On the Map

Sowing the Seeds for Food Sovereignty in Detroit

An urban farm plot of beds with crops and flowers sits in front of a building painted with an artistic mural, courtesy Michigan Urban Farming Initiative - MUFI
Photo courtesy Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI)

Urban agriculture is blossoming in Detroit, gaining recognition for its “green revolution,” through the rise of urban gardens and farms. With a total of 139 square miles or over 100,000 empty lots being vacant, this provides an opportunity to incorporate green spaces into communities throughout the city.

Urban gardening isn’t new to Detroiters. During the economic crisis of 1893, “Potato patches” helped feed hungry families and taught people how to grow their own food during times of social and economic crises. Later, in the 1970s, Mayor Coleman Young’s “Farm a Lot” program set an ambitious goal of transforming 3,000 empty lots into urban gardens. In the late 1960s the Black Panther party served breakfast to children in Black communities — highlighting the racialized gaps in funding from the United States government. The connections among community, mutual aid, and growing and providing food go far back in Detroit. Rather than working against each other, cooperatives and mutual aid programs ensure that groups can pull resources together to beat the system at its own game.

Detroit’s history of gardening, farming, and giving to neighbors shows how communities can move beyond food justice and into food sovereignty. Food justice addresses hunger at a basic level; food sovereignty takes it up a level to define, own, and dictate a food system. This in turn provides the earth with increased resilience to crises and climate impacts, in addition to promoting autonomy for communities. According to shakara tyler, co-executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network, part of creating a just society and systems means, “shifting from extractive economy and reinvesting into the regenerative economy.”

The growth of urban agriculture in Detroit is a testament to the resilience and innovation of its people. Initiatives such as the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm and Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network are prime examples of how community-based organizations can catalyze change, serving as educational platforms for sustainable living. Explore gardens and organizations below to see how modern food sovereignty is inspiring Detroiters to create a deep praxis within other justice movements across local and state-wide levels.

View of plants growing in beds in an urban garden plot in Detroit, Michigan
Urban garden plot in Detroit, MI

 

Michigan Urban Farming Initiative

7432 Brush St, Detroit, MI 48202

Based in Detroit’s North End community, Michigan Urban Farming Initiative’s (MUFI) redevelopment of a three-acre area in Detroit’s North End, is being positioned as an “epicenter of urban agriculture.” With the goal of creating a sustainable “agrihood” with multiple projects, the campus is divided into thirds: production farming, interactive agriculture, and hardscaped spaces, such as their Community Resource Center. Since operating out of their new headquarters, MUFI has been able to grow and distribute over 50,000 pounds of produce (grown using organic methods) to over 2,000 households within 2-square miles at no cost to the recipients.

Oakland Avenue Urban Farm

9227 Goodwin St, Detroit, MI 48211

Operating out of Detroit’s North End neighborhood since 2010, the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm (OAUF) is “cultivating healthy foods, jobs, and active cultural spaces.” The “Farm” grows over 33 varieties of vegetables and fruits and operates a “Harvest on Demand” option with local farmers markets, allowing neighbors to have consistent access to produce. In addition to partnering with local chefs and nonprofits to distribute tens of thousands of hot meals across the city, OAUF provides training opportunities, manages a community land trust, and brings together youth to improve learning and leadership skills.

Keep Growing Detroit

1445 Adelaide St, Detroit, MI 48207

Keep Growing Detroit (KGD) is working to cultivate a food sovereign city where the majority of fruits and vegetables consumed by Detroiters are grown by residents within the city’s limits. Their Garden Resource Program (GRP) supports urban gardening in the city by providing high-quality resources to family, community, school, and market gardens located in Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck. Participants receive seeds, transplants, personalized garden assistance from staff, and a connection to an incredible network of gardeners, farmers, and advocates for a thriving food system across the city.

Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network

11000 W Mcnichols Rd Ste 103, Detroit, MI 48221

Another non-profit that aims to amplify and create sustainable and equitable food systems is the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network (DBCFSN). The 7-acre urban “D-Town Farm” grows more than 36 different fruits, vegetables, and herbs with cultural and social significance, with the intention of farming what people want to eat and in high demand. Their work to shift the understanding of food, is a way to have sovereignty and learn about the importance of these systems. In addition to providing security, DBCFSN co-founded the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund with KGD and OAUF to support rebuilding black land wealth. Since 2020, over 239 awards have been made to residents, businesses, and organizations.

