Infrastructure Opportunism

Research by: Max Jarosz

This project is initial research into a remediation strategy for Flint, MI. Starting in 2014, a growing water crisis has emerged endangering most of the citizens. However, even without the crisis, Flint’s future was very unclear.  With a declining population, increasing poverty and violence, it was experiencing the fate of many Rust Belt Cities. Its tragedy may have provided it a new opportunity for a future. Through the idea of Toxic Urbanism, or by developing a remediation system to fix its current crisis, the city can bring in a new economy of toxic producers. An example of one such producer is silicon manufacturing, a $336 billion industry that struggles to hold locations due to the toxins they produce, could leverage the remediation system to produce a new growing economy for Flint. The entry of low requirement tech development also places Flint in an orientation towards an increasing digital future thus providing opportunity for its younger generations to develop skills necessary for an almost certain future.  Flint currently has a large strip of abandoned manufacturing zones larger than its downtown that could be used to develop this zone.