The North End

Detroit’s North End might be best known as the birthplace of Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, and Diana Ross. The Gold Coast running along Oakland Avenue used to be a bastion of successful black owned businesses. But, as is the case in many places around Detroit, things aren’t like they used to be. The area has been blighted, disinvested from, and in many ways, ignored for decades. And now, the foreclosure crisis has compounded a lot of these issues. But maybe because of the hard times we’ve fallen upon, Detroiters are now be banding together more than ever. Really.

North End Vacant Lot Program by WDET