The Fluid Commons: Bridging Prosperity

Bridging Prosperity?

Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

An analysis of the Gordie Howe International Bridge Community Benefits Plan

Chris LeFlore & Edwin Peart URP 551 / Arch 509: The Fluid Commons, Fall 2020

Figure 1: Gordie Howe International Bridge Construction. Source: https://www.gordiehoweinternationalbridge.com/en/gallery

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Table of Contents 1.

Introduction.....................................................................................................7

1.1

Detroit and the Promise of Prosperity ............................................................7

1.2

Making Room for the Bridge Landing: Delray ...........................................10

2.

Community Benefits .......................................................................................11

2.1.

What is a Community Benefit Agreement?.................................................11

2.2.

Detroit’s Community Benefits Ordinance.....................................................13

2.3.

What is the Community Benefit Plan for the International Bridge .........14

2.4.

Bridging Neighborhoods ...............................................................................15

2.5.

The Quest for Environmental Justice in Delray................................................16

3.

Discussion: Policy Solutions and Planning Recommendations...................23

3.1

Public Health ...................................................................................................23

3.2

Transportation Infrastructure........................................................................25

4. Conclusion..................................................................................................27 5.

Bibliography ..................................................................................................29

Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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Gordie Howe International Bridge

Detroit

Community Input The WDBA created a Community Benefits Plan to ensure the communities closest to the bridge gain from its construction.

The feedback provided by the communities advanced suggestions in five different categories that later informed the Community Benefits Plan.

Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Ambassador Bridge

E

+ River Rouge

Local Workforce and Training Strategies

Aesthetics and Landscapping

Windsor

Economic Development $1.7 billion worth

of goods cross border each day

Ecorse

Construction and Operations Effect on Communities

E

La Salle Wyandotte

$1.5 Billion added

to the economy via construction

Riverview

over 22,000 jobs created over its four year construction

Community Safety and Connections Regional Economic and Community Development Opportunies

Trenton

Amherstburg

26,500 vehicles crossing each day

Gibraltar

Figure 2: Gordie Howe International Bridge: Community Input and Economic Development projections 4

Abstract The Detroit River geographic location makes it a hub for economic activity at the local, regional, and global scales. Its 28-mile course from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie represents one of the shortest distances between Canada and the US, hosting two international crossings: the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge. The addition of a third international crossing with Canada - via the Gordie Howe International Bridge - may further advance the opportunities for economic development in the Detroit River Region. At the same time, the legacy of large-scale infrastructure projects in the region is one that overlooks the socio environmental costs to the local communities in the name of prosperity. To overcome this long-standing legacy, the WindsorDetroit Bridge Authority created a Community Benefits Plan to ensure proper input from key stakeholders, local institutes, and community members.

While the Plan calls for preference in the employment and contracting of residents from Detroit, Windsor/Essex, and the First Nations of Canada, we argue more could be done to compensate residents most affected by the bridge’s construction.

In the last 20 years, community benefits agreements (CBAs) have been effective in ensuring that local communities benefit from large-scale projects.

In some instances, governments have made direct cash allocations to impact areas to ensure that those communities were duly compensated. Given recent case studies comparing CBAs, we believe the community benefits plan for the Gordie Howe International Bridge does not respond to the scale of the economic, social, or environmental impacts the bridge will have on city residents. We argue for a better share in the economic benefits of the international bridge among Detroiters.

Keywords: community benefits agreement, community benefits ordinance, Gordie Howe International Bridge, Detroit River, local community, local impact, Detroit Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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Detroit

Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Opened: November 3rd, 1930 This is the 2nd busiest crossing between the US and Canada. Despite physical constraints, about 13,000 vehicles cross here every day. This tunnel is responsible for approximately 150,000 jobs in the region and $13B in annual production.

E

Windsor

E

River Rouge

Ecorse

La Salle Wyandotte

Riverview

Ambassador Bridge Opened: November 15th, 1929 This is the busiest crossing on the border, carrying more than 25% of all trade between the US and Canada. Controversially, it is privately owned.

This means that improvements and maintenances aren’t under state influence and can be used as a negotiation tactic. This is especially concerning considering that about 70% of the region’s commercial truck traffic passes through here.

6

Trenton

Amherstburg

Gibraltar

Figure 3: The two existing International Border Crossings in the Detroit-Windsor region.

