Here are a few interesting links that I'd like to share. They are from last weeks group presentation on "Detroit Digital: On Tourists in the Apocalypse" by Marcel O'Gorman (http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=586)

Detroit Blog- http://www.detroitblog.org/; politics, urban exploration, news, photos and commentary about the city

Paint Cans and Politics- http://www.paintcansandpolitics.com/index2.html; documentary film following two grafiti artists in Detroit, Michigan; I've looked at Blockbuster and Rogers Video for it but I still haven't found it. If anyone is interested in seeing and finds it somewhere let us know so we can also watch it :)

Bodies and Code: Detroit Digital/Serial Consign- http://serialconsign.com/2007/12/bodies-and-code-detroit-digital; blog, references the article as well

Wooster Collective- www.woostercollective.com; graffiti art from around the world

I was doing some research on the hostory of Windsor and I found this aerial map of Windsor from 1931. I find it interesting to see how Windsor has changed over time. Here is an article of the history of Windsor.-->

Prior to European exploration and settlement, the Windsor area was inhabited by the First Nations and Native American people. Windsor was first settled in 1749 as a French agricultural settlement, making it the oldest continually inhabited settlement in Canada west of Montreal. The area was first named Petite Côte (Little Coast), and later became known as La Côte de Misère (Poverty Coast) because of the sandy soils near LaSalle. Windsor's French heritage is reflected in many French street names, such as Ouellette, Pelissier, Francois, Pierre, Langlois, Marentette and Lauzon. There is a significant French speaking minority in Windsor and the surrounding areas. Many of them are in the Lakeshore, Tecumseh and LaSalle areas. The current street system of Windsor (grid with elongated blocks) may reflect the French method of agricultural land division where the farms were long and narrow, fronting along the river; it is also consistent with the British system for granting land concessions.

In 1794, after the American Revolution, the settlement of Sandwich was founded. It was later renamed to Windsor, after the town in Berkshire, England. The Sandwich neighbourhood on Windsor's west side is home to some of the oldest buildings in the city including Mackenzie Hall, originally built as the Essex County courthouse in 1855. Today, this building functions as a community centre. The oldest building in the city is the Duff-Baby House built in 1792. It is owned by Ontario Heritage Trust and houses government offices. The François Baby House was built in 1812 and houses Windsor's Community Museum, dedicated to local history.

The City of Windsor was the site of the Battle of Windsor during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, and was also a part of the Patriot War, later that year.
Windsor was established as a village in 1854 (the same year the village was connected to the rest of Canada, by the Grand Trunk Railway/Canadian National Railway), then a town in 1858, and ultimately gained city status in 1892.

A fire consumed much of Windsor's downtown core on October 12, 1871, destroying over 100 buildings.[1]

On October 25, 1960, a massive gas explosion destroyed the Metropolitan Stores building on Ouellette Avenue. Ten people were killed and at least one hundred injured.[2] The 45th anniversary of the event was commemorated by the Windsor Star on October 25, 2005 and later reenacted on History Television's Disasters of the Century.

What's in a name? The Windsor Star Centennial Edition in 1992 covered the city's past, its heyday as a railway centre, and its contributions to World War I and World War II. It also recalled the naming controversy in 1892, when the town of Windsor wanted to become a city. The most popular names listed in the naming controversy were "South Detroit", "The Ferry" (from the ferries that linked Windsor to Detroit), Richmond (the runner-up in popularity), and Windsor (which won out over the others). Windsor was chosen over the others because of its English name (to promote the heritage of many English settlers in the city), and so that it would be named after Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England. However, Richmond was a popular name used until the Second World War, mainly by the local Post Office.

Amalgamations Sandwich, Ford City and Walkerville were separate legal entities (towns) in their own right until roughly 1935. They are now historic neighbourhoods of Windsor. Ford City was officially incorporated as a village in 1912. It became a town in 1915, and became a city in 1929. It only lasted a few years, as it was amalgamated into Windsor in 1935, along with several other nearby villages. Walkerville was incorporated as a town in 1890, and was merged into Windsor with Sandwich and Ford City in 1935. Sandwich was established in 1817 as a town with no municipal status. It was incorporated as a town in 1858 (the same time as neighbouring Windsor was incorporated as a town). It lasted until 1935. The nearby village of Ojibway was incorporated as a town in 1913, and was annexed by the City of Windsor in 1966, at the same time as the town of Riverside. Riverside was incorporated in 1921, and was merged into Windsor in 1966.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_Ontario

Here is a cool video on Exploring Windsor, Ontario: Willistead Manor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYa5XS6domc


Devon

I was doing some research on the Windsor archives, because of the upcoming field trip and book assignment. History is an important element in boarder cities.





