The Zoo Debacle

* Warning: This post is not about sports. Repeat. This post is not about sports. You have been warned. *

When we wonder why Detroit cannot seem to have a true, long term revitalization we need to look no further than the current controversy over The Detroit Zoo. The impasse over the Zoo's future is stuck exactly where the city as found itself for years--tangled in political in-fighting.

Everyone with a stake in the city's future, from public officials to private business, seem to be more worried about who gets the credit for a would-be Detroit revival, and lining up to cash in on it, that the city's progress comes in painfully slow baby steps. If it comes at all.

The battleground for Detroit's future is littered with disputes and distrust between the Mayor's office and city council, public and private organizations and the perpetual battle between the city and the region. Lying beneath the surface of all these economic and political conflicts is the ever-present racial undertones that paralyze the city, the region and the state's ability to move it's largest metropolis forward.

As I don't expect this political merry-go-round to stop anytime soon, I remain dubious of the city's latest renaissance. Like so many, I want to believe that Detroit can finally rebound from decades of loss, but the Zoo's plight only highlight problems that seem to have no answers. At a time when Detroit appeared to be on the doorstep of progress it appears that greed and political grandstanding remain the city's highest priority.