Midtown have been converted to rental housing in recent years, and the rental market has been strong. An association study found that 92 percent of the 4,295 rental units in the area were occupied last spring.” Sue Mosey, prez of the University Cultural Association that oversees a lot of development in Midtown, adds “We really have lost almost no businesses during the recession.” Not too shabby.
What’s interesting though, is that it seems all of this positive press in the New York Times is having a general effect on outsider opinions of Detroit. On a recent visit to New York to try and get some of the DL! merch in shops over there (a shop and gallery space in Brookyln called “By and By” is now selling some pieces!), it’s very clear that people’s opinions are changing. When presented with the Detroit Starter Kit and a general explanation of what DL! is, there was a lot more “oh yeah, Detroit is the new place to be” than there was “Eeek! Detroit is a shithole, isnt it?”— which is great. That feels good.