The Myth of "Vibrant" Cities

Flint, like seemingly every other troubled city in America, seems to be on a quest for "vibrancy." Thomas Frank doesn't mention the Vehicle City in his recent essay in The Baffler, but he describes the wants and aspirations of Flint's movers and shakers perfectly.

Every city is either vibrant these days or is working on a plan to attain vibrancy soon. The reason is simple: a city isn’t successful— isn’t even a city, really—unless it can lay claim to being “vibrant.” Vibrancy is so universally desirable, so totemic in its powers, that even though we aren’t sure what the word means, we know the quality it designates must be cultivated. The vibrant, we believe, is what makes certain cities flourish. The absence of vibrancy, by contrast, is what allows the diseases of depopulation and blight to set in.

This formulation sounded ridiculous to me when I first encountered it. Whatever the word meant, “vibrancy” was surely an outcome of civic prosperity, not its cause. Putting it the other way round was like reasoning that, since sidewalks get wet when it rains, we can encourage rainfall by wetting the sidewalks. But to others, the vibrancy mantra is profoundly persuasive.

The problem is that no really seems to know if spending money to turn downtown Flint into a destination spot with restaurants, bars, art walks, music venues, and a variety of other cultural activities will actually work. But as Frank points out, that isn't stopping civic leaders and big-money foundations from pursuing it wholeheartedly.

My target here is not their power, but their vacuity. Our leadership class looks out over the trashed and looted landscape of the American city, and they solemnly declare that salvation lies in an almost meaningless buzzword— that if we chant that buzzword loud enough and often enough, our troubles are over.

The worry, of course, is that the latest urban planning trend is just another futile attempt to combat fundamental economic and societal problems that artwalks and farmers' markets won't solve.

It is time to acknowledge the truth: that our leaders have nothing to say, really, about any of this. They have nothing to suggest, really, to Cairo, Illinois, or St. Joseph, Missouri. They have no comment to make, really, about the depopulation of the countryside or the deindustrialization of the Midwest. They have nothing to offer, really, but the same suggestions as before, gussied up with a new set of clichés. They have no idea what to do for places or people that aren’t already successful or that have no prospects of ever becoming cool.

 Read the entire essay here.

Flint Photos: Travels to Vehicle City

Over the past three years I've traveled to Flint numerous times and taken a lot of photos while I was writing about the city. Here's a small sample, in no particular order. Some of these have appeared on Flint Expatriates in the past, some are new.

A Reader in Favor of Moving the Flint Farmer's Market

An argument in favor of relocating the Flint Farmer's Market:

I spoke with TWO of the vendors and they were absolutely thrilled with the idea! Let's see, that's three now out of 76...two absolutely thrilled and one "less than thrilled." The two I spoke with are year round (indoor) vendors that feel that "climate control" is essential to their products and ultimately their businesses. The facilities as they currently exist make this a challenge. Oh, I also took a moment to ask a young man confined to a wheelchair, as well as an elderly women using a walker, how they felt about the market potentially making significant changes. They were equally thrilled and both mentioned how they had heard many good things about Steady Eddie's Restaurant upstairs, but it was too big of a challenge (if not impossible) for them to make it up the stairs to its current location.

The argument that was made about the argument being made that the market was "moving based on the futility of the post office" is just plain sillier and concocted. Nothing was mentioned about people avoiding the market if the post office closed. However, if a new building is being considered because the band-aid on the broken arm treatment it has recently endured does not quite feed the bulldog, logic would dictate that a less desolate area should be considered.

Most people living in Michigan could easily draw a comparison in this situation to Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park. Tiger Stadium wove tradition, history and memories into the hearts and minds of baseball fans across this great state and beyond. The Flint Farmers' Market has also woven tradition, history and memories into the hearts and minds of countless numbers of people across Flint/Genesee County and beyond. The idea for a new ball park (Comerica), roughly a mile away, that was more centrally located and in closer proximity to growing businesses was met with skepticism too. It certainly was unfortunate that Tiger Stadium had to close and could not have remained open like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. The difficult decision was made because the area around Tiger Stadium was in disarray and the updates and repairs were no longer worth the effort. Comerica Park, although not the same as Tiger Stadium, was designed in a way that enables individuals to not only hold close the old tradition, history and memories of Tiger Stadium, but it also enables them to build on them and create new ones as well. A new Farmers' Market that is wisely designed could accomplish the very same thing.

A Reader Weighs In on Plans to Move the Flint Farmer's Market

Sable Pelt responds to reports that the Flint Farmer's Market may be relocated to the old Flint Journal Building:

Before I launch into this, let me establish a few things first:

1. The Mott Foundation and Mott Family have unquestionably done great things for Flint. I have no doubt the city would be much worse off without all support the city has received from the Motts.

2. I believe that it’s possible for developers and investors to make money and improve Flint at the same time. In other words, just because someone hopes to profit from a deal doesn’t mean the deal can’t be beneficial for the city. I say this because it seems as though many people automatically attack Uptown because there is a profit motive involved. I don’t think that’s fair.

