Windsor Also Rises
Guest Blogger Alert!
BH - Knock, Knock!
CH - Who’s there?
BH - Hey Chris, it’s Brendan. I’ve got another article for you.
CH - I guess I’m going to have to get you a key made, eh Brendan?
by Brendan Houghton
“Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead, Cultural Anthropologist
I often hear and read that if Windsor doesn’t do “something” soon we will end up just like Flint, Michigan. My contention, my fellow Canadians, is that we are already there and it could prove to be the greatest thing to ever happen to us.
Now before you begin lambasting me into obscurity, allow me to testify on my own behalf. Our collapse has been a rather long, drawn-out process with all the peaks and valleys of a pock marked street. We unfortunately are subject to the violent outbursts and night terrors of the automotive industry. Why did we latch on to something that was bound to fail, due to its sheer dependency upon a non-renewable and therefore doomed resource? At the turn of the last century, everything seemed limitless, especially black gold AND Texas tea.
We were a youngish city in a nascent country at the time, and we needed a large employer. The leaders of the city at the time loved the idea of Windsor being at the vanguard of a new and exciting industry. Windsor was the perfect place for the auto industry. We were tied to the rest of the continent by two large railway systems, the Canadian National Railway and the Grand Trunk Railroad. We are fronted on a river which is the central confluence of the St. Lawrence Seaway, perhaps the most important river system on the eastern part of this continent, and we had a burgeoning population of men looking for work. This was all the incentive Henry Ford needed to build a large factory at Riverside Drive and Drouillard. Chrysler and General Motors soon followed suit. People came in droves from all the corners of the earth, just to live here and work in one of our many factories and tool and die shops. Our city would never be the same.
Now after enjoying years of history, humidity and ups and downs, we have come to a point where the simplest of aspirations; to become an employee with the Big Three, is now just a vacant pipe dream in this city. In our short-sightedness we blew the chance to become a steel-producing center, yet no one seemed to mind. Just about anyone could get a good job here and make a good living with Union protection. As a direct result of this, and due to the many problems posed to us by our economy we are left in a city of ruins.
What particular “ruins” am I talking about? The ruins of the lives once lived here.
Many have left the city. They have left in droves to the West, to work in still another industry doomed to fail, the oil industry. Left behind are their homes, many abandoned, foreclosed and “for rent”. On one stretch of Howard near Tecumseh there are two homes for rent right next to each other. The very next home is for sale. Now we are at a crossroads. Our city leaders must get to know their history, and know that if we rely on sheer manufacturing alone we will fail once again. I for one believe our city’s future may lie in two industries: shipping and education. If we can expand our University and improve its reputation we can attract two things that will revitalise any city: the
youth and innovation. Having an architecture school at the U will be a huge start. Imagine we let top students take part in an urban planning contest. The top three designs are illustrated in the Star, and the people vote for the best design plan. This will spawn innovation through competition, which is something this city needs more than anything. As I mentioned before, we are situated on the St. Lawrence Seaway. As gas prices climb, shipping will become more and more important in the future as
the trucking industry loses viability. We could be at the vanguard of this movement, yet I hear no talk at all about the possibilities of this from anyone who could attract investors/companies. Shipping provides good paying jobs to a great many people in several other cities on the Seaway, and we
too could be a part of this.
The simple fact that this website exists provides me with hope for the future of this city. Discussion is a catchy thing. People read the articles and posts here and talk to people in their lives about what they read – I certainly do. This plants the seeds of change in our culture, which may be the legacy of this and other sites.
The media at its worst is a rag promoting the ideals of a broken society, obsessed with the distractions of celebrity and a vacant consumer driven lifestyle. At its best it is the unfettered voice of the people who have something to say, and people like us who can see the forest through the auto
factory.
Post Feedback
A focus on connectivity, education and quality of life is the secret recipe for Windsor’s renaissance. This will create the fertile grounds in the heart of North America that both people and businesses will want to plant sustainable roots in.
Shipping is only part of the connectivity answer. High-speed rail to the rest of the Midwest and Ontario and Quebec, developing the region into an Aerotropolis, and improving the communications infrastructure are the other parts.
I agree that education is a jewel we have in this region that we must continue to grow. But we must do a better job at retaining the GTAers that come to study here then after four years pack up and leave.
Quality of life … well, I don’t need to preach to the converted.
Welcome to Windsor Airport, North America’s low-cost airline gateway!
