A rail line skirts the east edge of downtown Detroit. This rail line, long abandoned by humans to the vagaries of urban tolerant wildlife, cuts a deep swath. Nestled in its embrace is an urban canvas. Hobos, debris and the occasional dog walker all gathered on this pathway that ran from the Eastern Market to the Detroit river. That was until the MDOT, encouraged by the noble rails-to-trails, came up with something a wee bit more family friendly.

With a surprising quickness the construction crews toppled the foliage and replaced it with sterile woodchips and manicured rows of flowers. The artists stubbornly persevered. Each night every newly erected surface received a complementary coating of paint. Every day towering construction vehicles craft new surfaces and the spiraling dance goes on today. For a glimpse into the past of the cut, stand at the mouth of the Gratiot bridge and stare north.

Yahoo reports a recent study ranking Detroit as having the second highest amount of singles of any city in the country, after San Francisco.

To be more specific, the census ranked cities by the number of “unmarried” people. So maybe “singles” isn’t the right word, since the word connotes young people on the prowl for love. I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but my guess is that one of the reasons why San Francisco ranks highest is the large number of gays and lesbians living there who, although they can legally marry in the state, may not have been counted in this study as married.

So why Detroit second, even more so than New York (which has 6 million more people)? Poverty? Single mothers and fathers? The reason sure isn’t because there are so many swinging fellas and ladies here than elsewhere in the country.

The added irony is that it’s the Yahoo Real Estate section that posted the results, along with a link to area houses on the market.

The study was conducted by Sperling’s Best Places. If you visit their website’s Detroit page, the first three user comments are

“Horrible place to live”

“The city America left behind”

“Absolutely terrible city”

So once again, irony and the internet win. Detroit is the worst place ever on Bestplaces.com.

Anyone care to go the site and write something nice?

The food was decently priced, as were the drinks. I got the Detroit Hipster burger, which comes on a ciabbatta bun, with a whole portabella mushroom cap, and a pesto infused mayonnaise sauce (I copied that part from the menu, I don’t even know what it means). It was delicious, if a bit messy. I can’t wait to get back and sample some more of the wonderful food!

They’ve amended the outgoing message at the Mocad.

Yes!

I work with quite a few volunteers and make sure to nominate each year for this event. It’s a really great celebration that honors those who provide much needed services around Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. This is the first time that voting has been open to the public.

MOCAD is offering two final events to celebrate the exhibitions: Sarah Lewis, Art Historian at Yale, will talk about the Holy Hip-Hop paintings, and several experts will hold a discussion titled The Relevance of Fashion. In addition, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum will be parked outside (or maybe inside?) the museum on Sunday, April 20.

All this is free: the exhibitions, the discussions, the vagabonding black history museum. All free. The MOCAD is a great place for Detroit, doing great things. Feel free to donate a few dollars while you’re there and let’s keep enjoying and supporting this institution.

I’ve spoken to several people who have had the catalytic converters stolen from under their parked cars overnight or in the early morning. My neighbor in the relatively quiet Woodbridge neighborhood had his catalytic converter stolen in the early morning. A turn of the key in the ignition resulted in a loud engine roar that could very well have awakened the rest of the block. Another neighbor reported that she saw a guy in a Crown Victoria get out of his car, get under my neighbor’s car for about 1 minute, and take off with a large metal object seconds later.

That’s all it took: a total of about two minutes to stop, saw, and go.

Thieves steal catalytic converters for the precious metals they contain–platinum, palladium, and rhodium–and apparently, the same corrupt scrapyards that bought all of that lifted copper are just fine with buying stolen converters. A stolen catalytic converter could cost the victim between $200 to $1000 depending upon the model of the car and the shop.

This is just the kind of non-violent crime that can be prevented if neighborhood watches were more effective. Organizing with your neighbors, turning your porch lights on at night, and just hanging out in your hood can prevent thieves from hanging around since they’ll know there’s a neighborhood presence and watchful eyes. These thieves are probably very smart and scout out a neighborhood before working it for converters. Detroiters, it’s about time you meet your neighbors…for your own good.

Apparently, SUVs and Toyota trucks are the most common victims because of their high bumpers and the amount of precious metals contained in their converters, but I’ve heard stories of people with mid-sized cars who have had converters stolen as well.

If your catalytic converter is stolen, its best not to start your car and drive–the converter is part of the exhaust system and driving could badly damage other parts of your engine, leading to even more damage to your car and your wallet. Call a tow truck.

A Toledo company has developed a deterrent device called the CatClamp, but I called and the cost is upwards of $250, which is a bit too expensive for my blood, even though the possibility of the alternative would be much worse.

Any other ideas of how to deter CatBurglers? Please do share in our comment section.

