Little Orange Houses For You And Me?

tiggerriffichouses
Originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Or as one blogger quipped, "If you paint it....they will come."

I love this story of grassroots activism from the Motor City. I grew up very near to Detroit and of all the American cities that experienced the race riots in the summer of 1968, none remains as devistated as Detroit. My last visit was in the autumn of 2004, and after 36 years the decay, the abandoned homes, and the mantle of hoplessness remained present and tangible.

Enter a few creative people who are fed up, add some Tiggerriffic Orange paint from the Disney line at Home Depot, and voila! These folks repaint condemned homes in a glaring, in your face, vermillion, and the city is shamed into finally demolishing them.

Bye bye crack house, bye bye rat nest, hello Hope.

Many cities which faced the exodus of both industry and people in the latter decades of the 20th century have found a new focus and prosperity in the ought days of the 21st century. Places that quickly come to mind include both Cleveland and my own Washington, DC. Others are moving in the right direction, cities like Chicago and Pittsburgh. But my dear Detroit inspite of many valiant efforts lags...somehow on some profound level still stuck in the shadows of the flames of the summer of '68. May these urban-renewers find a degree of success that has eluded the political power brokers. And may their successes form a foundation for real renewal...the kind that not only transforms lots and buildings, but inspires people to achieve and succeed.