There are two kinds of people that really sym­bolize the values of deter­mi­na­tion and per­fec­tionism to me: kids in skate board parks and graffiti artists. I love this bit from a story about a suc­cessful Detroit bike path project:

‘For many locals, the best part of the Dequindre Cut is its colorful graffiti. During the 25 years that the rail line went unused, it became a kind of open-​​air gallery over­grown with brush and home to wildlife such as pheas­ants, foxes, and rabbits. The trail’s pro­moters have used the project to preserve the graphic remnants of its days as a dystopian nature trail visited only by graffiti artists, urban explorers, and the homeless. “It was like a wilder­ness in the middle of the city,” says Jim Griffioen, a Lafayette Park resident. “It was splashed with an ever-​​changing archae­ology of color that even the most stodgy decrier of van­dalism couldn’t deny was art.”’

Cut Loose from the Car — Kelli B. Kavanaugh, Metropolis Mag

A nos­talgic effort to capture the graf­fitic heritage of the site. Awesome. A suc­cessful Detroit bike path. Awesome. I hope this project helps to take bike com­muting, some­thing Detroit is not known for, to new heights in the city; and to take graffiti, some­thing Detroit should be right­fully proud of, to new levels of excellence.

‘It won’t exactly com­pen­sate for the failing fortunes of the auto­mo­bile industry, but at least it’s a sign of a new way of thinking that’s gaining ground in the Motor City. “This is about having a vision,” Woiwode says. “The Dequindre Cut really is a great way to talk about what could be. It makes people able to imagine just how profound a change there can be in how we get around in south­east Michigan.“‘

Yes indeed, it’s time for Detroit and south­east Michigan to get excited about change. They’ve got a lot of it coming.