Bankrupt Detroit reborn

摘要

The Motor City has finally stalled. Could an ambitious, green scheme to repurpose Detroit's crumbling infrastructure restart the city's engines? It's a big ask. After years of socioeconomic decline since its auto industry collapsed, Detroit declared bankruptcy last week, becoming the largest US city ever to do so. The plan, and it's a long-term one, is called the Detroit Future City framework, announced by a study group in January. Its aim is to regenerate the city over the next two decades by downsizing the infrastructure to suit today's 700,000 residents. In the 1950s, the city housed 2 million. There are some unusual proposals: repurposing the city's 5200 hectares of abandoned space as ecological sanctuaries and urban farms. Another idea is to build "blue" infrastructure - converting streets into conduits for collecting rainwater and act as a sewer system.