Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City examines how Detroit, a symbol of America’s diminishing status in the world, may come to represent the future of transportation and progress in America. The film debuts nationally on PBS on February 8 at 10 pm (check local listings).
33 Responses to “[Preview]”
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ???
Soem very interesting information on the motor city. I hope they can get things turned around. I drive an auto transport and see some pretty rough things up their. I also have seem some signs of improvement lately.
I saw this film last night. It was interesting and I question the following:
Like BB says above, removing the previous street car infrastructure was not simply due to “the rise of the private automobile” as stated in the film, it was a deliberate buy-out by the auto industry to dominate regional transportation.
Also, the film left me with the sense that it was a big high speed rail commercial which runs counter to the producer’s comments post-screening about big expensive solutions being more sexy than more effective 10 cent solutions. Why was there not a single mention of bicycles as part of the transportation network? Detroit is certainly climatically challenged but no more so than Minnesota, Wisconsin or Quebec. All that asphalt, fairly flat topography and less expensive infrastructure makes bicycles a viable part of a transit network and citizens’ independence.
I wonder how Spain feels now, 1yr after filming, about its investment in rail given recent austerity measures. I suspect they are even more pleased that they committed when they did.
I’d love to read a follow up on that and on the stalled M1 project.