We’ve heard lots of ideas, great and small, on What Detroit Needs to Recover. Most of them focus on revitalizing either downtown or local neighborhoods as the macro, with various ways to transition from one to the other. One idea starts at the outskirts of town and works inward to the core of the city, a variation on the Neighborhoods First concept. More details on that idea can be found on the forum - let's discuss them. More details on the various Downtown First plans can be found all over the place. But you and I have some different ideas. Here’s what loud TV in an airport coffee shop, supercharged by high voltage caffeinated beverages can produce.

Being reasonable and open-minded citizens of the area, we can see the merits to both sides of the Downtown/Neighborhoods debate. Because we’re reasonable people hopped up on go juice though, we ponder the imponderable – Why not both?

We’re not talking about giving both sides of the discussion exactly what they want. I mean, it’s only a billion dollars, right? We want to achieve both ideas. We want to turn a piece of Detroit into a small town.

Here are some of the elements we consider necessary for or comprehensive, small town model in and for the city:

• Housing
• Mass Transit
• Employment
• Shopping
• Schools
• Safety

I don’t know how you can have a successful town or city without at least these elements. Let’s start by talking about thrust. Who is our demographic? Empty nesters and gentrification or support for the working class and underprivileged? We look at each other and say, Why not both? Many cities have mixed neighborhoods or neighborhoods in transition. Why not just set our model up as a transition community? This way, if it works, areas that it can bleed into will surround it, and themselves become areas that can help handle the load of the have nots or increase room and services for the better off.

The poor are here, but how do we attract young professionals and retirees? Here are a couple of ideas.

Put this community closer to the center of the city than the outskirts, to take better advantage of some of the pockets that have been put in place recently. How about the area bounded by the Ford, the Chrysler, the Lodge and the Fisher? This would include a ton of what makes the city attractive and similar to the best of other cities – the ball yards and theatre district, the medical center, Wayne State and the cultural center. There’s even a growing range of housing options, from those Brush Park row house/condos near the Fox to the planned 1403 Woodward Lofts.

So what’s missing? What should we put our billion into? Well, it’s hard to live in a location that doesn’t have shopping. Think about what you do in your neighborhood now in any given week – go to the cleaners, the bank, and the super market. Make a list of what you do this week and see what else you’d need. We’re thinking more mom and pop places than Wal-Mart’s and Bed, Bath and Beyond. We want this to be sustainable and local, just like things are in a thriving city.

So how can we convince potential shop owners to invest in NewTown? I mean, most of those businesses in New York or Philadelphia grew up organically in their neighborhoods, and developed slowly and naturally in their environs. No such luck here. We gotta convince people to take a chance (in many cases, a second chance) and go against the conventional wisdom that Detroit is Dead. How about this for starters – If you agree to set up a small business our billion will bankroll an endowment or a fund that, along with city government, will make interest free startup loans and provide long term tax relief to assist your growth, development and success. We can design the businesses so they have living quarters above the shops, to facilitate commitment to living in the community.

What else would be needed to convince people to open businesses and live in NewTown? A big concern would be safety. We could help fund a hundred new police and fire positions with our billion that would be earmarked for our community. Cops walking the beat and firehouses with Dalmatians- always visible, always available.

So the shopkeepers and residents have local markets within walking distance, and a safe and clean environment. What else is missing? Schools for families. Schools, schools, schools. You've got to have them and they’ve got to be good. More than any single item (except possibly safety) the deterioration of the public school system in Detroit has sent many of our best out of town. Does anyone besides me remember when the DPS was the envy of the nation? When people in the suburbs lobbied to get their kids into Cass Tech and Wilbur Wright? When all the extra curricular activities happened after school and students fought to make time to participate? We’ll need to have something comparable and we can do it several ways. All subjects to be considered in our next installment.

Now, before you start asking for specifics and poking holes in the non-existent details, lighten up and remember this is just a Blue Sky exercise. Nobody is paying us to be city planners, and I don’t have the answers to all your good questions. Hey, this isn’t engineering – this is art! You’ve got to think the big thoughts then whittle them down to manageable and doable proportions. But the first step in becoming a catalyst for change is to make your voice heard.

Your assignment for next week – come up with some ideas of your own. They don’t have to be practical, but they should be constructive. Post them to the message board or send me an email at mmtym@detroitbuzz.com. All ideas welcome.

Until then, heed our Weekly Words of Wisdom:

"Perfect" does not mean perfect actions in a perfect world, but appropriate actions in an imperfect one.

- R. H. Blyth