1

Introduction

1.1

Detroit and the Promise of Prosperity

Transportation drives development, and no other city has contributed to put the world in wheels like Detroit. Home to the Big Three auto companies-Ford, General Motors and Chrysler-- the city reached its peak in the 1950s, as people moved to work in the city with the promise of prosperity granted by well paid industrial jobs. But then, over the course of half a century, Detroit experienced an unparalleled economic decline driven by industrial decentralization and social unrest. The progressive exodus of the automotive industry to other US regions, and then countries - with cheaper labor and enticing tax incentives- left Detroit with an unprecedentedly low tax base (Shor, 2016). The region lacked economic diversity, and the decline of the main economic engine caused the city’s neighborhoods to suffer as residents lost their jobs and left the city. As a result of years of a declining economy and tax base, mismanagement of public funds, and several other factors, Detroit became the largest municipal government in US history to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, garnering nationwide attention. Detroit now has the second-highest poverty rate at 30.6% (Census Bureau, 2019) and one of the lowest labor force participation rates (roughly 47%) of any large city in the United States (University of Michigan, 2020). Regardless of the countless revitalization strategies the City employs, these communities cannot recover without a steady stream of stable, middle-class employment. Nonetheless, much of the Detroit metropolitan area labor force is in technology, bioscience, and auto manufacturing, which shows that economic stability is returning to the Detroit area (Forbes, 2019).

While jobs left the city, Detroit has remained a competitive infrastructural node: the location at the shores of the Detroit River, a transcontinental, bi-national water highway, and the dense web of rail and highway access, made Detroit a key port in the Great Lakes Region. Its strategic location lends itself to becoming a commercial port city, and the consistent growth of the Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

7

Figure 4: Detroit’s Decline in the Media: The Guardian, Time and New York Times.

logistics economic sector over the past decade (Detroit Regional Partnership), and the many foreign trade zones in the region speak of this competitive advantage (Michigan Economic Development Corporation, 2017).

Despite its geographic advantages and raw potential, the region sits below the national average in transportation, distribution, and logistics (TDL) employment (source).

Although more trade passes along the Detroit-Windsor border than any other land freight gateway in the United States, the potential for growth in this sector is an area of opportunity.

Detroit is already home to two active international border crossings with Windsor, Canada. The Ambassador Bridge (1929) and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel (1930), are key economic assets to both the US and Canadian economies.

While the tunnel does not serve freight, the Ambassador bridge accommodates large truck traffic. Combined, there were 34,075,600 car, truck, and bus crossings in 2018 (Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association, 2018). Only 8

the Ambassador Bridge, a privately owned infrastructure, accommodates 27 percent of the approximately $400 billion in annual trade between Canada and the U.S. (Ambassador Bridge Crossing Summary, 2020).

Currently under construction, the Gordie Howe International Bridge project (anticipated for 2024) will become the third bi-national crossing that connects Detroit and Windsor and the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America (Fluor Corporation, 2020). On the U.S. side, the bridge’s point of entry is in Southwest Detroit’s Delray neighborhood, while the Canada’s point of entry is in Windosr’s Sandwich neighborhood. While the Canadian point of entry has largely removed the residential homes, there are still residents in Delray.

The project is a private-sector partnership between Fluor, ACS Infrastructure Canada, and Aecon Group, Inc., and is projected to cost approximately $4.4 billion USD (Fluor Projects). However, the fixed-price contract that was

Figure 5: Maps of the Detroit-Windsor Bi-national Crossings and the Gordie Howe International Bridge Footprint.

Source: Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority

signed in 2018 is valued at $5.7 billion (nominal), as it includes the design-build and operation, maintenance, & rehabilitation phases (Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, 2020). However, studies have shown that the public (through direct or indirect costs) often bears the burden of cost overruns (Long, 2005). While construction mitigation measures have been put in place to control noise effects, erosion and sediment, water quality, and dust collection, these kinds of factors could contribute to rising costs due to unforeseen circumstances. Additionally, traffic delays along this bridge could drastically slow shipping and commerce, reducing the profitability of shipping companies and directly affect the amount of revenue that was originally projected by the WDBA. From the economic development perspective, the Gordie Howe International Bridge could be a missing link in the bi-national Detroit River Region. Adding to the privatelyowned Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the new bridge will increase capacity in the busy

