Caring Cities
This week Mayor Mike Duggan gave his 10th State of the City address. He staged it in the Michigan Central Station. Amidst the gleaming columns and grand architecture, the mayor focused on how far we have come since being forced into bankruptcy in 2013. He noted that in those dark days, the train station was a symbol of despair, and now it portends possibilities of growth to rival Silicon Valley. Duggan emphasized the demolition of abandoned houses and the restoration of others. He talked about new, affordable housing, lowering unemployment, job training, new businesses, and crime prevention.
The symbolism he hoped to create was clear. But there was another message in this setting that we should consider as we approach community conversations about our priorities for the future. The stage and audience were just a small part of the grand hall. Much of it still under construction, was hidden from view behind heavy curtains. If we are to truly imagine a vibrant city, we need to look behind those curtains and consider the things being kept from view.
While Mayor Duggan commented, “We don’t care enough about each other," he did little to extend an ethic of care in our communities. He emphasized properties and businesses, not people and places. Throughout the decade of demolition and tax breaks, the single most important community struggle has been to achieve a real water affordability plan that emphasizes water as a human right and sacred trust. Water shut offs are resuming, and Duggan’s efforts at assistance are a failure.
Nor did the mayor mention the horrific flooding that has damaged homes and endangered health in the city. While touting attracting new businesses, he did not mention the environmental damage these businesses are creating, including causing Detroiters to suffer from the highest rates of asthma in the nation.
Nor did he mention the foreclosure crisis which, along with Duggan’s development strategies have seen the largest drop in Black home ownership in the nation. From 2010 to 2016 homeowners were overtaxed by at least $600 million. Duggan did not discuss what we owe those who were illegally driven out, nor suggest we have an obligation to repair that harm. Nor was there any acknowledgement that over assessments are continuing to plague those in lower income neighborhoods.
Nor did he mention that many people had just endured the coldest winter in their homes because of the failure of our power grid. The inability to provide power, or to repair lines during this most recent storm, combined with a call for rate hikes, have left people furious at DTE. This fury is well placed and speaks to an understanding that we need to find new ways to provide basic heat, light, and electricity in our city. Recent studies indicate that we are on a dangerous course with climate change and face the very real possibility that extreme weather and the aging grid could be lethal.
The mayor did encourage us to show concern and understanding for the tough time our billionaire developer families have in the city. He emphasized that we should understand tax incentives don’t really shift public money to them, and developers have a lot of issues to deal with.
But behind the curtain is the real question of $800 million in public support for downtown development. Along with tax incentives, the city routinely uses tax captures which again received no mention. These take money from our schools and libraries. In 2021 the DDA captured more than $55 million, siphoning most of it to various downtown developments.
Duggan wishes these issues would stay behind those heavy curtains. But across the city, people are asking questions about what caring for each other really means. We can create a city of care by valuing our people and the things that make life worthwhile.