North End Agri-Arts Alley

Currently under-going construction

In March 2023, the city announced four new Arts Alley locations in North End, Detroit. Specifically, the North End Alley will be the first Agri-Arts alley as part of a federal grant to transform dilapidated alleys into artistic oases. Anchored by the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm in partnership with artists from the Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition, this green alley will complement the Oakland Avenue Farmer’s Market, North End Resource Center, Oakland Avenue Cooperative Greenhouse, and Black Bottom Garden Center. Major construction is currently underway and is expected to be completed in late Spring 2025.

Urban farms and gardens are not just places to grow food; they are hubs of community activity, education, and empowerment. While the challenge remains to make these green spaces accessible to all, efforts are being made by the city to provide urban agriculture government guidance and infrastructure. In September 2023, the city of Detroit named Tepfirah Rushdan, former co-director of Keep Growing Detroit, its first director of Urban Agriculture. Over the past decade, the movement has seen substantial growth, transitioning from a few community gardens to a network of over 2,00 gardens and farms engaging nearly 20,000 Detroiters as of 2023.

Watch the webinar recording “Building Black Food Sovereignty in Detroit,” featuring shakara tyler, as part of our Preparing for the Detroit 2025 Annual Meeting webinar series.

You can register for the 2025 Annual Meeting field visit “Feeding a City: The Geography of Urban Food Systems” hosted by the Food and Agriculture Specialty Group to further explore Detroit’s urban food system landscapes.

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Emily Frisan
Emily Frisan
On the Map

The Hidden Costs of Commercial Fishing: Sustaining Economies and Ecosystems

Image of a trawler boat sailing near Malta. Source: Peter Grima

Geography In The News logoGeography in the News is an educational series offered by the American Association of Geographers for teachers and students in all subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article. 

By Adeti Afe

Fishing has been a part of human life for thousands of years, helping to feed societies while maintaining a balance in marine ecosystems. Traditional fishing usually keeps fish populations in check. But now, methods for industrial-level commercial fishing can cause serious harm to marine ecosystems. Scientists warn that some of the world’s most important fishing areas and habitats could be permanently damaged due to issues like overfishing, habitat destruction, and the problems caused by aquaculture.

Image of a static map showing fish habitats off the East and Gulf Coasts, as well as in the Caribbean Sea. Credit: NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains Fishmapper, an interactive mapping tool for examining important habitats for managed fish populations worldwide. Credit: NOAA

 

Overfishing disrupts the balance of marine life. When certain fish populations decline, predators lose their prey, and smaller fish can overpopulate. This creates even more problems in the ecosystem. Coral reefs, for instance, rely on fish to control the growth of algae. Without enough fish, algae can grow uncontrollably, killing the reef’s ecosystem.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that more than one-third of global fisheries are overfished. Over the past 50 years, the number of overfished areas has tripled. A major factor contributing to this is bycatch, which is the unintentional capture of animals like sea turtles, dolphins, and sharks in fishing nets. Millions of animals are killed this way each year, adding to the damage in already struggling ecosystems. Sea turtles are often caught unintentionally by getting tangled in nets and are harmed before they can be freed. Similarly, endangered species such as certain whales and dolphins suffer high mortality rates due to poor fishing practices. Bycatch damages the biodiversity necessary for healthy ecosystems.

Image of a trawler boat sailing near Malta. Source: Peter Grima
A trawler in Malta. Trawlers drag nets through the sea, either above the sea floor or along the sea floor. This method of fishing is indiscriminate and has negative impacts on sea ecologies. It is banned in many areas. Source: Peter Grima

 

The methods used in industrial fishing often cause harm to underwater habitats. Bottom trawling, for example, involves dragging heavy nets along the seafloor. While effective at capturing fish, this practice devastates coral reefs and seagrass beds, which are essential habitats for many marine species.

The Complex World of Fish Farming

To meet the growing global demand for seafood, many businesses have turned to aquaculture, also known as fish farming. On the surface, aquaculture appears to be a solution to overfishing, but it introduces its own set of environmental and ethical concerns. Farmed fish are often raised in overcrowded enclosures, which can lead to water pollution from waste.

Aquaculture relies heavily on fishmeal and fish oil derived from wild-caught fish, which means it continues to put pressure on already overfished stocks. Escaped farmed fish can further disrupt ecosystems by competing with native species for resources or introducing genetic and behavioral differences that harm wild populations.

Finding a Better Way

The negative effects of commercial fishing extend beyond the environment, impacting human communities. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing increases the problem. Operating outside the bounds of international and local laws, IUU fishing often targets the waters of vulnerable nations. This practice robs local fishers of their resources and disrupts efforts to maintain sustainable fishing practices.