US-Canada border crossings. The streamlined border crossing will make trade and the movement of goods and services much more fluid, while also providing thousands of jobs to the regional economies in the US and Canada (WDBA, 2020). While there will be many economic benefits on the international, regional, and city levels, the compensation and benefits for the Delray community directly hosting the bridge landing are less clear. Despite its much anticipated positive economic impacts, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will likely have a detrimental impact on the environment and the public health of Detroit residents (Sampson et al., 2020). The new international crossing within city limits will predictably increase truck traffic, adding to the already-high levels of air pollution in the area. If Detroit residents are expected to bear the brunt of the negative consequences of the bridge, they should have a share in the benefits as well beyond the promised jobs during and after the construction of the bridge. The Delray’s residents have been fighting since the project came into being as the Detroit River International

Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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Crossing (DRIC) in 2004.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is a missing link in the bi-national Detroit River Region’s development. Adding to the privatedly-owned Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, the new bridge will increase capacity in the already busiest US-CA border crossing. Named after Gordie Howe, better known as Mr. Hockey, the Bridge honors the man who brought together Americans and Canadians in appreciation of the singular pursuit of excellence. The Floral, Saskatchewan native played 25 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings, winning four Stanley Cups and earning recognition as one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

The 1.5 mile cable-stayed, 6-lane bridge will not only support the weight of millions of travelers and commodities each year, but also the weight of our region’s economy. The streamlined border crossing aims to boost trade and the businesses of both Michigan and Ontario.

The Bridge construction and management anticipates thousands of jobs.

A public-private partnership between the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and Bridging North America aims to creates the advantage of both public oversight and private investment and innovation. Bridging North America, the private-sector partner, leads the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance of the Canadian and US Ports of Entry and the bridge and to design, build and finance the Michigan Interchange. Michigan will manage operations and maintenance of the Michigan Interchange.

US

167 acres 36 inspection booths

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CA

130 acres 24 inspection booths 16 toll booths

1.2. Making room for the bridge landing: Delray again The history of the Delray community is one of abandonment.

With some 30,000 residents at the time, the 1951 Master Plan first designated this area as exclusively industrial.

For decades, the city encouraged the development of industry in the area through zoning, offering little provisions to the modest residential neighborhoods on site. Delray’s location on the banks of the Detroit River offered a perfect location to manufacturing firms that set up shops in the area. In turn, these industries offered jobs. However, the city failed to protect the residents of Delray from the detrimental effects of this industry. The 1973 Master Plan acknowledged the remaining residents required just compensation to move. However, by the 1985 plan, 8,000 residents remained in Delray and the plan shifted gears, supporting the viability of residency in Delray (Thomas, 2015).

Today, residents of Delray live near a Marathon oil refinery, a US Steel mill, a coal-powered DTE energy plant, and wastewater treatment plant that incinerates sewage.

The I-75 freeway passes through the community, as well as a network of railways. It is one of the worst areas in the city in terms of air quality. Children in Southwest Detroit report much higher rates of asthma compared to the national average. As Larsen and Arquero de Alarcon write “In Delray, many of Detroit’s problems are not only present, but also amplified” (Thomas, 2015). With roughly 4,000 residents and large swaths of vacant land already owned by the city, Delray presented itself as a

Figure 6: Volume of Crossings (BTOA Statistics)

fertile ground for yet another sacrifice welcoming a large infrastructural project. In 2004, the area of the project, about 310 were either residential properties or lots and 60, commercial sites; the rest were city-owned or under the auspices of a public land bank. Some 150 residential properties were occupied as of late 2015, the rest were vacant (Clark, 2016).

Residents organized with the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition, and took note of successful models of community benefit agreements developed in other cities across the nation as a response to large infrastructural projects (https://www.facebook. com/swdetroitcbc/). Community benefits agreements (CBAs) have proven effective in ensuring that local communities are equipped with the necessary resources to be included and participate in the development decision-making process (Berglund, 2020). Additionally, research demonstrates that CBAs are effective in allowing members of the public to secure specific monetary

and non-monetary benefits for their communities, as a result of large-scale projects (Wolf-Powers, 2010). In 2019, the WDBA, Bridging North America, the State of Michigan, and the Canadian Government announced a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan (CBP) that aims to ensure that residents in the area receive special benefits. Similar in structure to the CBA, the bridge’s CBP seeks to improve the lives of local residents, and does so by engaging a breadth of agencies and organizations in the area to help support the plan’s implementation.

The bridge’s CBP has two components: the Workforce Development and Participation Strategy and the Neighborhood Infrastructure Strategy. The Workforce Development and Participation Strategy has more than 80 workforce initiatives that focus on workforce and business development on both sides of the bridge, while the Neighborhood Infrastructure Strategy has coordinated a $20 million (CDN) direct community investment that includes aesthetics & landscaping, community safety & connections, and community partnerships (WDBA, 2020).

