Urban Triage, City Systems, and the Remnants of Community: Some “Sticky” Complications in the Greening of Detroit.
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| Title: | Urban Triage, City Systems, and the Remnants of Community: Some “Sticky” Complications in the Greening of Detroit. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Kirkpatrick, L. Owen1 |
| Source: | Journal of Urban History. Mar2015, Vol. 41 Issue 2, p261-278. 18p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Austerity, *Government policy, Municipal services, Environmental protection planning, Infrastructure (Economics), Emergency management, Urban renewal, Abandoned buildings, Michigan state politics & government |
| Geographic Terms: | Detroit (Mich.) |
| Abstract: | Detroit’s long-range planning agenda—as articulated in the Detroit Future City (DFC) plan—is based on an innovative vision of a smaller, greener city. Implementing this vision rests on clearing the city’s most abandoned and deteriorated neighborhoods and transforming the area into vast green spaces. Eventually, therefore, the eighty-eight thousand people currently residing in this zone must (be) relocate(d). As services are phased out and infrastructure networks decommissioned, it is reasoned outmigration will accelerate; this strategy of “urban triage” geographically targets expenditures on the basis of viability, such that the flow of public resources to “nonviable” neighborhoods is constricted. This article explores one assumption that underlies triage-based policy and planning. Namely, it is believed that by removing infrastructures and services (“city systems”) from a given area, people will leave that area, a causal proposition that can be broken into two constituent parts. First, there is nothing unproblematic about removing, no matter how incrementally, the city systems that serve as the skeletal framework of the city. City systems are politically and institutionally embedded within a complex web of intersecting structures, processes, relationships, and interests—a “stickiness” that complicates efforts to dismantle them. The second half of the proposition is that removing city systems will provide the needed incentive for people to voluntarily move out of the targeted areas. This assumption, however, may not appreciate the degree of socio-spatial persistence that can be exhibited by groups occupying abandoned spaces. Thus, even if efforts to geographically shrink city systems are successful, there is reason to believe that social remnants of community may indefinitely persist in target areas even in the face of great hardship—including the cessation of basic services. The present analysis suggests that the burden of proof falls on those predicting that the withdrawal of city systems will succeed where decades of generalized deprivation have failed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
| Copyright of Journal of Urban History is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 101058419 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Urban Triage, City Systems, and the Remnants of Community: Some “Sticky” Complications in the Greening of Detroit. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kirkpatrick%2C+L%2E+Owen%22">Kirkpatrick, L. Owen</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Urban+History%22">Journal of Urban History</searchLink>. Mar2015, Vol. 41 Issue 2, p261-278. 18p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Austerity%22">Austerity</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Government+policy%22">Government policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Municipal+services%22">Municipal services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+protection+planning%22">Environmental protection planning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Infrastructure+%28Economics%29%22">Infrastructure (Economics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emergency+management%22">Emergency management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Urban+renewal%22">Urban renewal</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Abandoned+buildings%22">Abandoned buildings</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Michigan+state+politics+%26+government%22">Michigan state politics & government</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Detroit+%28Mich%2E%29%22">Detroit (Mich.)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Detroit’s long-range planning agenda—as articulated in the Detroit Future City (DFC) plan—is based on an innovative vision of a smaller, greener city. Implementing this vision rests on clearing the city’s most abandoned and deteriorated neighborhoods and transforming the area into vast green spaces. Eventually, therefore, the eighty-eight thousand people currently residing in this zone must (be) relocate(d). As services are phased out and infrastructure networks decommissioned, it is reasoned outmigration will accelerate; this strategy of “urban triage” geographically targets expenditures on the basis of viability, such that the flow of public resources to “nonviable” neighborhoods is constricted. This article explores one assumption that underlies triage-based policy and planning. Namely, it is believed that by removing infrastructures and services (“city systems”) from a given area, people will leave that area, a causal proposition that can be broken into two constituent parts. First, there is nothing unproblematic about removing, no matter how incrementally, the city systems that serve as the skeletal framework of the city. City systems are politically and institutionally embedded within a complex web of intersecting structures, processes, relationships, and interests—a “stickiness” that complicates efforts to dismantle them. The second half of the proposition is that removing city systems will provide the needed incentive for people to voluntarily move out of the targeted areas. This assumption, however, may not appreciate the degree of socio-spatial persistence that can be exhibited by groups occupying abandoned spaces. Thus, even if efforts to geographically shrink city systems are successful, there is reason to believe that social remnants of community may indefinitely persist in target areas even in the face of great hardship—including the cessation of basic services. The present analysis suggests that the burden of proof falls on those predicting that the withdrawal of city systems will succeed where decades of generalized deprivation have failed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Urban History is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1177/0096144214563503 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 18 StartPage: 261 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Austerity Type: general – SubjectFull: Government policy Type: general – SubjectFull: Municipal services Type: general – SubjectFull: Environmental protection planning Type: general – SubjectFull: Infrastructure (Economics) Type: general – SubjectFull: Emergency management Type: general – SubjectFull: Urban renewal Type: general – SubjectFull: Abandoned buildings Type: general – SubjectFull: Michigan state politics & government Type: general – SubjectFull: Detroit (Mich.) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Urban Triage, City Systems, and the Remnants of Community: Some “Sticky” Complications in the Greening of Detroit. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kirkpatrick, L. Owen IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: Mar2015 Type: published Y: 2015 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00961442 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 41 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Urban History Type: main |
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