Several actionable steps can mitigate the damage caused by commercial fishing. Stricter regulations on fish catch limits and the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) can help ecosystems recover and maintain biodiversity. MPAs provide safe zones where marine life can thrive without the pressure of fishing.

Technological advancements can also play a role by including selective fishing gear that can reduce bycatch. Consumers can make a difference by choosing sustainably sourced seafood, certified by organizations such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Commercial fishing is essential for feeding millions of people around the world, but it comes at a cost. Our oceans, and the communities that depend on them, are under serious pressure from overfishing, habitat destruction, bycatch, and unsustainable fish farming. These practices are pushing marine ecosystems to their breaking point. The good news is that we still have a chance to make a difference. By enforcing smarter regulations, using better technology, and making informed choices as consumers, we can create a fishing industry that works well with the environment. If we act now, we can protect the health of our oceans and ensure they continue to provide for generations to come.

To get a glimpse of fish habitats and fishing areas mapped worldwide, use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Essential Fish Habitat tool.

And that is Geography in the News, updated January 31, 2024.

Material in this article comes from “Gone Fishing, or, Who Will Catch the Last One?” (1999), an original article for Geography in the News by Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University. 

Sources Consulted for this Article
Vocabulary and Terms
  • Overfishing: Catching fish faster than they can reproduce.
  • Bycatch: Sea creatures caught accidentally in fishing nets.
  • Bottom trawling: A harmful fishing method where nets are dragged along the ocean floor.
  • Aquaculture: Raising fish in farms for food, also known as fish farming.
  • Fishmeal: A food made from ground-up fish, often used to feed farmed fish.
  • IUU fishing: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing that breaks fishing laws.
  • Marine protected area (MPA): Parts of the ocean where fishing is restricted or banned to protect ecosystems.
  • Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): An organization that certifies seafood as sustainable.
Questions for Discussion and Further Study
  1. What are some of the main environmental issues caused by commercial fishing, and how do they affect marine life?
  2. The article mentions how overfishing impacts local fishing communities and their ability to make a living. How do you think these communities might respond?
  3. Do you believe fish farming could be a solution to overfishing? Why or why not?
  4. What actions can governments, companies, and individuals take to make commercial fishing more sustainable for future generations?
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AAG Staff
AAG Staff
On the Map

History Painted in Place: Detroit Murals Map and Guide

Power to the People mural captured in an image from above on Woodward Avenue in Detroit; Source: Joe Gall, courtesy Hubert Massey and Detroit Heals Detroit
"Power to the People" mural captured in an image from above on Woodward Avenue in Detroit; Source: Joe Gall, courtesy Hubert Massey and Detroit Heals Detroit

Just weeks after Detroit was named #4 in the United States for the creation of beautiful murals, the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (ACE) took on the task of putting the city at number one. To accomplish this, in 2022 the city launched a mural map and app to identify every mural and artist in the city, based on hundreds of curated murals and biographies of artists.

This initiative builds on a rich legacy of mural art in Detroit.  Mural art has left its mark as far back to the early 1930s, capturing almost 100 years of history in Detroit. As the city struggled through the transition of the Great Depression, the prominent Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera was commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) to capture the energy of Detroit’s distinctive automotive, steel, and other industries. Often considered to be the most complex artworks devoted to American Industry, Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals depict the city’s manufacturing base and labor force on 27 panels, spanning all four walls of the DIA’s Diego Court.

Grand in scope and scale, the paintings celebrate Detroit’s auto factories and depict men of all races side by side on an assembly line. Rivera’s technique for painting frescoes, his portrayal of American life on public buildings, and the 1920s Mexican Mural Movement led to and influenced the New Deal mural programs of the 1930s and 1940s, in addition to the future generation of artists in the city.

The main two panels of his series draw inspiration from Ford’s River Rouge Plant, where Rivera toured and sketched for months before creating large-scale tributes to their workers along with a blend of critique and celebration of the forces of industry. He also blended ancient Aztec symbolism into his modernist treatment, creating allegorical figures to portray the complex relationship of human and machine.

A view of the south wall of the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts
A view of the south wall of the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts

 

A view of the north wall of the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts
A view of the north wall of the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts

 

The Detroit Institute of Arts’ Research Library, Archives, and Collection Information department holds the digitization of a collection of existing 8 x 10-inch (large format) nitrate photo negatives, which were taken in 1932–33 to document the making of Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals. Their digitization preserves the history of the murals and makes the images accessible to the public. In addition, the film that Ford Motor Company’s team made of the artist at work is now accessible on the National Archives website.

