Motor City Manors

A Personal Statement by Susan Reid

The city of Detroit has long fascinated me, both because of its grand architectural history and because of the decline of the inner city over the past sixty years. Interestingly enough, it is because of this emptying-out that it is now on the forward edge of urban evolution, going from urban abandonment to the frontiers of a new future that is being dreamed by the citizens who reside there Ive envisioned a renaissance with a series of tiny cooperative villages within the main neighbourhoods that reclaim and re-imagine abandoned buildings as feudal manors with gardens providing self-sufficiency to its residents. Of course the only lords here are the cooperative entities that manage the individual complexes but also oversee the European medieval-inspired gardens with room for shade trees and sitting areas, vegetable gardens, herb, flower, and childrens gardens. There will be social and comfortable areas for seniors to enjoy and for children to play safely. I also see some office space for public services benefiting the residents as well. This building at 2- Gerald Street in Highland Park, although not part of Detroit, represents to me the beauty of the past and a starting point for a new future.