Brightmoor is a roughly neighborhood in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, near the northwest border of the city.
[Homes can't hide blight: Vandalism, abandoned buildings plague Brightmoor, obscuring signs of rebirth]
" ''The Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...
''. September 28, 1999. Retrieved November 13, 2009. Brightmoor is defined by the Brightmoor Alliance as being bordered by Puritan Road to the north, the
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
railway to the south, Evergreen Road to the east, and Outer Drive West, Dacosta Street, and
Telegraph Road to the west. However, the demographics given here for the neighborhood are the city's statistical
Master Plan Neighborhood area, which consists of eight
census tracts
A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist ...
that includes some areas outside of the Alliance's boundaries, but does not include some areas within its boundaries.
History
Developer Burt Eddy Taylor bought of land, located one mile (1.6 km) away from Detroit's city limits at the time, in 1921.
Taylor created Brightmoor as a planned community of inexpensive housing for migrants from the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
in the early 1920s.
[Carlisle, John (Detroitblogger John).]
String theory
" ''Metro Times
The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area.
History and content
Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed f ...
''. November 11, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2009.[Archambault, Dennis.]
Brightmoor: 'Feisty' Neighbors Use Hope, Innovation to Face Struggles
" ''Model d''. Tuesday September 29, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2009. The subdivision opened in 1922. B. E. Taylor recruited workers from Appalachia with the lure of employment at one of Detroit's expanding automobile manufacturing plants. An additional was added to the community between 1923 and 1924.
Most of the residents worked in the automobile industry.
''Model d'' has described Brightmoor as a neighborhood where families could own a house and live in modest comfort.
The City of Detroit annexed Brightmoor in 1926.
The houses were intended as low cost mass-produced single-family housing. At the time of the community's opening, many residents lived in temporary
shantytowns awaiting for the completion of their permanent houses.
[Hackney, Suzette and Kristi Tanner.]
How Brightmoor became a hot spot for homicides
" ''Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
''. November 14, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
In a 40-year period until 2011, the number of residents in Brightmoor decreased. Crime appearing in the 1990s and 2000s caused additional residents to leave. In 2011 Suzette Hackney and Kristi Tanner of the ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' said that the area, "over decades, transformed from a thriving working-class neighborhood to one of abandoned homes and businesses, and now one that is hoping to come back, mostly through private-sector efforts."
In 2009 John Carlisle (DetroitBlogger John) of the ''
Metro Times
The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area.
History and content
Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed f ...
'' said "Ghetto stereotypes thrive here—broad-daylight drug dealing, pre-teen pregnancies, long-gone or never-known fathers, and houses falling apart or giving way to vacant lots",
though many
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
agencies aimed to assist the population of Brightmoor. In the same year,
urban gardens had been established in the neighborhood.
In June 2013 the nonprofit organization Detroit Blight Authority began a cleanup effort of trash from a fourteen
city block
A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design.
A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...
area, bounded by Lyndon, West Outer Drive, and Trinity Streets and with Eaton Avenue splitting the area laterally. 500 residential
lots
Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to:
Common meanings Areas
*Land lot, an area of land
*Parking lot, for automobiles
*Backlot, in movie production
Sets of items
*Lot number, in batch production
*Lot, a set of goods for sale together ...
are located in the area cleaned by the Detroit Blight Authority. The cleanup zone had about 70 vacant structures, with several houses that had received damages from burns and those ransacked by intruders. The authority, with the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries and Mitch Albom Charities, organized the Blight Elimination—100 Houses Event in August 2013.
Geography
![Brightmoor Farmway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Brightmoor_Farmway.JPG)
Brightmoor is located in northwest Detroit, and generally bordered by Evergreen Road, Telegraph Road, Puritan Road, and
Interstate 96
Interstate 96 (I-96) is an east–west Interstate Highway that runs for approximately entirely within the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 (US 31) and Bus ...
.
[Homig, Rollo.]
When You’ve Had Detroit
" ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''. July 1, 2014. Retrieved on July 14, 2014.
The Brightmoor Alliance under the City Connect Detroit organization define the boundary of Brightmoor as approximately 4 square miles (10 km) in Detroit's northwest section. The Alliance defines the neighborhood as being bordered by Puritan Road to the north, the
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
railway to the south, Evergreen Road to the east, and Telegraph Road, Dacosta Street, and Outer Drive West to the west.
[Brightmoor Alliance]
community website Retrieved December 27, 2010
The statistical definition for the neighborhood as defined in the city's
master plan
Master Plan, Masterplan or The Master Plan may refer to:
General usage
*Master Plan East or Generalplan Ost, a 1941–1945 Nazi plan for genocide and ethnic cleansing in Central and Eastern Europe
*Master Plan Neighborhood areas in Detroit, urban ...
includes a larger area than the Alliance's definition. In this definition, Brightmoor is bordered by several other master neighborhoods: Redford to the north, Rosedale to the northeast Cerveny/Grandmont to the east, and Cody to the south. To the west lies the autonomous
Redford Charter Township. However, Detroit properties along
Telegraph Road are generally not considered part of the Brightmoor neighborhood.