Power to the People mural captured in an image from above on Woodward Avenue in Detroit; Source: Joe Gall, courtesy Hubert Massey and Detroit Heals Detroit
“Power to the People” mural captured in an image from above on Woodward Avenue in Detroit; Source: Joe Gall, courtesy Hubert Massey and Detroit Heals Detroit

Hubert Massey is a contemporary muralist whose work is inspired by 1960s- and ’70s-era activism and the art of Diego Rivera, having studied with former Rivera apprentices Stephen Dimitroff and Lucienne Bloch. In 2020, Massey worked with twenty Detroit teens to create a street mural in the Lower Woodward neighborhood, celebrating the phrase “Power to the People” and the Black Lives Matter movement spreading worldwide.

Massey works in the fresco technique and is the only known African American commissioned fresco artist in America. He has also produced work in the mediums of mosaic, terrazzo, sculpture, stained glass, and other material. You can find his work across Detroit’s Mexicantown, Greektown, the Cultural Center, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Detroit Athletic Club, among other places.

Girl with the D Earring mural; Source: Zoyes Creative
“Girl with the D Earring” mural; Source: Zoyes Creative

 

Sydney G. James is another Detroit artist who has contributed large-scale work to the city. A Black figurative painter and public art muralist, she pays homage to the city and emphasizes the deep connection between her art and Detroit, highlighting how murals serve as vibrant expressions of identity and community. Her work not only beautifies the urban landscape but also tells the stories of the people and the place that inspire her.

One of her most notable works is “Girl with the D Earring,” an 8,000 square-foot painting of a Black woman, on Grand Boulevard from Woodward Avenue into Milwaukee Junction. This work re-envisions Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” “It’s one woman,” James told Hour Detroit. “But she represents Detroit in general. ‘Girl with the D Earring’ is a celebration of the city and a celebration of its people.”

“Detroit Never Left” mural; Courtesy Sheefy McFly’s website
“Detroit Never Left” mural; Courtesy Sheefy McFly’s website

 

Musician and visual artist, Sheefy McFly’s “Detroit Never Left” mural, located at Gratiot and Chene near Detroit’s Historic Eastern Market, is a nod to the idea of Detroit having a “resurgence.” The painting depicts a party full of Detroiters: a man jitting—a dance style that was born in Detroit–with a woman twerking (a dance move perfected in New Orleans in the 1990s, with origins in West African dance), a radio, and a Black man wearing a Cartier watch and a blue “D” hat, exuding an authentic Detroit. McFly told The Michigan Chronicle that “anyone from Detroit that walks by can identify with the mural.” His style blends Neo-Expressionism and Pop Art with a Detroit twist that reflects the cultural and social dynamics of Detroit, capturing the city’s spirit and history.

Public art is a form of creative place making, which further deepens connection with places where we live, work, and play.

The vibrant murals of Detroit are more than just artistic expressions; they are a testament to the city’s rich history, diverse culture, and dynamic geography. By intertwining art with public spaces, the city’s murals not only beautify the landscape but also celebrate the unique cultural tapestry that defines this iconic American city.

Explore Detroit’s murals in the city’s interactive map. Filter by year, artist, name, or location.

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Emily Frisan
Emily Frisan
On the Map

Cranberries: A Fine, Finicky Fruit

Cranberries for sale in a basket Credit: Philippe Murray Pietsch, Unsplash
Credit: Philippe Murray Pietsch, Unsplash

Geography In The News logoGeography in the News is an educational series offered by the American Association of Geographers for teachers and students in all subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article. 

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are a big part of the winter holidays. Native to North America, they grow in bogs and wet areas from New England to the upper Midwest and Canada. Some also grow in the Appalachian Mountains. A cousin species, V. oxycoccos, grows in Europe.

Cranberry vines grow best in sandy, organic, acidic soils. They prefer cold winters and cool summers. Massachusetts was once the leading producer, but is now outpaced by Wisconsin. Other states where the berry is grown are New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. In Canada, too, cranberry farms are found in British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

The vines take at least three years to spread and form a mat before bearing fruit. In September, as berries ripen, the farmers flood their fields and use a thrashing machine to scoop berries from the vines. Once they float to the water’s surface, the berries are collected for market.

