Southwest Detroit: A neighborhood being written/squeezed out
of existence?
I hope
not.
By margothefoodie
Lets see ...Southwest Detroit / Bagley
street = Mexican Village Restaurants Row .A destination in the 1980s.
Not too many Mexicans here now, in 2017.
The dwindling Mexican population is not due to gentrification,
or
recent policy decisions by the Trump Administration. True
1985 was a long time ago, but now, the flavor is not the same. Having
experienced the same in NYC Washington Heights I noticed something off
right away.
I just recently located back to the Detroit Metropolitan area.
Through surviving a NY through several waves of gentrification
(Park Slope loft, Fort Green Brooklyn conversion of a Mansion, Spanish
Harlem Loft, Central Harlem Historical Rent Stabilized apartment
etc ) I should know the first thing that kills a neighborhood is the
arrival of more money. WRONG.
The first thing that kills a NYC neighborhood is the arrival of more $$$. But
in Detroit the first thing that kills a neighborhood is the
squeezing of physical boundaries of a neighborhood; causing a loss of Identity.
I am not the only one who has noticed that Detroiters have a nebulous hold on their neighborhoods reason #1 for Southwest Detroit's problems is this ....
Poor neighborhood identification. Ask a Chicagoan where they’re from, and they will likely give you a neighborhood name — Wrigleyville, Jefferson Park, Chatham. The same is true in other neighborhood-oriented cities like New York, Boston, even Washington, D.C. However, ask a Detroiter where they’re from, and they will likely tell you East Side or West Side; if pressed, they might note a key intersection. While the Motor City does have its share of traditional enclaves (Indian Village and English Village) and emerging hot spots (Midtown), Detroit is notable among large U.S. cities for having very poorly defined neighborhoods.
Neighborhood identification is important because ideally residents live in a neighborhood context. Schools, convenience shopping, social activities and recreational uses, all connected and shared by locals in a defined area, can provide a sense of community ownership. An argument can be made that’s been lacking in Detroit for decades.
excerpted from
Nine Reasons Why Detroit Failed
http://www.urbanophile.com/2012/02/21/the-reasons-behind-detroits-decline-by-pete-saunders/comment-page-2/
No Identity= No reason to
go there and spend $$.
What is odd/off?
 |
| Bagley Overpass is a work of art But there is no foot traffic ... |
Mexicantown was
distinctly Latinx when I left. Instead of relying on a distinct
restaurant row on Bagley I ate food from Xochimilco
and Tamaleria
Nuevo Leon. In 2017 this
includes Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño too.
Note
that the last place I mentioned is not even Mexican but San Salvadorian. It is included because it adds to the cultural mix, with a shift
toward the fun in eating food from a Latin perspective/and possibly conversing
in Spanish, without paying for a plane ticket.
In NY the Latinx diaspora live happily together on 5th avenue in Brooklyn, Roosevelt/ 74th
ave nexus in Queens, etc. Every cultural culinary
representation makes $$$ as a result, and it evolves constantly. It is also fun, a destination. Do not say
only Vernor or Bagley is the destination- Create a new district instead
that is not a strip...
Expanding your perceived borders creates commerce opportunities.
Some History
The foodie revolution started in the 1980s when people
started eating here in Southwest Detroit and calling it Mexican Town .
 |
| click on image to enlarge |
This crescent is a larger swath of SouthWest Detroit than the original Mexican Town.
Notice
that I renamed the Southwest Detroit area SoWeDe (pronounced swede)
Do not say so weedy - not the image you
want...
I
am an outsider. How do I get away with this?
Well,
the Southwest Detroit insiders let outsiders define the area. Example from
2006
The problem with the above
description is not only is it by a non Southwest Detroiter, it lacks a central
vision of southwest Detroit.
It also does not define what is left of Mexican Town.
In SouthWest Detroit , the commerce in 2017 is Latinix and not necessarily Mexican...
Solution #1
Physically
making Clark Park the Central area of SoWeDe
Look between the 2 stars
connected by the green line.
 |
| click on image to enlarge |
By foot
, walking and sampling the restaurants that are Mexican
on a path between the Ambassador Bridge along both Vernor Ave and
Bagley to this new Central SoWeDe (swede) area is only a 2.9 mile
adventure. Detroiters tend not to walk. Ok -this is also a good
bike route !!
-see Red line in the map here: and click on map
for a slightly bigger image.
SoWeDe Central Bike Route
Follow
Michigan Avenue west to 6th street, jog over to Bagley and miss all that crazy
confluence of freeway to Canada and beyond by crossing over the Bagley
Overpass and it is a straight line to Clark Park near the north end -where the
above mentioned gallery food truck Concert/club are located on Vernor.
Cross Clark and now you are on the west side of SoWede.
|
click on map for bigger
image
|
Unfortunately
the direct route (proposed) is not driveable. Google says it is
not. The map shows 2 routes,both indirect.
 |
| click on image to enlarge |
Bagley
or Vernor could be made more pedestrian friendly so a walk or bike to the area
from Downtown would be doable on a nice day.
Solution#2
Grab
the edge of Hubbard Farms from Scotten/Clark Parks Eastern Border and take it
all the way to the Fischer Freeway/Ambassador Bridge/ 21st street causeway.Let us designate
this now as the east side of SoWeDe. Why ? Hubbard Farms is a
dull name. Hubbard Farms- there are no farms there now. SoWeDe
(pronounced swede) sounds cool.
Pronounce
it suede if you do not like swede. It is very
urban to have a tomatoe/ twomato dichotomy. The insiders could pronounce it one
way and the outsiders could be immediately identifiable when they
pronounce SoDeWe the other way. Eventually everyone will adopt a pronunciation
and consolidate your location as identifiable in their heads.
In
any case, make sure you have kiosks with maps that show the
 |
| click on image to enlarge |
Solution #3
Now we considering the west side of SoWeDe which
begins on Clark and extends over to the Central Avenue/Dix nexus. It does not
have to extend to the official zipcode /ward/ map. That is ok for
business/industry
but for people enjoying
themselves
think differently.
Every cool neighborhood needs a less expensive side-
especially if it is near the remaining jobs. Gritty and cheaper is ok too, just
make it stay safe!! Citizen / precinct community policing is muy
importante throughout the district boundaries…
Following the Creciente Culinaria route
explain the quantity of places to
eat on the kiosks , the variety of the environment etc. This side of
Southwest Detroit is more industrial and true to Detroit’s Past so why not hype
that a little? You can always write a grant or two to put in greenspaces here
and there- Planting trees would clean up the air. You are not going to make
industry go away - actually you need to enlist them in the concept of west
SoWeDe...
 |
| click on image to enlarge |
...which leads to
Branding.
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| click on map to enlarge |
Bridge to Canada is @ 21st
street/ Jeffries Freeway
=The Eastern Border
Central Avenue is the
Western Border
John Kronk =Northern
Border
Fisher Freeway = Southern
Border
Notice SoWeDe does not claim
the Michigan Train Terminal. SoWeDe is too cool for that.
SoWeDe
Labels: branding, cook, culinary, Detroit, economy, food trucks, gentrification, menu, restaurant, southwest detroit, urban, urban renewal