Facts:

• archives contain over 7,500 photographs and 20,000 sets of architectural drawings, maps and plans.


• 1854 was the year Windsor was incorporated as a village.

I found some aerial photos of Windsor from 1931, that I found fascinating. The map makes me think about the different identities or phases the city has gone through from generation to generation.

Here is an article on the history of Windsor:

Prior to European exploration and settlement, the Windsor area was inhabited by the First Nations and Native American people. Windsor was first settled in 1749 as a French agricultural settlement, making it the oldest continually inhabited settlement in Canada west of Montreal. The area was first named Petite Côte (Little Coast), and later became known as La Côte de Misère (Poverty Coast) because of the sandy soils near LaSalle. Windsor's French heritage is reflected in many French street names, such as Ouellette, Pelissier, Francois, Pierre, Langlois, Marentette and Lauzon. There is a significant French speaking minority in Windsor and the surrounding areas. Many of them are in the Lakeshore, Tecumseh and LaSalle areas. The current street system of Windsor (grid with elongated blocks) may reflect the French method of agricultural land division where the farms were long and narrow, fronting along the river; it is also consistent with the British system for granting land concessions.

In 1794, after the American Revolution, the settlement of Sandwich was founded. It was later renamed to Windsor, after the town in Berkshire, England. The Sandwich neighbourhood on Windsor's west side is home to some of the oldest buildings in the city including Mackenzie Hall, originally built as the Essex County courthouse in 1855. Today, this building functions as a community centre. The oldest building in the city is the Duff-Baby House built in 1792. It is owned by Ontario Heritage Trust and houses government offices. The François Baby House was built in 1812 and houses Windsor's Community Museum, dedicated to local history.
The City of Windsor was the site of the Battle of Windsor during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, and was also a part of the Patriot War, later that year.
Windsor was established as a village in 1854 (the same year the village was connected to the rest of Canada, by the Grand Trunk Railway/Canadian National Railway), then a town in 1858, and ultimately gained city status in 1892.

A fire consumed much of Windsor's downtown core on October 12, 1871, destroying over 100 buildings.[1]
On October 25, 1960, a massive gas explosion destroyed the Metropolitan Stores building on Ouellette Avenue. Ten people were killed and at least one hundred injured.[2] The 45th anniversary of the event was commemorated by the Windsor Star on October 25, 2005 and later reenacted on History Television's Disasters of the Century.

What's in a name? The Windsor Star Centennial Edition in 1992 covered the city's past, its heyday as a railway centre, and its contributions to World War I and World War II. It also recalled the naming controversy in 1892, when the town of Windsor wanted to become a city. The most popular names listed in the naming controversy were "South Detroit", "The Ferry" (from the ferries that linked Windsor to Detroit), Richmond (the runner-up in popularity), and Windsor (which won out over the others). Windsor was chosen over the others because of its English name (to promote the heritage of many English settlers in the city), and so that it would be named after Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England. However, Richmond was a popular name used until the Second World War, mainly by the local Post Office.

Amalgamations Sandwich, Ford City and Walkerville were separate legal entities (towns) in their own right until roughly 1935. They are now historic neighbourhoods of Windsor. Ford City was officially incorporated as a village in 1912. It became a town in 1915, and became a city in 1929. It only lasted a few years, as it was amalgamated into Windsor in 1935, along with several other nearby villages. Walkerville was incorporated as a town in 1890, and was merged into Windsor with Sandwich and Ford City in 1935. Sandwich was established in 1817 as a town with no municipal status. It was incorporated as a town in 1858 (the same time as neighbouring Windsor was incorporated as a town). It lasted until 1935. The nearby village of Ojibway was incorporated as a town in 1913, and was annexed by the City of Windsor in 1966, at the same time as the town of Riverside. Riverside was incorporated in 1921, and was merged into Windsor in 1966.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_Ontario

Devon

Detroit Digital: Presentation Follow-up

As promised here are a few links that were mentioned in our presentation on the 5th of Feb.

