Fixing a Broken City
Photos: Cristina Naccarato/Broken City Lab
Just across the river from Detroit sits a city forgotten. Battered by the fall of the auto industry and struggling to keep its economy running, Windsor, Ontario, has seen some tough times in recent years, and things aren’t likely to improve any time soon. It has the highest unemployment rate in Canada, a plummeting population, and the empty storefronts and foreclosed homes that have come to define this generation’s Great Recession.
Though geographically south, Windsor’s been called the Detroit of the North. For some locals, it’s simply a broken city. But there’s a growing movement that believes Windsor is a city that can be fixed.
A group of artists, activists, and urbanists has come together in Windsor with the straightforward-yet-complex goal of repairing the city. Their group is called the Broken City Lab, and it meets weekly to collaboratively dream up ways of engaging the community in a conversation about Windsor’s future.
To encourage civic engagement, they’ve embedded temporary messages in blocks of ice, designed magnetic planters that can hang on chain-link fences, and issued a report on options for re-using empty retail space. Led by Justin Langlois, an artist and an instructor at the University of Windsor, the group’s been meeting for about a year and a half, and it documents its work and ideas online.
Like Detroit, Windsor’s economy depends heavily on the American auto industry. GM, Ford, and Chrysler have all run factories on the Canadian side of the Detroit River, but many of those jobs evaporated. Despite being separated by a river and an international border, the economies of Detroit and Windsor are closely linked. They’re often thought of (by Windsorites, at least) as part of the same regional entity. “Windsor, in some senses, is highly dependent on the future of Detroit, because we’re going to be affected by it, whether we like it or not,” Langlois says. “But on the other side, I don’t think Detroit really reacts or necessarily changes so much based on what’s happening in Windsor.”
To try to emphasize the two cities’ interconnection, the Broken City Lab recently conducted an urban intervention they call the Cross-Border Communication project. They turned a riverfront parking structure into a screen onto which they projected a variety of community-building phrases. Over three nights, phrases three stories tall filled the side of the building, big enough to be seen in Detroit, 2,500 feet across the river.
We’re in this together.
We’ve Missed You.
We Need To Talk.
Windsor+Detroit=BFF?
The phrases scrolled across the facade or sat still for minutes at a time, beckoning the neighboring city, the relative economic powerhouse in a region with a busted economy. “We weren’t necessarily sure at any given time who was over there or if anyone was receiving the message,” Langlois admits. “In some ways that almost speaks to the relationship between the cities.”
Even in the unlikely event that nobody in Detroit saw the projections, the Broken City Lab is already planning more cross-border communications for the spring. Langlois hopes it gets the conversation started—at least on his side of the river.
Related: In “Welcome to Detroit,” Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson looked at a group of graphic designers hoping to effect positive change in the Motor City (and set off a passionate debate in our comments section).
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What Windsor needs is a change for the better and that will come with economic diversity.
The biggest problem for Windsor has been our dependency upon the Big 3 for the last half of the century. Chrysler used to have the Spring Plant and Seat Plant along McDougal. That left in the 80’s. Champion left, GM reduced their plants, Ford shut down the foundary, etc.. yet there was no change in diversity.
Towns who’s economy is predominantly based upon one industry are always at risk during economic downturns.
I can only hope that the community at large can put aside the “should have’s” and work with The Broken City Lab and change the economy around. The citizens of Windsor will have to struggle to make it happen, but they can and they will prevail. New skills will have to be acquired, going beyond mold, stamping, and assembly.
There are many different companies in Windsor that are not automotive related, but there has to be literally a few hundred more. Windsor can rebuild itself, reduce the dependency upon Detroit, and secure their own diverse, more stable economy. The citizens just have to pull together and be willing to change how they’ve been doing things.
The city council can focus on more than just infrastructure, as the province is big on transportation planning right now, bringing in new companies to the city, filling those empty buildings with vibrant companies. In order to become more attractive, Windsor has to provide skill development for those whom are willing to learn new skills.
Increase the skilled workforce outside of mold, press and stampings, and assembly and you can provide an attractive workforce to bring in new companies and hence new jobs.
The only way City Council can pull this off is if the community engages to help themselves!
Windsor can do it!
Comment by Robert — November 26, 2009, @ 5:06 pm
As a neighbor to the north, I applaud and welcome this initiative. Our Windsor-Detroit fates are intertwined. Our increasingly restricted border passage is damaging the economies on both sides and has turned our dramatic riverfronts into economic dead ends. We need European Union-style free movement between our countries. If French and Germans, who massacred millions of each others youth in the last century, can pass freely from one country to the other certainly we, who have been at peace for almost two centuries and allies in wars past and present, should be able to do the same.
Comment by Lowell Boileau — November 30, 2009, @ 10:42 pm
This relationship reminds me of Camden/Philadelphia. Camden lost it’s industry and Miss Vicky, but did not rebound or keep up with it’s big neighbor. My impression is that Detroit/Windsor are in the same fix, autos. Camden is muddled with a demographic crime problem.
During my teen years, Windsor was put on my map with the former top 40 CKLW. Viva Windsor!
Comment by Fading American — December 7, 2009, @ 9:28 pm
Windsor must start somewhere, congratulations Christina with your Broken City Lab. Dialogue, action, movement, accomplishments, doing things, building things, reinventing things, etc etc thats the way to go. Laying down and feeling sorry and forgotten will not re-invent Windsor to greatness but fighting back together will lead to success.
As you know I come to Windsor often. I love the city. The beautification and transformation of your riverfront is a clear manifestation of your desire to move forward, what a great job you did. I love your riverfront.
….Just my idea for Windsor….
You have the best weather in Canada, you have water, lakes and rivers, beautiful parks, less expensive housing, lots of sunshine and the best fruit and vegetables. Windsor, Re-invent yourself as a tourist area, a retirement area, care for the elderly area, bring doctors and medical people, build health facilities, this will attract pharmaceuticals and create jobs. We are all gething older and in need of these facilities in a nice climate… go for it.
Regards
Ron
Comment by Ronald J. Naccarato — December 21, 2009, @ 3:17 pm