Detroit --A report released Wednesday by a community group proposes a framework for how Mayor Dave Bing and others should downsize the city.
The report, the "Neighborhood Revitalization Strategic Framework," suggests the city be divided up into 11 potential categories for development, from traditional residential areas to urban homesteads to green venture zones. The authors go on to suggest how each classification could be encouraged by the city.
The group, Community Development Advocates of Detroit, say they want a total vision for the city, rather than certain areas mothballed without a future plan.
"The bottom line is we have an entire city to fix," said Anita Lane, director of programs for CDAD. "We don't believe there are winners and losers. Every neighborhood deserves to see itself in a positive light."
For example, the urban homestead zone is described as "country living in the city," where homeowners could have small farms where many services, such as lighting, are no longer provided. Homeowners would get lower taxes in exchange for "experimenting with and using alternative energy."
Lane said they want a consortium to work together on reinventing the city.
Bing is using data to develop a downsizing plan and warned he intends to eventually relocate residents from desolate areas to more prosperous ones.
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