Detroit, MI
How it all started
On a sultry evening in August 2016, Trui, her husband, and her teenage children disembarked at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. This was the start of an entirely new chapter for the Van den Bulck-Moerkerke family. Trui's husband had just accepted a job at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a typical American college town they now call home. In Ann Arbor, you can find cultural events, beautiful nature, a variety of restaurants, and good public schools. Ann Arbor is a great city to live, and Detroit is only a 1-hour drive away. Trui visited Detroit for the first time during a trip to the United States in 2015. She was immediately fascinated by the unique city that filed for bankruptcy in 2013, after decades of economic troubles.
It takes time to recover, but step by step, day by day, the Motor City has been making its comeback. Iconic buildings and beautiful skyscrapers are being renovated all across Downtown and Midtown. New hotels and restaurants open almost daily. Businesses, too, are coming back. Today you can see the fabulous, long forgotten wealth of the pre-depression 20s, the traces of Motown music from the 50s and 60s, and exciting new adventures awaiting to be discovered.
But Detroit is so much more than Downtown and Midtown. Detroit is a widespread city (142 square miles) with a fascinating history. It has some of the biggest and most beautiful skyscrapers in the world, but because large parts of the city were abandoned after the 60s, so much space became available that city farms sprung up in other neighborhoods. Detroit is also called The D and, of course, the Motor City because it was the cradle of the car industry. And let's not forget: Motown Music was born in this city.
Trui wants to take you on a tour in this complex city. As a journalist and former editor of Knack Weekend, Trui knows a thing or two about storytelling.