For those of you that missed it, this video is a documentary about the creation of techno music. It gives a really cool insight into the relationship between techno music and its birth place, Detroit. The video has a really positive out look on the cultural development in Detroit. The riots of 1967 and the economic downturn of the automobile industry didn't stop the inventiveness of Detroiters. Techno, brought internation attention to the city.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-195672552584716914

This second clip is an exerpt from a discovery channel episode on the Windsorite DJ known as Plastikman. Richard Hawtin, a.k.a Plastikman is an English-Canadian electronic musician. He played a major role in the development of the Detroit techno scene in the early 1990's. According to Wikepedia, Hawtin spent most of his life in Lasalle, Ontario and attented Sandwich Secondary High School.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj4wPEaJrjU

Flooded London

I thought I'd post the link to more of the images from the series Flooded London that I mentioned in the presentation last week (which I discovered from an article in Adbusters)

Squint/Opera

Out of curiosity, what do the rest of you think about this being a reality someday? Personally I think their vision is that weird kind of balance we're looking for in the cities.
And what do you think about the possibility of survival in the cities after a natural disaster?

The Ontario government provides extensive archives on an array of historical themes. I've provided the link to the page which discusses French Ontario in the 17th and 18th centuries, specific to the Detroit region. There are an overwhelming amount of primary documents, inclusive of journal accounts, land claims, and surveyor maps in addition to brief historical analysis of the provided papers. If you are at all interested in the history of the region, it is defiantly worth checking out. I'm providing the link directly to the Detroit page, however you can navigate across to a variety of different topics.

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/ENGLISH/exhibits/franco_ontarian/detroit.htm

Here are images from the Wyandotte field trip. I find the images fascinating, because it is like viewing a different world through imagination. It is like around every corner is something unique and special. Windsor is a city full of new places to explore through imagination.

Discussion...

I thought I'd post this question for people to comment on since we didn't get to it during the presentation today:

How do you envision cities of the future? Do you see them as thriving metropolises or run-down wastelands reclaimed by nature? Will cities ever be able to strike a balance between man-made vs. nature?

Discuss!

**Edit**
Also, here are some interesting links I came across while researching the presentation:

Urban Farming in Detroit

Is America's Suburban Dream Collapsing Into a Nightmare?

Zabbaleen

Windsor/Detroit's Urban Sprawl and Public Places

I came across this video lecture from TED on urban sprawl the other day and thought it’d be worth sharing in regards to today’s planned topic of discussion. James Howard Kunstler is an outspoken opponent to urban sprawl who blames (North) American city planning since the Second World War as concentrating solely on the direct function of the building (For example: a bank only needs 4 walls, a roof and a vault to operate, with all else being optional expenses) and ignoring what it ought to contribute to public space on the outside. Without a sense of place, people have fled the city for a confusing mix of rural and urban living (suburbia) which captures the benefits of neither.

Moving slightly from the video itself, I think the only establishments nowadays that have tried (albeit poorly) to instil a sense of public space are coffee shops. People don’t necessarily go to the place for the beverage, but for the atmosphere in the lounge or on the patio. However these businesses with their pseudo-public spaces can only go so far. As for the downtowns of Windsor and Detroit, they are intimidating and unwelcoming and ought to improve if they ever hope for revitalization. While there are places such as Windsor’s waterfront and Detroit’s Campus Martius Park that offer some hope, I don’t think they welcome or engage citizens to the degree they ought to. The GreenLink border proposal tries to address this lack of public space in the west end, but I fear it could develop into an all ‘Green’ and no ‘Link’ reality.

I also noticed Kunstler and Solnit have differentiating views on the role of nature within cities. Solnit believes urban gardening and ‘wilderness patches’ are practical and useful to envision a new role for post-industrial metropolises while Kunstler elaborates how greenery should be used in a more cosmetic notion to achieve a sense of place which will revitalize a shrinking city over time. I found it very interesting to contrast.