Having said that, it distresses me to see the level of control Uptown, which appears to be controlled by a Mott scion, Ridgeway White, and the Mott Foundation has over the City of Flint. While acknowledging the good the family has done for the city (see #1 above), both the Mott Foundation and the individual family members have made horrible decisions over the years that have harmed the city. Case in point: AutoWorld. There are others, but let’s stick with the most obvious. Just because the Mott’s are willing to spend money, doesn’t mean they are always right. Even the well-intentioned can screw things up royally. Let me put it to you this way, if a family or entity with more insight and skill had been in charge of all the money the Motts have lavished on Flint, don’t you think the place would be in a little better shape today? (Again, it pains me to criticize an entity that seems to have its heart in the right place, but let’s be honest here.)

There is also something unsavory about the cozy triangle of power formed by the for-profit Uptown Developments LLC, the non-profit Uptown Reinvestment Corp, and the Mott Foundation. It’s not illegal, but it’s an arrangement dominated by a single family that pretty much does whatever it wants with very little public input or transparency. It’s not the profit motive that bothers me (see #2 above); it’s the unchecked power in the hands of people who do not have a great track record when it comes to public policy.

I fear this is all playing out again with the plan to move the Farmer’s Market. Judging from the terse, unyielding missive from Tim Herman, president of Upton Reinvestment and CEO of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, there’s no intention of getting public feedback. There was no mention of public meetings or an email address to solicit thoughts from the folks who sell and buy items at the market. I hope I’m wrong, but this seems like it’s going to happen.

Think about this. A city that is a poster child for economic failure is going to tinker with something that has deep historical roots and has somehow survived. Yes, it survived with the help of Uptown, but that doesn’t give them the right to move it because they hope to up the value of one of their properties. And, again, given the track record of the people involved, do you have any confidence the market will survive in a new location?

We’re about to let another piece of Flint history slip away. Yes, the buildings need some work. Historic preservation, in short-term rehab expenses, is often costlier than other alternatives. That’s why strip malls exist. That’s why the old Vogue store, the Sill Building, and countless other Flint landmarks are gone. But history, tradition and memories have a less quantifiable value. They are worth preserving, especially in a city where they are in short supply.

The Murky Future of the Flint Farmer's Market

A less-than-illuminating update on the fate of the Flint Farmer's Market via the market's Facebook page:

The following statement can be attributed to Tim Herman, President of Uptown Reinvestment Corporation and CEO of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce. 

"Uptown Reinvestment Corporation (URC) in collaboration with Uptown Developments is off to a good start this year with redevelopment projects in downtown Flint. Just last week it was announced that Landaal Packaging Systems will open a Packaging Innovation Center and bring their corporate offices to the area. In addition, the URC Board of Directors are exploring a variety of options for use of the former Flint Journal properties including Michigan State University’s medical education and public health program, private businesses, the Flint Farmers Market, a technology incubator lab as well as other project proposals. If and when we have something to announce, we will communicate with all of our stakeholders and the community."

Can someone explain who actually owns the market? Is it Uptown? Is it the City of Flint? Is it some other entity?

Is the Flint Farmer's Market Headed for a New Home?

Rumors are flying around Flint that there is serious talk of moving the venerable Flint Farmer's Market from its current and longstanding location on the banks of the Flint River to a downtown spot, with the possibility that the market might move into the old Flint Journal printing facility, which is now empty.

This sounded far-fetched to me when I first heard it. After all, the market seemed to be thriving the five times I've visited over the past few years on trips to Flint. Given Flint's economic track record, why mess with something that appears to be doing well? And why destroy one of the few icons of old Flint that's still more or less the same as it was when the city was thriving? Hey, while we're at it, let's get rid of Halo Burger and the Citizen's Bank Weather Ball.

Then again, the market is managed by Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, the non-profit entity that's been involved in several downtown redevelopment projects over the past few years, including Blackstone's Pub. Uptown Reinvestment is closely linked with the Mott Foundation and the for-profit Uptown Developments. In fact, Uptown Reinvestment floated the idea of relocating the market back in 2003 in a document outlining its vision for Flint entitled Initiatives for Uptown: Flint Uptown Reinvestment Strategy:

"Relocate the Farmer’s Market to the current bus transfer station (between Harrison and Wallenburg Streets): The reinvestment strategy calls for a new residential neighborhood on the east side of downtown. The relocation of the Farmer’s Market would be an excellent amenity for the adjacent residential neighborhood and would be seen as a neighborhood amenity. Moreover, the Farmer’s Market will generate more activity and people for downtown, particularly on weekends."

Sources indicate that the bus station location has now been abandoned for the old Journal press building. Some vendors at the Farmer's Market are against the plan and would like further investment in the current historic location instead.

Uptown Reinvestment purchased the Journal building and the printing facility shortly after the newspaper moved to a smaller location on Saginaw Street.

The rumors prompted an update on the Farmer's Market Facebook page today:

Some questions about have been tossed around regarding the Market moving. A proposal was put forward at an Uptown Reinvestment Corporation board meeting to explore possible uses for the new and recently vacant Flint Journal press facility. One of about a dozen options listed was the Flint Farmers’ Market. The board will be working to identify the best use of the space and will be seeking input from the community at large and the organizations that may be considered as future tenants. At this point we are just one of many options and once we have more information we will communicate with all of our stakeholders. Thank you for your understanding, we hope this helps clear up an confusion.

Flint Photos: Farmer's Market

More Farmer's Market

Flint Photos: Farmer's Market on Saturday

Vote for the Flint Farmer's Market

Farmer's Market photo courtesy of sarrazak6881.

Care2 and Local Harvest are having an online contest to pick the best farmer's market in the county, and Flint is currently in first place. Cast your vote here.