1st Reader Response (Draft) on the topic of 'Detroit House Is Being Turned Into A Living Model Of Cost-Saving Sustainable Design'.

Summary

According to Adele Peter’s article on July 7, 2016, Detroit houses are turning into a sustainable living model of cost-saving sustainable design. This idea was first created by Ronen Dan and his friends through the ‘Motown Movement’ initiated Detroit.

Their project ‘Motown Movement’ agenda is to help residents find affordable ways to retrofit their houses and save energy. The project will adopt various modification methods.

Firstly, it encourages residents to reuse materials from abandoned houses instead of buying new material which will be costly. Secondly, it provides a workshop on sustainability to equip residents on the knowledge of installing insulation which could save as much as 70% of energy in their house which will result in more sustainable living.

Thirdly, all supplies will be available in Detroit area in this shop ‘Home Depot’ where customers can easily access the items they want to buy instead of going to  other places to buy it.

Next, collaborating with the Delft University of Technology, they aim to expand this idea globally through a master’s program and create awareness about sustainability. Thus more people would have the knowledge of sustainability and can execute the plan themselves.

Lastly, these approaches help save building materials and produce renewable resources as well as educate the residents on reducing energy wastage.

Thesis Statement

I believe that after the financial crisis that had happened in Detroit in the 1950s, it is a feasible plan that Detroit residents will benefit from the transformation of sustainable makeover because it focuses on using low-cost materials which will be made affordable to everyone.

Author of reader response:According to Fox business article on November 07, 2014, Detroit had filed for bankruptcy on July 18 ,2013. This shows that the city is running out of money and this problem has been building for decades and has reached a point where immediate action is necessary to keep the city running. Many people had fled the city which resulted in a high number of run-down and abandoned houses scattered across the city. Therefore, much voluntary organizations had also come up with initiatives to help Detroit such as ‘The Detroit Future City’ implementing works with a wide range of partners to cultivate initiatives that demonstrate how the recommendations of the Strategic Framework may be fulfilled.

Another idea Ronnen Dan come up with is to turn Detroit houses into a sustainable living model of cost-saving sustainable design. However, their supplies can only be bought at one place which is the ‘Home Depot’ which might not be convenient for some people who live far away.

What I suggest is that they can set up a roadshow at first to make more people aware of their project and their plan and at the same time introduce retrofit materials and sell low-cost materials on the spot too. Next, they should set up more stores at different locations to make it accessible for people to buy their material and thus saving time instead of traveling all the way to one location to buy it.

References

detroitfuturecity.com/. (n.d.). Retrieved from detroitfuturecity: http://detroitfuturecity.com/initiatives/

foxbusiness. (2014, November 07). Retrieved from http://www.foxbusiness.com/: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/11/07/qa-how-detroit-went-bankrupt-how-it-got-out-and-where-city-goes-from-here.html

News, B. (2014, December 10). Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com: http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-detroit-bankruptcy-idUSL1N0SX2J620141210

Peters, A. (2016, July 07). fastcoexist. Retrieved from www.fastcoexist.com/: https://www.fastcoexist.com/3061563/world-changing-ideas/this-detroit-house-is-being-turned-into-a-living-model-of-cost-saving-s