Loiterer's Resistance Movement

Here is an inspired entry from one of my favorite psychogeographic blogs, the Loiterer's Resistance Movement (see link on the 'links we like' section on the right). They offer up suggestions for things you can do so that you're not bored in your city.

My personal favorite game (listed below) is one called "Heart of the city", and all you do is keep asking people you see on the street if they can direct you to the 'heart of the city'. I think this would be a fun game to play in Windsor.

Here are some more:


Make groups of no more than 5 or 6 people.

There are 20 instructions in your envelope – take them out one at a time over the next 2 hours – some of the instructions will take 10 minutes to complete, others can go on for the rest of the walk.

You don’t have to complete one instruction before you pick another – it’s good to combine them.
The instructions are open to interpretation – be creative, have fun and play

UMBRA(GE)
Follow your shadow – if you don’t have a shadow try to find some

MEMORIALS
Cities mark their history in stone – once the names have been carved they are rarely heard again. Find a memorial and read aloud the silent words and names.

ROADWORKS
Find a hole in the ground – instead of thinking of it as an inconvenience, look at it as an impromptu open-air exhibition or archaeological dig.

SIMULACRA
Unintended images are everywhere. Look out for simulacra, they are eruptions of secret history. They mean things...

CIRCUIT
Walk between two arbitrary points or around a block for the next 10 minutes – note what you discover on each circuit. Walk until the streets themselves are taking you for a walk.

NO U-TURN
Find a way to get to where you want to go by walking in the opposite direction.

DANGER
Push to the edge of your comfort zone. Notice, if you reach it, the point at which you no longer feel safe. Then take one more step...

DAY OF THE DEAD
The streets are filled with zombies. Move through the crowds without giving yourself away. Observe the dead and their places covertly. Make sure you always have an escape route. Survive by moving.

NATURE WALK
Look for the non-human. Maps drawn by snails. Birds nesting in alcoves. Spiders decorating windows. Trees on rooftops...

ON REFLECTION
Use the big plate glass windows of your city as cinema screens. Watch them like a movie-goer. Or be a director and call the shots.

EDGES
Identify and explore edges, where one place becomes another. Travel along a boundary – if you think it’s safe enough, leap across it. Are the edges clear cut? Or are there transitional zones? Enjoy the blurred liminal territories.

THE HEART OF THE CITY
Ask as many people as possible for directions to the heart of the city. Keep asking...

PUBLIC/PRIVATE
Find somewhere to be private in a public space.

WINDOW ART
For this week only there is a citywide exhibition of art displays in the windows of the city’s homes. How many can you find?

READ THE CITY
The pavements and streets are a book. Look for the writing on the city – on posters, on rubbish, on graffiti, on manhole covers, on bins, on drains, on street furniture. Use this to guide your drift and rename the streets.

STOP!
Stand still, stay exactly where you are for the next 10 minutes and watch the human traffic ebb and flow around your island of calm.

QUIET!
For the next 10 minutes do not speak or use any sign language. Observe how the dynamics of the group affect the drift when you don’t communicate verbally.

DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT?
Follow your ears – let the sounds around you guide your drift. Hunt for places of quiet or noise – listen out for accidental music and the mutterings of the ghosts under the pavements...

SAFARI
You are now on the hunt – track down as many lions, horses, elephants and ducks as you can find.

EVEN A STOPPED CLOCK TELLS THE RIGHT TIME TWICE A DAY
Look out for clocks on buildings and in windows. How does the city run like clockwork? How does time affect the use and meaning of a place? From Loiterer's Resistance Movement: Manchester UK.

Wyandotte St. East Photos

When first hearing of adventuring down Wyandotte in the East end I was a little skeptic on whether I would be able to take some good photographs. But still I decided to venture out with the group and told myself I would take photos of anything and everything. I wanted to keep an open mind about my hometown. However, I have to say I really enjoyed the photographs I took of this dirty and odd grungy street. There is much beauty in the little parts of the city no tourist really notices. Talking with a few other of the girls in my group, I came to realise that as a hometowner I really didnt appreciate the city until I found a few hidden gems one could only find as a Windsorite.

