Using Preservation To Revive A Dying City

Detroit is currently embroiled in a debate over what to do with now-vacant Tiger Stadium, with preservationists facing off against those who believe that what the beleagured city really needs is a fresh start. “To follow the Tiger Stadium debate (or the drawn-out fights over the old Madison-Lenox Hotel in 2005 and the vanished Hudson’s store in the ’90s), one might think that preservation is an ugly and divisive process that pits building huggers against cold-hearted developers and city officials. In reality, preservation is bankable, realistic, widely accepted — and key to the revival of Detroit.”