John Gallagher, a Free Press reporter since 1987 who writes about Detroit governance and other timely topics in a new book, talks with Walter Wasacz at Model D about "Strategies for Urban Reinvention" -- the subtitle of his "Revolution Detroit" paperback and ebook, published last month by Wayne State University Press.
Gallagher is having a downtown book party April 10 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at D:hive, 1253 Woodward.
Here's some of what he says in Model D's Q&A discussion:
- The blue economy: This "is something that a lot of people are looking at as one possible economic future for Michigan. It's not just that we have control over a lot of fresh water in Michigan -- 40 percent of the Great Lakes, or more water by volume than Saudi Arabia has oil -- but that we can create an economy based on cleaning, recycling, measuring, and otherwise using water. The universities are all over this now, and the state economic leaders are starting to get behind this effort. It's likely to produce a lot of small innovations and entrepreneurial efforts. . . . You'll see things like companies producing new water meters and filters and recyclers."
- Urban farming: "Land has always been the basis of wealth. And our vacant land in Detroit, while overgrown with weeds and the site of dumped tires and so on, still has potential value. . . . So the 'reimagining' of Detroit goes far behind the 'feel good' aspect. It's about dollars and cents."
- Creatiuve class: "Artists operate within a broader economic infrastructure of galleries and museums and art supply stores and coffee shops and bars and clubs. Any great city has one or more lively arts districts, and many distressed districts in cities worldwide have begun to 'come back' through artists moving in first."
Earlier coverage
Excerpt: John Gallagher's New Book 'Revolution Detroit,' March 13
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