Cranberry harvest in New Jersey. Source: Agricultural Research Service
Cranberry harvest in New Jersey. Source: Agricultural Research Service

 

Only 5 percent of the berries go to the market fresh. Most are frozen whole, canned, or bottled as juice. Most people buy more cranberry sauce, juice, and even cranberry health supplements than fresh cranberries.

It was not always this way. For centuries, wild-growing cranberries were harvested by the many nations of the Algonquian people who continue to inhabit all of New England and much of the Midwest and Eastern Canada. They call the berry sassamenesh, and harness its power as a superfood. (Cranberries are full of Vitamin C and other nutrients.) One recipe is pemmican, which mixes the berries with dried fish or meat and tallow. Pemmican was the original power bar: it is formed into cakes and baked in the sun. This provides fat, carbs, and nutrients in a form that is easy to carry and store for months.

Demand for Cranberry Grows Fast

For a plant that takes years to bear fruit, the cranberry is otherwise growing fast. Its market expands every year. Cranberries are an important import to other countries, and it is now seen as a food for all year long, particularly for its health benefits. Shoppers have come to expect dried and fresh cranberries in many products, from baked goods to cereal to energy bars. This expansion was driven by a shrewd international marketing strategy from a nearly century-old grower-owned cooperative, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.

Cranberries: The National Cranberry Magazine, 1960, one of Ocean Spray’s many marketing efforts to get more cranberries into kitchens and on tables. Source: Wikimedia
Cranberries: The National Cranberry Magazine, 1960, one of Ocean Spray’s many marketing efforts to get more cranberries into kitchens and on tables. Source: Wikimedia

Ocean Spray began as a small farmers’ cooperative in 1930. By 1988, the company controlled 85 percent of the world’s cranberry market. The key to their success was smart decisions in both marketing and production. Ever eat a “craisin”? This dried version of the fruit was a snacking breakthrough in 1981. By then, Ocean Spray was already famous for its juices. Soon, it was putting cranberries in cereals, energy bars, and desserts.

As demand for cranberries shot upward, competitors got into the game. Private companies made high offers to farmers, hoping to lure them from Ocean Spray. Still, Ocean Spray remains the dominant player, and certainly the most recognizable in the grocery store. It represents about 700 family-owned cranberry farms.

America’s cranberry farmers produce about 8 billion barrels a year. Most come from Wisconsin, which had one of its strongest harvests yet in 2024. It’s almost the perfect place for these unique berries, with plenty of water, sandy soil, and ideal weather. That doesn’t mean they are always a sure thing, however. There is a margin of risk every year. “I like the challenge,” said John Stauner, owner of James Lake Farms in Wisconsin. “It’s a profession where you have a lot of variability throughout the year.”

The weather has always created uncertainty for farmers. Climate change is adding to their worries. In the past decade, Massachusetts bogs experienced flooding from both ocean saltwater and torrential rain, killing some bogs. On the other extreme, a 2022 drought also took a heavy toll on production.

Cranberry bogs are part of the climate solution in New England, too, at least after they have run their course producing the fruit. Although one in four bogs that have gone out of business in Massachusetts, some farmers are using their land for large-scale restoration to protect wildlife and wetlands in the state.

 

 

Some cranberry production has headed overseas since the 1990s. A California company invested $20 million in building cranberry bogs in Chile. The investment has made Chile the third biggest cranberry producer worldwide. The United States remains the world’s top producer.

Some years ago, the geospatial firm Descartes Labs used radar data and algorithmic machine learning to map America’s cranberry bogs. It wasn’t easy: find out how they did it.

The next time someone passes the cranberry sauce or offers you a glass of cranberry juice, tell them a thing or two about this bright berry’s history, geography, growth habits, and economic value.

And that is Geography in the News, updated November 1, 2024.

Material in this article comes from “Cranberries” (1996), an original article for Geography in the News by Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University.

AAG’s Geography in the News is inspired by the series of the same name founded by Neal Lineback, professor and the chair of Appalachian State University’s Department of Geography and Planning. For nearly 30 years from 1986 to 2013, GITN delivered timely explainer articles to educators and students, relevant to topics in the news. Many of these were published on Maps.com’s educational platforms and in National Geographic’s blogs. AAG is pleased to carry on the series.