Unisex Uncanny

Two architectural intrigues of Wyandotte Street East. The first: double doors to a 'unisex' salon from the 1970s. The salon still seems to be active, but it seems that they had difficulty with the gender ambiguity of the 'unisex' concept that came about in the sixties or seventies. 1372 Wyandotte leads to the women's side of the salon, and 1374 Wyandotte to the men's. While the two sides share the same front desk, these are distinctly different spaces divided by a mirrored wall that separates the menfolk from the women, with a salon on the left and a barber's chair on the right. The unisex concept isn't so convincing, but the twin doors and doubled spaces certainly make this place a candidate for one of Windsor's most uncanny businesses. The second architectural intrigue, not even a block east of the unisex salon is a spiral fire escape which bears a passing resemblance to a more upright version of Vladimir Tatlin's Monument to the Third International (c. 1920) . Interestingly, the central support doubles as a flag pole.

Psychogeography Photos

just wanted to share some photos.. i really enjoyed the experience, personally ive driven down this street 1000 times to get home and ive been to windsor palace a few times but never have i walked down the street and really experienced this part of town.

2 Crosstown

After the worst cold snap in Windsor in recent memory, we set off on our Algorithmic walk with sunny skies and balmy weather. For the first part we cheated and took the bus to our walking destination, though taking public transit in Windsor has always had an element of the unexpected so it certainly fits within the frame of psychogeography. The bus service has improved since I last took the 2 Crosstown (three years ago). Its still pokey, but it seems that Transit Windsor has improved its fleet of buses, as this one seemed really clean and new. A nice feature of these new buses is that you can't see out the windows (they're plastered with exterior advertisements) so you get a kind of big city feeling when they get crowded up near the University and Ouellette, and you can pretend you're in a more functional city where everyone normally takes public transit without any sense of inferiority.

Psychogeography connection to the field trip

I thought that the field trip exercise was a good way to explore the area in a different way. I have added images from the field trip because I think there is a combination of different ways to view the area.

Border Myths

I ran across this article by accident on the RCMP website and thought I'd share:
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/bi-if/index-eng.htm

It gives a little overview of the relationship between the Canadian-U.S. border and then goes into how it changed after 9-11. It then goes on to describe some of the 'myths' that have been hampering relations between the U.S. & Canada since 9-11 (ie. terrorists coming from Canada, etc.).

Michigan Central Station and the Fall of Detroit

My thoughts on Detroit and Michigan Central Station

Last class we discussed Detroit and the decline over the past decades. It seems most people associate the decline of Detroit with racial tensions experienced mostly in the 60's and though that was a major factor, if you take that out of the equation it was still evident that Detroit was set up for its demise.

Detroit is the “Motor City” and in the late 40's and 50's there was an economic boom which allowed families to buy the cars which Detroit was producing. As credit became more available, more and more Americans started owning their own vehicles. This automotive boom, along with a massive transformation of the landscape into a grid of single home dwellings which were accompanied by huge highway projects allowed Americans all over the country and epically Detroiters to sprawl out and live the “American Dream”

We have talked in class about the Michigan Central Station which met its maker in 1988 when the last Amtrak train left the station. It seems this building never had a chance. As I mentioned Detroit is Motor City, and as the automotive era exploded into what we see today. There seems there as little place for this old train station in the automotive capital.

So when you step back and look at it all; and I think Lee you mentioned this. The Michigan Central Station is sort of a visual representation of Detroit's rise and fall. The overwhelming grandeur of the building shows how Detroit was once a wealthy metropolis, but it seems to me, given all the factors: the automotive and housing boom and massive government initiatives to build highways . Michigan Central Station was bound to fall, and Detroit failed by the very means which made it, the automobile.

Sombra ferry

Here is an image of the Sombra to Marine City ferry crossing that I talked about during the first day of class. Boarders can come in all sorts of different forms.

International Metropolis

I just wanted to post a link to a very interesting blog:
http://www.internationalmetropolis.com/

The author, Andrew Foot, posts pictures (a lot of interesting archival stuff) about old Windsor vs. present Windsor (ie. how buildings looked in the past, what they look like now, etc.). I think it would be a really helpful resource for the book project because its an incredibly well-researched blog about Windsor & Detroit's past & present.