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Gordie Howe International Bridge Community Benefit Plan Neighborhood Infrastructure Strategy

Workforce Development and Participation

Commits CA$50,000 annual over five years (2020-24) for community organizations located in or servicing Sandwich/west Windsor and Delray/ Southwest Detroit

includes 80 initiatives identified to ensure that Windsor, Detroit and Canadian Indigenous Peoples directly benefit from employment / service opportunities

United States

Canada

United States

Canada

Community Home Repair Program

Community Grant to Walpole Island First Nation

Goal for sub-contractors to hire at least

$250 million construction work

Roofs, furnances, windows, & insulation in Delray

Construction Observation

Expansion of YMCA recreation center

Platform at Belanger Park

Clark Park Improvements Landscaping and infrastructure

Expand Adjacent

Trails to Connect to the Bridge

Construction Observation

Platform at Malden Park

Sandwich Park Improvements

Lighting, trail repavement, shade structures at Mckee and Paterson Parks

Trails to Connect to the Bridge

20% Detroit-area workers

performed by Windsor/Essex residents

Business-to-Business workshops and job fairs to

Business-to-Business workshops and job fairs to

improve community economy

improve community economy

Identify minority

candidates from Southwest Detroit for training and employment opportunities

Direct recruitment

of Canadian Indigenous Peoples and businesses

Collaboration with Walpole Island and Caldwell First Nations

Expand Adjacent

Partnerships with Michigan local trade unions to

Partnerships with Ontario trade unions to

Paths and safety lighting, signage, & emergency call boxes

Connect cycling infrastructure between Malden Park, Port of Entry and Herb Gray Parkway Trail

provide pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships in the skilled trades

provide pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships in the skilled trades

Fort Street Bridge Enhancements

Sandwich Street Enhancements

Foster growth of Detroit small companies through targeted purchasing of

Child care cost support for qualifed

goods, supplies, and services

Figure 7: Gordie Howe International Bridge: Key elements in the Community Benefit Plan

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project participants

2 Community Benefits 2.1.

What is a Community Benefit Agreement?

CBAs are the latest expression of democracy in American urban politics, granting a voice to those most impacted but least represented in the decision making of new developments. They have emerged in the past decade as a way for developers to provide tangible contributions to a community that is impacted by any given proposed development. A CBA is essentially a documented bargain outlining a set of programmatic and material commitments that a private developer has made to win political support from the residents of a development area and others claiming a stake in its future (Wolf-Powers, 2010). Proper Community Benefit Agreements are legally binding agreements between the developer and either a municipality or a community organization, but their structure diverges from traditional CBAs involving grassroots coalitions of community groups, to municipal CBAs where the city government is the legal party to a CBA with a developer.

Other agreements, such as a community benefits plan, can set a framework for cooperation between a developer and a community, but is not legally binding. Despite the form they take, Community Benefits Agreements are a tool to create inclusive growth and promote social justice in a development process that has often ignored marginalized populations. CBAs are valuable to developers because they can ensure public approval and subsequent subsidies while community members find it valuable because they are part of the decision-making process and able to secure (specific monetary and nonmonetary benefits for their communities. However, some developers view them as illegal exactions, as they require the developer to provide benefits - that aren’t related to the project - in exchange for approval or zoning.

Similarly, some residents look at CBAs as a way for developers to buy the public support by offering benefits that aren’t sufficient to make up for the costs to certain groups of residents (Wolf-Powers, 2010).

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2.2. Detroit’s Community Benefits Ordinance Following the success of the Southwest Detroit Community Benefit Coalition, activists mobilized for a citywide Community Benefits Ordinance. Residents became concerned about the prospects of “Two Detroits” as new development made possible through public funding and tax abatements began in the greater downtown area.

Worried that these new developments were not inclusive of longtime city residents, activists collected enough signatures to put a community benefits ordinance on the ballot of the 2016 general election for approval.

This proposed ordinance (Proposal A) called for a legally binding CBA between the community and a developer for all investments of at least $15 million. Concerned this proposed ordinance would scare away development, the Mayor and Detroit City Council passed an alternative ordinance (Proposal B) that increased the threshold to $75 million and made the agreement between the developer and the City of Detroit (Berglud, 2020). In this proposal, an appointed Neighborhood Advisory Council would negotiate with the developer for benefits. This alternative proposal ultimately passed, creating the first Community Benefits Ordinance in the country.

