Long time/first time.
PBS is debuting this documentary on Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. If the complete film is anything like the
preview, it looks like it shows Detroit as the city that will again lead the country in transportation; but, this time it will be in high-speed rail.
The abandoned buildings are unavoidable, but, in this film, they almost seem to represent opportunity. Much like Chicago after the fire, our city is a clean slate that we can build up for the future.
According to
Mlive, the following points are made in the film:
- Detroit is the traditional epicenter of transportation. Cars are the obvious example, but before that, Detroit had the country's most extensive streetcar system. Few think about it this way, but without such a good streetcar system, Detroit would not have had the infrastructure to build and cart workers to those big auto factories in the first place. Also, freeways and stoplights were both born in Detroit.
- Detroit is in prime position for a complete makeover. Lots of space, empty buildings, open streets. We all know what Detroit looks like today. But according to experts, all this open land looks like a blank canvas for urban planners and transportation specialists looking to try out new things.
- Detroit lacks a major public transportation system. See reasoning above. With little more than a slimmed-down bus system to offer, Detroit is primed and ready for something better.
I can't wait to see it.
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