Header Photo: Michigan Central Facebook
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The Daffodil Luncheon April 20, 2022
Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle
Maurice Salad Luncheon & Shopping Oportunties
Tickets are $45 until the end of March. From April 1 to 12, tickets are $55.
Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle
Maurice Salad Luncheon & Shopping Oportunties
Tickets are $45 until the end of March. From April 1 to 12, tickets are $55.
"I'm going mobile....Goin' mobile. Keep me moving." The Who
People move.
By foot, horse, coal powered railways, or gasoline powered automobiles,
people and products must be moved. Ford Motor Company's
Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District
is where innovative approaches to mobility
in the twenty-first century will begin.
The old Michigan Central Train Station, once a symbol of Detroit's decline, is now the
center of an innovation district for Ford, Google, and a host of other organizations.
Learning from the challenges of climate change, they will lead us to an
environmentally friendly mobility future.
Carolina Pluszczynski,
Ford Motor Company
Program Presenter
Carolina Pluszczynski
Carolina is Ford Motor Company’s Detroit Development Director. She oversees strategy and delivery for the Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District.
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Detroit's Michigan Central Train Station opened in 1913. An elegant beaux arts building, its eighteen stories made it the tallest train station in the world.
The boom of the early auto industry was from 1910 to 1930. In that time, the population of Detroit tripled from 500,000 to 1,500,00. Many of the newcomers arrived through Michigan Central Station. To learn more about Michigan Central's history, click the photo. |
Michigan Central Train Station in the 1920s.
Photo: WikiMedia Commons
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Graffiti covers Michigan Central Train Station in 1990s. Photo: Eric Smith, NPR website
The City of Detroit has been through many changes. After a population high of 1,800,000 in 1950, a slow decline began. Michigan Central Train Station closed in1988. Abandoned, it was vandalized and covered with graffiti. It became an example of "ruin porn", an aesthetic fascinated with urban decay.
The city of Detroit declared bankruptcy in 2014. Since then, there has been a renewal of many areas. In 2018, Ford purchased Michigan Central and started restoration.
To learn more about "Ruin Porn" click the photo, of graffiti in the station, above
The city of Detroit declared bankruptcy in 2014. Since then, there has been a renewal of many areas. In 2018, Ford purchased Michigan Central and started restoration.
To learn more about "Ruin Porn" click the photo, of graffiti in the station, above
Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District consists of thirty acres of land, on Michigan Avenue, in the historic Corktown neighborhood. New and renovated buildings will provide space for offices, restaurants, retail, hotels and housing, Local residents and employees will be consulted about their concerns. Rosevelt Park and other public green spaces are an important part of the design. Daffodils are sure to be included!
Ford plans for the district to be a "first-of-its-kind mobility testing platform". The walkable urban neighborhood will provide, with community feedback, a place to try new things in a real world setting. Already on the agenda are autonomous "self driving" vehicles, smart roads, and new public transit. Micro-mobility, the problem of "the last mile" between mass transit and home, may be of special concern.
Michigan Avenue will become Michigan's Mobility Corridor linking Downtown Detroit, Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District, Ford Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Good things are going to be happening in Detroit.
To go to Ford's Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District website, click on the photo below.
Ford plans for the district to be a "first-of-its-kind mobility testing platform". The walkable urban neighborhood will provide, with community feedback, a place to try new things in a real world setting. Already on the agenda are autonomous "self driving" vehicles, smart roads, and new public transit. Micro-mobility, the problem of "the last mile" between mass transit and home, may be of special concern.
Michigan Avenue will become Michigan's Mobility Corridor linking Downtown Detroit, Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District, Ford Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Good things are going to be happening in Detroit.
To go to Ford's Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District website, click on the photo below.
Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District, Aerial view from northwest. Photo: Courtesy of Ford Motor Corporation