Photo taken from Grist.

Detroit has had a rough recent period of history. Since the 1950s, more than a million people have left, fleeing as Detroit’s industrial base dwindled. Despite bankruptcy, unemployment and crime, Detroit has also attracted artists and urbanists. It has become famous for creative uses of abandoned buildings and infrastructure.  Artists, such as the Heidelberg Project and the Alley Project, flock to Detroit, taking over abandoned houses and former industrial spaces, painting them in stunning and contrasting hues. Organizations, such as Project for Public Spaces, have worked to create a new urban identity through place-making, working to regenerate Detroit’s core. Detroit is also at the forefront of the current urban agriculture movement.  City farming orgs, like Keep Growing Detroit, Hanz Woodlands and Greening of Detroit, lead the charge: combining education and community building, alongside growing food.

Another way to use Detroit’s abandoned spaces?  Urban Skiing.  Street Skiing trio Karl Fostvedt, Khai Krepela and Max Morello were filmed by Poor Boyz Productions in an epic conquest to bring new life to Detroit’s abandoned spaces.  Using lingering rubble and debris, combined with trucked-in snow, they revamped these former urban and industrial areas to a new glory. Check out their video, which could rival any Warren Miller piece, while adding an urban twist.  One method to save Detroit? Street skiing…