Cityscape
Rollo Romig of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' wrote "Much of Brightmoor matches what Detroit looks like in the popular imagination—an alarming amalgam of city dump, crime scene, and wild prairie".
[ As a result, the city's nickname is "Blight More".][
]
Demographics
In 1990, the neighborhood had 23,775 people. At the time 12% of the population consisted of senior citizens.
In 2000, the neighborhood had 19,837 residents, a 16.5% decrease from the 1990 figure. Of that, 37.2% of Brightmoor's population was under 18 years of age, and 5.3% was over the age of 64 years of age.
In 2010, the neighborhood's population had fallen to 12,836, a drop of 35.3% over the previous decade. Of that, 29.9% of the population was under 18 years of age, and 12.7% was over 64 years of age.
Government and infrastructure
The Brightmoor Post Office of the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
is located on Fenkell Avenue.
Parks and recreation
Two area parks, the Eliza Howell Park and Stoepel Park, are in Brightmoor. A greenway links the two parks. Eliza Howell Park, near Fenkell and Telegraph, has of land, making it the fourth largest park in Detroit; this is about one fourth of the area of Belle Isle or . The Cheyne family gave of that land to the City of Detroit in the 1930s. The 1936 deed restriction states that the city is required to maintain the land as a public park.[MacDonald, Christine.]
Developer wants family's gift back from Detroit
" ''The Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...
''. November 18, 2009. Retrieved on November 3, 2012.
The Brightmoor Alliance is a group of community organizations that work to coordinate revitalization programs in the neighborhood. Created in 2000, the Brightmoor Alliance meets regularly to discuss programs, events, and partnerships developed by member organizations. The Alliance also works with city officials and large community foundations like the Skillman Foundation to help plan and develop new programs for the neighborhood.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Brightmoor is zoned to Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...
. Gompers K-8 and Murphy K-8, within Brightmoor, serve Brightmoor for Grades K-8. All residents are zoned to Frank Cody High School
Frank Cody High School is a high school in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Named to honor a former superintendent of Detroit Public Schools, it opened in 1952.
History
The school opened in 1952.
Cody absorbed attendance area from Redford ...
, outside of Brightmoor.
The current Gompers Elementary-Middle School, serving Grades PreK-8, opened in 2011. The two-story, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
(LEED)-certified facility replaced the Gompers, Harding, and Vetal schools and was built on the Harding site for $21.4 million. It has an elementary wing and a middle school wing. The central administration suite, gymnasium, and multi-purpose room are between the two wings.
Schools formerly serving sections of Brightmoor for elementary school include Thomas A. Houghton Elementary K-6th, Don Hubert Elementary, Burt Elementary School, and Harding Elementary School; all of the schools are in Brightmoor. Vetal K-8 also formerly served sections for elementary school.[Elementary School Boundary Map]
(). ''Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...
''. Retrieved October 20, 2009. For middle school some residents were zoned to Vetal K-8,[Middle School Boundary Map]
(). ''Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...
''. Retrieved October 20, 2009. Murphy K-8 was previously just a middle school. At one time residents of Brightmoor were zoned to Redford High School
Redford High School was a secondary school in Detroit, Michigan. A part of Detroit Public Schools, the school opened in September 1921 and ceased operations in June 2007. Staffed and operated by the Detroit Public Schools; Redford High School ser ...
.
In 1999 Hubert had 614 students in grades PreK to 5.[Schools: Employees pool cash to clear away snowdrifts: Hubert Elementary pays for plow in northwest Detroit]
" ''The Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...
''. January 20, 1999. Retrieved on November 5, 2012.
Private schools
City Mission Academy, a private non-denominational Christian school, is located in Brightmoor. Nicole Aikens opened the school in the early 2000s.
Organizations
Organizations in the neighborhood include Brightmoor Community Center, Motor City Blight Busters, Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development, Neighbors Building Brightmoor The Detroit Partnership
The Detroit Partnership (DP), known as The Detroit Project until 2008, is a student-run organization at the University of Michigan with the mission of connecting the Ann Arbor and Detroit communities through active service-learning. Each year, t ...
, NexusDetroit, Redford Brightmoor Initiative, and 28 other area businesses, community centers, and churches
The current Executive Director of the Brightmoor Alliance is Rev. Larry L. Simmons, Sr.
References
External links
Brightmoor Alliance
Brightmoor Community Center
Gompers Elementary School
(Archive)
{{Detroit Neighborhoods
Appalachian culture in Michigan
Neighborhoods in Detroit
Populated places established in 1921