Sources Consulted for this Article
Vocabulary and Terms
  • Algorithm
  • Appalachia, Appalachian mountains
  • Bog
  • Cooperative
  • Machine learning
  • Pemmican
  • Radar
  • Sassmenesh/sasminash
  • Tallow
Questions for Discussion and Further Study
  1. What kinds of conditions do cranberries need to grow?
    For further study outside of this article: Find out more about the regions and places mentioned in this article. For example, what states make up New England? Do all of them have cranberry bogs? Where are British Columbia and Nova Scotia on a map of Canada? How do we define the Appalachians? How do the climates of these places differ, and how are they similar?
  2. What impact has climate change had on cranberry farming? What impacts can old cranberry farms have on climate change and wetlands?
    For further study outside of this article: What approaches are scientists and farmers taking to protect the cranberry farms, or to convert old farms back to wetland habitat? What scientific tools are they using to measure, track, and address changes they observe?
  3. The Algonquian peoples were the first to use cranberries for health and energy on long journeys. What were the special, portable cakes they made for this purpose, and what ingredients did they use?
    For further study outside of this article: Find out more about the Algonquian peoples and language groups. What are some of the tribes that speak Algonquian languages (which have different names)? See if you can find out where some of these tribes lived before European colonization, and where they are now. Can you find other food or plant names in Algonquian?
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Geography Essentials Living within Ecosystems Sharing Knowledge
Lisa Schamess
Lisa Schamess
On the Map

Winds of Change

NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA
NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA

Geography In The News logoGeography in the News is an educational series offered by the American Association of Geographers for teachers and students in all subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article. 

Powerful Santa Ana winds often make the headlines in Southern California. They have brought traffic to a standstill on freeways, with wind gusts up to 80 mph (129 kph). They create dust storms and deplete the soil. Sometimes the winds are strong enough to topple trucks and blow down trees. Worst of all, they can power wildfires.

Also called “devil winds,” the Santa Ana winds blow down from the Santa Ana mountains, the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. The winds blow across westward across the coast and into the Pacific Ocean. They happen in the deadly dry season of autumn wildfires in Southern California. In October 2023, Santa Ana winds whipped up a small grassland blaze into the devastating Highland Fire. The fire grew from 14 acres to more than 2,400 acres before it was contained a week later.

Santa Anas are katabatic winds. Also called “gravity winds,” they blow out of high-pressure cells in the mountains. They can be any temperature. The bora winds of Italy and Slovenia are cold, while the Santa Ana winds and their cousins in France, mistrals, are usually hot. In Japan, the katabatic wind is called the oroshi. In Switzerland, it is the foehn.

NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA
NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA

 

The high-pressure air mass at the heart of a katabatic wind begins over mountains or high plateaus. As dense air rushes outward from the center of the high-pressure area, its weight causes it to hug the ground. Wind velocity increases as gravity draws it toward the lowlands. When the Santa Ana wind descends in elevation, it also heats up through adiabatic warming, as it compresses, with no exchange of heat from the surrounding air. The typical rate of warming is 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 feet (1 C./100 m.) of descent. The Santa Ana winds can be as hot as 100 F by the time they reach sea level.

Katabatic winds are very, very dry, with humidity of less than 10 percent. In California, this adds to their dangers. Their gusts dry out vegetation and disturb loose soil. While many native California plants are adapted to these conditions, non-native grasses and undergrowth are not. This has contributed to fire hazard, along with some forest management practices that were, ironically, meant to stop fires.

An Ill Wind

“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch.”

—Raymond Chandler

The Santa Ana winds are a dramatic player in literature and lore. Their dry, usually hot temperament contributes to an image of Los Angeles as mysterious and sultry, with a hint of menace. Culture critic Mary McNamara compares the winds to living on the surface of Mars. She says, “The Santa Anas are exhausting, and no one does well when they are exhausted.” Writer Joan Didion said, “It is hard for people who have not lived in Los Angeles to realize how radically the Santa Ana figures in the local imagination.” These howling dry winds do seem to define autumn in southern California, buffeting houses and cars and carrying dust and debris. To be fair, they also usher in some of the area’s best surfing waves, and can extend summertime weather at the beach.

Will Climate Change Affect the Winds?

A 2019 study observed that the frequency of Santa Ana winds has decreased in the last twenty years, due to climate shifts. In the early and late parts of the Santa Ana’s season, there are fewer winds than in the 20th century. During the peak from November to January, there hasn’t been much change.

Southern California Santa Anas photographed from space. Source: NASA
Southern California Santa Anas photographed from space. Source: NASA

Since that first study, the authors have discovered a cold version of the Santa Ana winds that forms differently and has less threat for wildfires. Either type, hot or cold, is associated with temperature extremes in the region. Southern California’s hottest and coldest days have been when these winds happen. Yet the cold type has become much less frequent since the 1940s.  “In that case,” says the study’s lead author Alexander Gershunov. “We’re not seeing any positive news in terms of future wildfire seasons.” Gershunov and his co-researchers hope that their work can contribute to early-warning systems for the hot winds to come.

