A Tale of Two (Gentrified) Cities: Detroit and Brixton

Abstract

On what basis are places compared to one another? Population? Geographic location? Historical background? Size? Detroit, a city often associated with decay, has been categorized as a ‘dead,’ ‘empty,’ and ‘miserable’ city comparable to New Orleans, St. Louis, or Cleveland.1 On the other hand, there are places whose reputations have never been tarnished with such stark criticism. Brixton, a district in London, U.K., has had a similar trajectory as Detroit, yet it has never been considered ‘dead,’ but rather seen as an opportunity. While Detroit and Brixton both hold similar histories, their present conditions are quite different. This, I argue, is due to their geographic and population sizes. The sizes of Brixton, a district of 3.8 square miles, and Detroit, a city of 139 square miles, affect the ways in which their residents could both resist and embrace the perceptions and realities of their space.