Since the passage of Proposal B, this CBA provision has been triggered ten times. An analysis by Lisa Berglund found that the Community Benefits Ordinance allowed for residents to have their voices heard when they otherwise would not. While fears of developers avoiding Detroit because of the CBO appear to be unnecessary, Berglund did find that some developers found the CBA process useful, as it improved their projects by adding 14

useful amenities to the neighborhood. The highest profile CBA negotiation was with Ford Motor Company when they purchased the historic Michigan Central Station.

Ford chose this longstanding symbol of Detroit’s decline to house their new smart mobility division. Through negotiations, Ford agreed to provide $10 million in support for the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund, Affordable Housing Leveraging Fund, and workforce development training, in exchange for $104 million in tax abatements to help build their $740 million campus in the Corktown neighborhood (Ikonomova, 2018). While these benefits may not have come without the CBO, some residents are calling for NACs to negotiate for even greater benefits with billion-dollar companies like Ford.

As residents begin to realize their power, there have been calls to amend the Community Benefits Ordinance to lower the investment threshold and allow for earlier and more intensive community involvement.

As residents begin to reconsider the Community Benefits Ordinance, the CBA generated between the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition and the WindsorDetroit Bridge Authority deserves reconsideration as well. Billions of dollars stand to be generated from the Gordie Howe International Bridge, at the expense of the Delray neighborhood and the health of Detroiters.

Equitable development requires that disadvantaged groups not only share in the construction process of a project, but also the rewards from the project’s operation as well. Equitable development also allows for leaders to correct for past injustices that have left certain individuals vulnerable to the effects of the new development. It is important to understand the historical roots of the Delray

Figure 8: Ford Motor Company: MI Central Station. Source: AP (left) and Nadir Ali for Ford Motor Company (right)

neighborhood, and what present community members there need most. As the current WDBA Community Benefit Plan takes shape, it is important we understand what it will offer and what not.

2.3. What is the Community Benefit Plan offered with the International Bridge?

Within the context of Detroit, the struggle for community benefits began in the Delray neighborhood, perhaps the most adversely affected community by planning decisions in the city. In 2008, the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Canadian government announced plans to build a second bridge between Windsor and Detroit, landing in the Delray community. Concerned about the health impacts from the increased truck traffic that the new Gordie Howe International Bridge would bring, activists organized the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition. The Coalition successfully negotiated a $47.9 million agreement between the City

of Detroit and the State of Michigan. Included in this agreement was $2.4 million of funding for a Health Impact Assessment and the $45.5 million Bridging Neighborhoods program. The Health Impact Assessment monitors the health outcomes for Delray residents before, during, and after the bridge’s construction.

The Community Benefits Plan set forth by the WindsorDetroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) differs from traditional CBAs in that it is not a legally binding agreement. This deal predated the Detroit Community Benefits Ordinance.

Despite this, the WDBA has committed to supplying benefits “that would provide positive outcomes for the Windsor-Detroit region and specifically focus on enhancing the communities of Sandwich and Delray, the neighborhoods closest to the project area.” The Community Benefit Plan offers $7.5 million worth of investment to Michigan residents. $5.34 million of this is set aside for aesthetics and landscaping investments, with the primary feature being community home repair

Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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Figure 9: Gordie Howe Bridge Impact Area (City of Detroit, Bridging Neighborhoods): Buyout, Optional Relocation, Renovation

program for the Delray neighborhood.

2.4.

Bridging Neighborhoods

In June 2017, the City of Detroit’s Mayor’s Office created the Bridging Neighborhoods Division, to assist residents of the Delray Area affected by the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Bridging Neighborhoods has $32 million in funding, which comes from property sales by the City of Detroit to the Canadian government for the construction of the bridge. The Bridging Neighborhoods program two initiatives, the first being a home swap for owner-occupiers in Delray and the second, home mitigation upgrades such as new windows and air filtration to prepare for the increased truck traffic. The Home Swap is an optional relocation program for owneroccupants of the Delray area affected by construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The program functions via a deed swap between the Delray resident and the City of Detroit. The City will offer a Detroit Land 16

Bank home and complete renovation of the program for free. As of October 2020, there have been 40 families relocated by the program. In addition to the deed swap, participants receive a stipend for moving costs and a home preservation workshop is offered (Home Swap Program, 2020).The Environmental Mitigation along I-75 offers home mitigations to address noise and air quality impacts from increased truck traffic from the new bridge. Homes may receive me or all of the following: updated windows, updated HVAC systems, air filters, and insulations.