And that is Geography in the News, updated November 1, 2024.

Material in this article comes from “How an Ill Wind Blows” (1996), an original article for Geography in the News by Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University.

AAG’s Geography in the News is inspired by the series of the same name founded by Neal Lineback, professor and the chair of Appalachian State University’s Department of Geography and Planning. For nearly 30 years from 1986 to 2013, GITN delivered timely explainer articles to educators and students, relevant to topics in the news. Many of these were published on Maps.com’s educational platforms and in National Geographic’s blogs. AAG is pleased to carry on the series.

Sources Consulted for this Article
Vocabulary and Terms
  • Adiabatic warming
  • Bora
  • Elevation
  • Froehn
  • Humidity
  • Intensify
  • Katabatic winds
  • Lowlands
  • Mistral
  • Plateau
  • Velocity
Questions for Discussion and Further Study
  1. What geographic feature are the Santa Ana winds znamed for? What type of wind are they?
    For further study outside of this article: How much can you discover about katabatic winds?
  2. How does NASA’s QuickSCAT radar scatterometer get information about wind and ocean currents?
    For further study outside of this article: What kind of tools and techniques do geographers, meteorologists, oceanographers, and other earth and space scientists use to measure and track winds?
  3. Apart from the Santa Ana winds, what are some of the other conditions and environmental elements that can aggravate wildfires?
    For further study outside of this article: What techniques, new and old, are used to control wildfires?
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Geography Essentials Living within Ecosystems Sharing Knowledge
Lisa Schamess
Lisa Schamess
On the Map

Michigan Central Station: “The Sublime Object” of Detroit

An exterior panoramic view of Michigan Central Station and surrounding areas in Detroit. Credit: Stephen McGee
An exterior panoramic view of Michigan Central Station and surrounding areas in Detroit. Credit: Stephen McGee

In 2019, as the renovation of Michigan Central Station (MCS) in Detroit was getting underway, geographer Lucas Pohl captured some of the mythology and mystery that arose around the station in its more than forty years of decline:

One of the first lessons I learned while visiting Detroit is that you cannot speak about the city without facing its past. While this could be said of most places, it is a particular obsession of Detroiters to point to the city’s history in order to explain its present (and future). If you base Detroit solely on ‘what you see’, you do not get the ‘whole thing’.”

—Lucas Pohl, “The sublime object of Detroit,” in Social and Cultural Geography (2021, Vol. 22, No. 8)

In 2015, Detroiters had described to Pohl the special place that the 1913 Beaux Arts-style Michigan Central Station has occupied in their minds—reflections of awe that speak from the last decade to its era of grandeur, its painful descent into ruins, and its 2024 reopening as a community and commercial hub once more:

Michigan Central Station is a special case. We have lots of skyscrapers that were empty for a long time, but the train station has a special place in the people’s hearts.”

“It’s just the One.”

“It’s a thing for everyone . . . I see it and I’m like, ‘Oh, I love Detroit.’”

 

People walk through the interior hall of Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Credit: Stephanie Rhoades Hume, Michigan Center
People walk through the interior hall of Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Credit: Stephanie Rhoades Hume, Michigan Center

New Life for the MCS

The recent renovation of the Michigan Central Station focuses on its future as a tech and mobility hub on 30 acres, with 1.2 million square feet of public and commercial space. Ford Motor Company was the lead on its renovation, with partners like Google and Newlab joining the State of Michigan and the City of Detroit. Yet this building also lives within more than 100 years of shared memories and history. Its presence in the public imagination remains a central element in its new life.

Just as there is plenty to remark on in the rebirth of the station, from the craftsmanship brought back to life to the careful planning for a mix of uses and inclusion of skills and jobs programming, Detroit historian Jamon Jordan also sheds light on the many reasons the station’s history is important to the city’s life.

On the grand reopening in June 2024, Jordan shared an op ed published in the Detroit Free Press, detailing the rich history of Michigan Central. From his childhood memories of the station in 1977, about a decade before it closed—many believed for good—Jordan traces back to the people, events, and stories that made Michigan Central a nerve center of city and Black history long before it became an emblem of decay during Detroit’s tough years at the end of the 20th century.

