Artists...The Tranformation of the Hood???

This morning on my daily walk with Ace (who is pictured to the right, awwww so cute. He loves walks so much, you can't even say walk in a sentence or he freaks out, we have to spell. Its like having a toddler.) Anyhoo, this morning on my walk, I ran into a gentleman who asked if my dog would like a play mate. I'm always a little skeptical of older men who talk to me on my walks. They are usually slimy and I think they find me attractive only b/c my whiteness makes me different.
For some background info, I live in the Northend Neighborhood of Detroit. Some consider it a rougher neighborhood, it used to be, I consider it transitional with a big mixture of incomes, education, and family structures.
So back to the story. We started talking and he said he was an artist from COLORADO and had moved here to rehab a building and open up an artist community. I LOVE IT!! I told him about the community garden and that it was on a lot owned by another artist who was also trying to set up his studio in the neighborhood.
So by the end of the walk, I had a new friend, a new doggy playmate for Ace, a potential volunteer for the community garden, and the Northend has one more person wanting to make a difference here. What a divine meeting, I usually don't go out as early as a I did and we just happened to run into each other.

It reminded me of a piece I made: Bird's Eye View
When you look at the Bird's Eye View of the Northend, you see its potential; the empty lots and buildings that can be developed, the houses and yards people are maintaining. Living in the midst of empty and burned out homes can make me think there's little hope left. The negative issues and drama can drain and suck out all the efforts made by myself and my husband, our neighbors, the churches. This fortuitous meeting with the artist reminded me to keep the bird's eye view of the Northend in mind, to focus on the potential. Things are happening here and we will reap the benefits of people's investment into the neighborhood.

Bird's Eye View

Looks like Richard Florida's thesis is happening in the Northend. THE ARTISTS ARE COMING! WATCH OUT!

It makes me think about what needs to happen to make sure that our neighbors are pulled up with the neighborhood not just relocated to another hood. One time a cop was questioning why Billy was in the neighborhood. When Billy showed him his license to prove he lived here, the cop said, "There goes the neighborhood." I don't want to be the force that pushes people out. Improve the environment yes but not push out. The fabric of this community is amazing. Old and young, low, middle upper middle class families all living next to each other. How do you do this? Its not something that just will happen.