Eugenides grew up in Detroit and, although he has only published two books, is considered one of the most talented writers of the past ten years. Middlesex is a sort of bildungroman of Calliope Stephanides, a young girl who grew up during the 60s and 70s in Detroit and Grosse Pointe and who, by the end of her tale, become Cal Stephanides. Cal’s development and evolution takes place during the devolution of the city of Detroit, with a particularly gripping and somewhat controversial chapter that takes place during the 67 riots. It’s a must read for any Detroiter interested in what it means to be a Detroiter.

As for Oprah, yeah, I know. I, too, was a hater. And although I’m no longer a hater, I’m still not much of a liker. However, Oprah doesn’t pick crappy books for her book club, and, as a result of Oprah’s interest in Middlesex, thousands of people will read about, talk about, and think about the city of Detroit that would never have taken the time to before. Be one of them and, to stay cool, be sure to pick up a copy from your local independent bookstore before the new cover comes out that will surely contain the big and impossible to remove “Oprah’s Bookclub” sticker.

It will be interesting to check on Oprah’s website to read her viewers’ comments on the book and their thoughts about the representation of Detroit offered therein.

Yesterday was Motown and Detroit music. Today, we give the world our final gift this year: the automobile.

Detroit isn’t called the Motor City for nothing. True, other cities (and countries – notably Europe) had autos before Detroit. But it was Detroit that took the automobile to a whole new level, bringing it to the masses, and changing life for Americans and the rest of the world.

Despite the Big 3’s current uphill battle to hang onto market share in the U.S., Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler are forces to be reckoned with, both domestically and abroad, and Detroit remains the auto capital of the world. Detroit’s domestic automakers are also major contributers to the local, regional, national and global economy: GM is number 3 on the 2006 Fortune 500 list, and Ford is number 5. Auto-related companies Delphi, Lear, Visteon, and Masco are in the top 200, as well. GM is the world’s largest automaker and has been the global industry sales leader for 75 years, and the Big 3’s contributions to the city of Detroit and the area of Southeastern Michigan in everything from funding arts and culture activities to proactive environmental land use is enormous.

The auto industry is more than just cars, though. From the introduction of windshield wipers to the first mile of paved concrete, Detroit and its auto industry have made the world a better place and shaped today’s society. Here’s a brief historic timeline highlighting important dates and happenings in Detroit’s auto industry from the late 1890s through 1971:

1896: Ransom E. Olds becomes first auto-manufacturer in Detroit.
1900: Olds opens the world’s first auto-plant on Jefferson and Concord (destroyed by fire in 1901).
1900: Columbia car introduced in Detroit. It features a left-side steering wheel and an engine in the front of the car, as opposed to under the driver’s seat.
1903: There are 11,000 cars, 1 million bicycles, and 17 million horses in the U.S.
1904: 2,735 Michigan workers produce 9,125 cars.
1908: Ford begins making Model T.
1908: General Motors organized.
1909: First mile of paved concrete in the world on Woodward Avenue between 6 and 7 Mile in Detroit.
1910: GM is first American auto company to offer closed bodies.
1910: There are 202 different makes of cars in the world. (Today, only four of these 202 survive: Buick, Ford, Cadillac and Oldsmobile).
1910: The phrase “traffic jam” coined in Detroit.
1911: Detroit creates the world’s first “center line”.
1914: 67,538 Michigan workers make 442,982 cars and trucks (78% of American’s total vehicle production).
1914: Henry Ford stuns the nation by offering a $5 a day wage. Before this, average per hour wages were 30 cents. The day following the announcement, 10,000 applicants show up at Highland Park Plant.
1918: First three-light traffic signal in the world put up at Michigan and Monroe in Detroit.
1920: First intersection with traffic signals in all directions in the world put up at Woodward and Fort in Detroit.
1924: Chrysler introduces world’s first V-6.
1927: 15 millionth Model T rolls off the line.
1929: Hudson Motor Car Co. in Detroit introduces first mobile home.
1930: Detroit’s population hits 1.6 million, six times what it was in 1900.
1933: “New Center News” newspaper created. Today it is known as “Detroit Auto Scene“; it is the oldest free newspaper in the nation.
1934: GM conducts first-ever vehicle rollover test.
1936: Fisher Body in Detroit introduces windshield wipers.
1937: GM recognizes UAW after first sit-down strikes in Flint, Michigan.
1954: Allison Division introduces auto-transmission for trucks and buses.
1962: GM introduces the first fuel cell car in the world, the Electrovan. Astronauts on Apollo 11 use fuel-cell technology on their – and America’s – first trip to the moon.
1971: GM designs LunarRiver, making Apollo 15 astronauts the first Americans to “drive” on the moon.