A Detroit-based writer who once lived in Tokyo reflects on what makes
the city work after a recent visit. She frames the concepts in terms of
what Detroit could learn from the vibrant metropolis.
Excerpt:
Different questions are asked in Tokyo. It’s been destroyed more than a
few times. Its face has changed with war and earthquakes, its spirit
challenged and on the brink of obliteration over and over again. But
there’s never been a doubt as to whether it will come back or not. It
just oh-so-gracefully always does. But why? How does the city keep
attracting wide-eyed young people with massive dreams? How does it
cater to families and children with a high quality of living? How did
it become a place where you can go from moppet to mother to grandmother
without ever wanting to call somewhere else home?
Here are a few
answers I found on my latest trip to Japan, where I lived for six
years, including two years in Tokyo. I couldn't help but think of how
some of the answers could be applied to questions we are asking in
Detroit.
Read the entire article
here.