Gilbert’s Trojan Horse

Capturing the City Core

Local activists and pundits have, rightfully, ridiculed Detroit’s new downtown streetcar, the QLINE, also known as the
M-1 Rail. It covers only three miles of prime real estate (only 5 percent of the city), stands apart from a larger rapid transit plan, serves sports fans and tourists, and relies on outdated technology that has proven unreliable in other cities. The project also went about $40 million over budget, and covers the same route as the Woodward Ave. bus, which actually goes much faster. The QLINE’s intended public clearly is not the 26 percent of Detroit residents who don’t have cars. Less prevalent in local debate is what lies beneath the QLINE—namely, the intention to develop Detroit as a Third Coast Silicon Valley by Detroit’s very own white savior, Dan Gilbert.

Co-written with Antonio Cosme for Riverwise Magazine from the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center.