Detroit is “jetting” forward into converting Detroit Metro Airport, Willow Run Airport and the area around them into an Aerotropolis, an Aerotropolis being an urban area sprawling out of a major airport hub. Detroit Region Aerotropolis was formed in 2006 to work towards development of an Aerotropolis. It offers tax incentives and loans to spur new developments, and has a road map or (more appropriately perhaps) an airways map to guide them forward.
Link to Detroit Region Aerotropolis - http://www.detroitregionaerotropolis.com/index.htm
Many in Detroit and at least one person in Windsor (myself) view this Aerotropolis idea as an important part of the region’s economic revitalization. The logic goes like this: major airports are key drivers for a region’s growth because businesses today need to be connected and nimble. Major airports that offer a wide web of destinations and frequent flights provide businesses with this connectedness and nimbleness in a physical sense. Regional corporate headquarters, trade rep. offices, conference centres, and high-tech firms are particularly attracted to major airports.
Link to more info on Aerotropolis –
http://www.aerotropolis.com/articles.html
There are many reasons to believe that this Detroit Aerotropolis idea will work. Foremost is the Northwest and Delta merger. This merger will create the world’s largest air carrier, and Detroit is set to be the new company’s Great Lakes gateway. In addition, the area around the planned Aerotropolis is underdeveloped allowing for future growth. Finally, the region in general is ideally located in the NAFTA corridor, Chicago to New York trade route, and major rail and shipping routes.
View TranslinkeD presentation - http://www.detroitregionaerotropolis.com/pdf/gallis.pdf
Windsor is set to benefit from this. We are within the 20 mile radius that stands to see the greatest benefit. But, I have a dream that could see Windsor really capitalize on this opportunity. My musings, I think, hold the promise of being the catalyst that gets going other plans to revitalize and transform Windsor such as the a Chinatown plan, the Canal plan for west downtown and a high-speed rail link to Quebec City. Let me warn you, IT IS GRANDIOSE!
RANDOM FACTS AND HEADLINES:
-Airport data:
*Metro (DTW) - longest runway 12,000 feet, distance to Detroit downtown approx. 20 miles.
*Willow Run (YIP) – longest runway 7,500 feet, distance to Detroit downtown approx. 30 miles.
*Detroit City (DET) – longest runway 6,000 feet, distance to Detroit downtown approx. 8 miles.
*Windsor (YQG) – longest runway 7,000 feet, distance to Detroit downtown approx. 8 miles.
-Typical low-cost carrier business model practices often include:
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
· flying to cheaper, less congested secondary airports[1] and flying early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid air traffic delays and take advantage of lower landing fees
-WestJet routes:
http://c5dsp.westjet.com/guest/destinations/ourDestinations.jsp;jsessionid=MWWqLhPD2r5ppCRT34GhchmBQxTb5kpNwlKp96LsnQDLtPZwsTXj!-1609401423
-Southwest routes:
http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap_dyn.html?ref=wwf_fgn
-WestJet and Southwest deal:
July 8, 2008 – the two airlines sign distribution and code share deal.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/money/national/2008/07/08/westjet.html
Welcome to Windsor Airport, North America’s low-cost airline gateway!
With the two premier North America low-cost carriers looking to connect their networks, a big push to turn the region into an Aerotropolis, the advantage that the Windsor airport is as close or closer to Downtown Detroit as other airports and yet away from air traffic congestion associated with DTW/YIP – it seems that all the stars are lining up for the Windsor Airport! Could we convince WestJet and Southwest to use Windsor as their Detroit-Windsor/inter-connection hub? There are certainly many benefits for the two airlines to do so. The big drawback is the border, but if we can get the City, Province and maybe even the Feds to add a light-rail link from the airport to downtown Detroit this should mitigate that disadvantage. People could park in downtown Detroit and take the rails to the airport or deplane in Windsor and take the rails to downtown Detroit. The rail line and the rail tunnel already exists.
Added benefits: this is the same route of the proposed Chinatown light-rail that links downtown Windsor and Detroit, a light-rail connection between downtown Windsor and downtown Detroit is just the kind of thing to push the Canal plan into high gear, and Windsor becoming an airport hub is just want could get a high-speed rail line from Quebec City here.
Google Map-
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106871801900286914490.0004558e024eac2f318ec&ll=42.332154,-83.269501&spn=0.448723,1.400757&z=10
Edwin Padilla
(Dreamer)
Brendan, another great article! I am really enjoying reading your thoughs. Chris, get that man a key cut soon!
Thank you Andrew.
Your site is the catalyst that made me find this site, and let me know that I’m far from the only one who feels the way we all do here; that there must be a better way and another life for this city. It opened up a whole new world to me. A compliment coming from you is awesome! Thank you thank you
awesome article.