Does Detroit’s revival depend on rail and transit?

“Blueprint America” on PBS

Steve Hawley, Jan 29, 10.

The economic revitalization of Detroit may depend on the success of mass transit and high-speed rail in the United States, according to a new PBS documentary reported in the Detroit Free Press.

According to the documentary, the city, which has depended heavily on the auto industry throughout its modern history, must switch to making trains and mass transit vehicles. The article notes:

The city’s 20th-Century legacy is centered on the automobile and highways. But other countries are turning to more efficient, cleaner forms of mass transit, which threatens to leave Detroit and the nation behind, said filmmaker Aaron Woolf.

“We need to reconceptualize the American city,” said Woolf, 45, who wrote, produced and directed the documentary. “I think Detroit is such a poignant place to tell that story.”

The documentary shows, in familiar detail, Detroit’s growth and decline, but notes that the city transformed itself several times with major leaps in transportation—the Erie Canal, railroads, and automobiles—and suggests a switch to mass transit could put the city and the US back in the game when it comes to modern mobility.

The article also reports that private investors are lining up funding to build a light rail line in downtown Detroit, in the hopes of spurring economic development and a regional transit system.

The documentary - “Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City” - will air nationwide on Monday, February 8 on PBS stations. More information on the Blueprint America series can be found at www.pbs.org/blueprintamerica.

(Pictured: General Motors headquarters in Detroit. Photo credit: James Marvin Phelps. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.