The motto of Detroit is “We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes.” Though the city may be in the middle of a depression, the community is pushing forward to bring Detroit back to the booming city it was. And, right now, that motto seems fitting. But, what does the future of Detroit look like?

Popular Mechanics recently published an article about how they imagine Detroit will look in 2025. One of their predictions includes the city’s use of green energy and urban landscaping.

“Reemerging waterways and feral forests claim land left open by sharp population decline. Detroit goes green with planning that takes advantage of the city’s unique ecology.”

The article also highlights  how “landscape urbanism” could help revitalize Detroit.

“The term landscape urbanism describes city planning that starts with parkland and natural features, not with a grid of streets and buildings.”

Another promising idea for the future of Detroit is “daylighting” the Bloody Run Creek that now flows through a pipe under the city. The practice of restoring creeks has helped revive other large cities, and the the Bloody Run Creek Greenway Redevelopment Project is hoping to expand on these success stories.

The theory behind daylighting is that it will spark redevelopment of areas that will now be waterfront property and also help reduce the strain on the city’s water treatment plant. Read up on the Bloody Run Creek project and other projects designed to green Detroit in this article by the Metro Times.

As wishful thinking for the future goes, none was more exciting to me than when I watched “Back to the Future, Part II.” (Who doesn’t want hovercars?) The film was set in 1985 and people thought that there would be flying cars in the year 2015. It looks like that dream might not come true unless there are some extreme advances in the automotive industry in the next three years. But even though we might not get flying cars, a lot can happen in 13 years. And it looks like Detroit has some big plans for the future landscape of the city.

How do you see the future of Detroit?

U-Haul is in it for the long haul and is happy to be a part of the positive changes happening in Detroit. Where do you see the city in 2025? What changes do you hope to see in the next 10-20 years? We want to hear from you! So, please, let us know what you think in the comment section below.

– Jennifer