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority also created its own Community Benefits Plan, which offers $7.5 million worth of investment to Michigan residents. $5.34 million of this is set aside for aesthetics and landscaping investments, with the primary feature being a community home repair program for the Delray neighborhood. The CBO requires a Community Benefit Agreement for any development that is at least $75 million in value or receives at $1 million in tax abatements. When this threshold is met, residents

Figure 10: Exposure and Health Risk Quintiles (Mobilizing for Community Benefits to Assess Health and Promote Environmental Justice near the Gordie Howe International Bridge

within the project’s footprint form a Neighborhood Advisory Council to negotiate benefits with the developer.

2.5.

Delray’s Quest for Environmental Justice

Environmental quality in the Delray community is an ongoing problem for residents. Since construction in 2018, residents have expressed concern about poor air quality as a result of the demolition, construction, ongoing maintenance, and vehicular traffic. As a result, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and City of Detroit worked with the Southwest Community Benefits Coalition to install three air monitoring stations in the Delray community to properly assess air pollution levels (Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy). A 2020 study found significantly higher self-reported asthma rates among children living within 500 feet of trucking routes compared to those that don’t within the sample population living in the Delray neighborhood. Another report found that air pollution

in the Detroit area had led to a cumulative loss of more than 10,000 DALYs, or years of potential life lost due to premature mortality and productive life lost due to disability (High Resolution Spatial and Temporal Mapping of Traffic-Related Air Pollutants).

The health and wellbeing of Delray residents had long been compromised due to the industrial nature of the economic activities in the area and the lean enforcement of environmental regulations. First zoned as industrial land use in the 1951 City’s Master Plan, the Delray neighborhood went from home to a bursting Hungarian community to a ghosted neighborhood. (Thomas, 2015).

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Local Impact in Southwest Detroit

Poverty: Households living under poverty

The operation of the Gordie Howe International Bridge would allow more fluidity of people, goods and services across the Americas. This increased access will bring many economic benefits for the region, with thousands of jobs, business operations and infrastructure improvements.

For the communities that will host the bridge, this promise of prosperity is urgent, however the legacy of large-scale infrastructure projects is one that overlooks the economic, social, and environmental costs to the local communities While the Bridge could help lift local residents out of poverty by providing jobs and local revenue to Detroit, the very nature of its operation, with tens of thousands of trucks crossing back and forth, will no doubt worsen the living conditions for local residents.

This project investigates the socioeconomic characteristics of residents living within a 2-mile radius of the Bridge’s landing in SW Detroit.

The maps visualize the current demographic characteristics and draw attention on its potential impacts. The analysis is not an argument for or against the construction of the Bridge, but rather a call to properly assessing the its impact on the residents well-being.

residents living in poverty

This area is culturally rich and diverse. The regional and international benefits of the bridge have been touted at the expense of the community that will host the Bridge. The pride that residents have for their comunity, in tandem with the influence of the area’s strong local organizations, will be key in ensuring this area will not be left behind in the “dust” of the Bridge’s construction.

Most residents in the area live in poverty, an inherent restriction of access to opportunities. This area exceeds both citywide and statewide poverty rates (33% and 13%, respectively). The national weighted average thresholds (for 2018) are as follows: one person-$12,784; two people-$16,247; three people-$19,985; four people-$25,701.

≤ 100% ≤ 40% ≤ 19.4%

29,816

40.54%

total population

Figure 11: Anticipated Local Impacts of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in SouthWest Detroit. Source: U.S. Census: 2018 5-year Estimates 18

Seniors: 62 years and older

9,083

residents age 62 and up

Younger Residents: Under 18 years old

≤ 600

≤ 2412

≤ 400

≤ 1213

≤ 200

≤ 603

12.35%

total population

Aging seniors are more likely to have pre-existing health conditions, so good air quality becomes critical. Dust and air pollution - as a result of ongoing construction and the future truck trafficwill disproportionately impact the health and quality of life of seniors. Additionally, ongoing construction could affect seniors’ access to essential services.

22,208

residents under 18

30%

total population

Across the nation, children in lower-income neighborhoods are more likely to suffer from asthma and other respiratory diseases. Children of color in these communities are more vulnerable than their white counterparts. Many mental health problems begin in childhood or adolescence, with poor air quality being a contributing factor.

Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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Road Conditions: A Poverty Simulation

35%

in fair condition

Hispanic and Latino Americans: Southwest Detroit Influence

Poor

≤ 100%

Fair

≤ 50%

Good

≤ 25%

48%

in poor condition

Rising transportation costs negatively impact lowerincome Detroiters. Most roads are in poor condition, which will only get worse with tens of thousands of trucks flowing through the area. Imagine a resident who is unable to get to work because of a flat tire – as a result of increased potholes in the area from construction.

These types of stories will likely become more common.

35,366

Latino/Hispanic residents

48.1%

total population

The majority of residents are of Hispanic and Latino descent. Also known as Mexicantown, the area is known for its authentic food and drinks, sense of community, and overall heritage. This is most evident from several influential community organizations (e.g., Southwest Detroit Business Association, Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, etc.) that strive to maintain the area’s cultural richness and vibrancy.

Figure 12: Anticipated Local Impacts of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in SouthWest Detroit. Source: U.S. Census: 2018 5-year Estimates 20

Black Residents: History & Heritage

15,457

Black residents

White Residents: Historical Context

≤ 100%

≤ 100%

≤ 50%

≤ 50%

≤ 25%

≤ 25%

21%

total population

For black residents, who make up over 70% of the City’s population, the Detroit River signifies what has historically been the last step to escape slavery in the U.S. The protection of historically black neighborhoods is important to the black community, and the potential gentrification of nearby communities poses concerns for many residents, who have seen communities drastically change over the years.

20,044

White residents

27%

total population

As shown in the darker gray, the higher concentrations of white residents belong to Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and a couple of downriver communities. It’s worth noting that due to census data’s limited categories for race/ethnicity, it’s very likely that many Middle Eastern Americans – who make up a large portion of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights – selected “white” instead of a more appropriate identity.

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Figure 13: Image of one of the affected properties in Delray and the rendering of the Bridge.

22

3

Discussion:

Policy Solutions + Planning Recommendations

3.1.

Public Health

A recent study (Mobilizing for Community Benefits to Assess Health and Promote Environmental Justice near the Gordie Howe International Bridge) found significantly higher self-reported asthma rates among children living within 500 feet of trucking routes compared to those that don’t within the sample population living in the Delray neighborhood. Another report found that air pollution in the Detroit area had led to a cumulative loss of more than 10,000 DALYs, or years of potential life lost due to premature mortality and productive life lost due to disability (High Resolution Spatial and Temporal Mapping of Traffic-Related Air Pollutants). The health of Delray residents had long been compromised due to the industrial nature that the City of Detroit has zoned it as. Arquero de Alarcon and Larsen write in Mapping Delray, “The City failed to assist Delray’s poorest residents to move to healthier neighborhoods with more services and better amenities before the neighborhood disintegrated into its current condition. Clearly public inaction is partially responsible for the difficult conditions that exist in Delray’s remaining fragments of residential neighborhoods.”

The authors of Mobilizing suggest governance should go a step further in offering benefits to those directly impacted by the bridge construction.

To give achievable action steps, they discuss the Bridging Neighborhoods program, and suggest the City of Detroit extend the benefits of the home swap program to include all residents within 500 feet of the new bridge.

Currently the program is only for owner-occupants in Delray, living many renters stuck in Delray without assistance.

The inaction of governance is equivalent to malfeasance. As we look to remedy the negative health outcomes, we should look to other examples of how the City and State have attempted to correct past injustices. The City of Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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Figure 14: Notice of ongoing construction in the I-75as part of the US Bridge landing 24

Detroit recently admitted it overcharged many residents’ property taxes, leading to a property tax foreclosure crisis which saw tens of thousands of families evicted from their homes from 2009-2015. While the City has said it will not refund property tax revenue, they have unveiled a benefits package that included a discount on Detroit Land Bank homes and preference for affordable housing, city jobs, and training programs.

3.2. Transportation Infrastructure In order to capture the economic benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the City of Detroit needs to invest in transportation infrastructure to create jobs in the transportation, distribution, & logistics sector. According to Michael Belzer, Professor of Economics at Wayne State University, “Michigan has experienced significant job-loss due to economic globalization... Globalization, however, could offer the Detroit region an opportunity for growth through the development of a major freight transportation and logistics industry.” (Belzer, 2009) He specifically cites Intermodal freight transportation as the place for investment. Intermodal freight transportation combines long distance rail with short distance trucking.

It is both more environmentally friendly and economically efficient than only trucking, which is the primary form of freight movement in Michigan.

