On September 14, Margaret Dewar, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Taubman College at the University of Michigan, presented her lecture titled “Remaking Cities After Abandonment”. Focusing on Detroit as a case study, Dewar explained the stance that planners take in order to focus on redevelopment in cities that have experienced social abandonment and an economic collapse.
Her lecture sought to answer three questions planners ask cities which have seen the social and financial effects of urban desertion. First, “What does a city become after abandonment?” Second, “What makes a difference in what a city becomes after abandonment?” and thirdly, “What should a city become after abandonment?”
She began by explaining a phenomenon in Detroit in which home owners take over side lots adjacent to their properties. Residents were turning these into driveways, garages, yard extensions, and in some instances, gardens and crop fields. Dewar explained that homeowners aim to keep their neighborhoods well kept, and will even go the extra length and mow the yards of abandoned homes in the area. 
An example of an adjacent lot taken over by a homeowner
She continued this discussion by delving into a brief history of the Detroit housing market, and how it has changed since the end of the housing crisis. Research shows that home prices are on the steady rise as foreclosures take a steep decline. The next topic in the lecture gave examples on how government plays a role in the installation and maintenance of green infrastructure in local communities.
Dewar concluded her lecture with a lingering question, “How does thinking about Detroit, and similar cities, change the questions we ask and the answers we pursue in the many disciplines that contribute to urban studies?”
This blog will be a feeder for recent news, events and student work occurring at the Knowlton School at The Ohio State University. Posts will typically center around updates from the school's lecture series, exciting projects from recent student reviews and updates from other school events.
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