There are many strategic investments that can be made to improve freight operations in Detroit. The Michigan Department of Transportation has proposed the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal in Southwest Detroit, combining the freight operations of three railroad operators. Another significant investment point is the

Detroit City Airport, which is primarily used for private airplanes. However, its location in northeast Detroit, adjacent to industrial land, the Interstate highway, and railroads, as well as the additional perk of an airfield, make it a perfect site for intermodal freight shipping.

Finally, there is the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, which connects Detroit to Windsor. This railway tunnel is currently inoperable and requires enhancements but could offer one more link between the US and Canada.

While requesting enhancements to the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, Detroit could look to enhance the current railway to allow for passenger travel as well. Canada has sought to create a high-speed rail along “The Corridor”, between Quebec City and Windsor, including the most populated cities of Quebec and Ontario such as Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. As Canada improves the connection between these cities, it may look to the same with Detroit and Chicago. Resurrecting passenger rail from Windsor to Detroit could occur either through the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel or along the Gordie Howe International Bridge. This could provide the impetus for Michigan to finally fund the long-awaited Detroit-Ann Arbor Commuter Rail. Michigan Central could once again become the transit hub it was decades ago, as it could possibly serve the both the Detroit -Windsor and -Ann Arbor lines. While the old train station is currently owned

by Ford Motor Company, the company has indicated a willingness to reserve ground floor space for public operation.

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Gordie Howe International Bridge footprint, 2020 26

Gordie Howe International

Figure 15: Aerial images showcasing the changes in the ares since 2015. Source: Google Earth Pro.

l Bridge footprint, 2005

4

Conclusion

The City of Detroit has undergone several economic changes over the past several decades. Deindustrialization further robbed the city and its people of the means to support itself, and economic globalization exchanged good jobs for cheap goods. However, the recent bankruptcy, investment in the City, and several large-scale projects have all helped Detroit evolve into a hotbed for economic growth. The Gordie Howe International Bridge is a large infrastructure project that will bring large-scale economic development to the Michigan regional economy. It will also have its economic benefits on the international level, providing an additional connection between North American countries. In light of the benefits, there are concerns that the local community - known as Delray, located in Southwest Detroit - will not be duly compensated for hosting the bridge. This is not unique to the Gordie Howe International Bridge, as many large-scale infrastructure projects negatively impact their host communities, which in turn disproportionately impact lowincome residents and communities of color.

The use of community benefits agreements (CBAs) have been effective in ensuring that local communities benefit from large-scale projects. In some instances, governments have made direct cash allocations to impact areas to ensure that those communities were duly compensated. Additionally, the City of Detroit recently approved its Community Benefits Ordinance to ensure that members of the public are duly compensated for large projects affecting the area. In direct response to construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge, the City of Detroit created the Bridging Neighborhoods Program and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) created the bridge’s own Community Benefits Plan. Both of these efforts help ensure that there’s a mechanism by which local residents not only have a voice in key decisions, but also are compensated for the negative impact projects may bring. While the bridge’s Community Benefits Plan calls for preference in the employment and contracting of residents from Detroit, Windsor/Essex, and the First Nations of Canada, we argue more could be done to compensate residents Bridging Prosperity? Reaping the Economic Benefits of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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most affected by the bridge’s construction. Additionally, the Gordie Howe International Bridge does not respond to the scale of the economic, social, or environmental impacts the bridge will have on city residents.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is one of those difficult decisions planners must make. Its economic benefits are understood. However the continued destruction of the Delray community is also assured.

In a perfect world, the needs of every individual are considered equitably, and decision makers enact policies that are enforced fairly and prioritize basic needs of the population, regardless of one’s identity. In addition to the Community Benefits Plan, more needs to be done to ensure that local residents are compensated. Due to public health concerns in the area and the inability of lowerincome residents to relocate, we recommend expanding the home swap program to renters (in addition to owners).

We also recommend offering benefits packages that include Detroit Land Bank discounts, affordable housing preferences, and City of Detroit jobs preferences. These things will ensure that those impacted by the community don’t suffer the economic consequences that will likely come with the bridge’s construction.

Additionally, we recommend that the region’s transportation infrastructure be improved to allow for more fluid, convenient, and affordable movement of both goods and local residents. This includes creating transportation infrastructure that will allow for intermodal freight terminals in Southwest Detroit as well as a Michigan Central Railway tunnel that allows for passenger 28

travel. This transportation infrastructure will complement the economic benefits of the bridge while ensuring that regional transit is provided to local residents. With the construction of the bridge, putting additional mechanisms in place to enhance the Community Benefits Plan will ensure local residents are protected from the negative effects of such a large-scale infrastructure project.

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