When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, Jordan recounts, it sparked a mass migration from the East Coast, either with Detroit as their destination, or through the city to Chicago. Starting in the 1830s, the railroad became a feature of the landscape, and the Michigan Central Railroad became a fixture by 1846.

One of the most consequential figures Jordan brings to life is Elijah McCoy, an African American engineer who began working for the Michigan Central Railroad in 1866. Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1844 to parents who escaped on the Underground Railroad, McCoy was trained in Scotland, but was “allowed only to be a lubricator and fireman on the railroad” because he was Black, says Jordan. This talented engineer was relegated to oiling the train’s moving parts and shoveling coal.

Undeterred, McCoy invented “an automatic lubricator that could oil the train’s moving parts as it was moving, eliminating the need for trains to make frequent stops,” says Jordan, thus gaining the last laugh and transforming the capacity of the railroad industry.

An era came to an end when the old 1884 Central Station was destroyed in a fire in 1913. The present building occupies a different site at 14th and Michigan. Until it closed in 1988–due to declining rail ridership nationwide and the attrition in both employers and residents in Detroit–its vast grandeur greeted thousands of travelers, including the hopeful members of the African American Great Migration. Many of them, migrating from the segregated South, had only dreamed of an arrival like this one, into a public train station without a single set of discriminating signs for “Whites” and “Coloreds.”

Jordan brings together touchstones of history through the station’s life, from international fame to personal connection: from Ossian Sweet to Joe Louis to Lucinda Ruffin—Jordan’s own grandmother.

Once, Michigan Central Station had 10 gates for trains, and its 18-story tower held 500 offices. In the station’s heyday in the 1940s, more than 4,000 passengers passed through each day. The six-year renovation preserves many of the original structures exterior and interior architectural details, and also addresses renovations at two nearby buildings, which will now house an innovation space called NewLab, and a mobility hub that incorporates greenspace, pedestrian, and bicycle connections. The result may well be a new Detroit place that is still worthy of Jacques Lacan’s somber definition of a “sublime object,” as Pohl describes it: “a remainder of loss that triggers a strong nostalgia,” yet that also can contribute to the city’s future.

Find out more about Detroit history from Black Scroll Network. Read an analysis of the fall and rise of Michigan Central in this article by Wayne State University’s Mila Puccini and Jeffrey Horner. 

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Lisa Schamess
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On the Map: Where Were You When?

Illustration showing Earth in the Early Carboniferous period by Christopher Scotese
Earth in the Early Carboniferous period. Source: Christopher Scotese

By Allison Rivera

It is no secret that the Earth has drastically changed throughout history, though it can be hard to capture evidence of its evolution. Thanks to the innovative work of software engineer Ian Webster, you can explore Earth’s transformations in real time. Webster created an interactive “Ancient Earth” experience using the revolutionary work of palaeogeographer Christopher Scotese.

I always wanted to build a time machine. These maps allow me to travel back through time.

—Christopher Scotese

Scotese’s love and inspirations for paleogeography began during his childhood, when he would dream of traveling back in time. He recalls his ambitions from a young age: “I have had an interest in Earth History since childhood. During my summer vacations (age 8-10), I started a journal entitled A Review of Earth History by Eras and Periods. I always wanted to build a time machine. These maps allow me to ‘travel back through time.’”

It was from these ideas that his Atlas project was born. The Paleogeographic Atlas project began during his undergraduate career at the University of Illinois (Chicago). It was first published as what could be described as “flip books,” with some computer animations. It was not until his graduate career when the Atlas was updated to include principal scientific areas such as plate tectonics, paleomagnetism, and paleogeography. Despite other paleogeographic maps having been published at the time, these maps were noteworthy. The Atlas Project was the first to illustrate plate tectonics and paleogeographic evolution of the Earth. Scotese was also the first person to write software to animate the history of plate motions. However, he did face some challenges along the way. He noted that the greatest obstacle of the project was that “It takes a long time to accumulate the knowledge and experience to tell this story.” He is now writing a book titled The History of the Earth System, allowing him to compile the mass of information he has accrued over the years. Scotese also knew that updating the maps was no easy feat, and, with the help of many colleagues, has continued to integrate new and improved scientific ideas into the Atlas.

Scotese made sure to take many ideas into account from various scientists. Having worked with paleoclimatologist Judy Parish to incorporate paleoclimatic interpretations in the reconstructions of the Earth, he was able to develop a parametric climate model. Furthermore, Scotese used linear magnetic anomaly data and satellite imagery to create a model for Mesozoic and Cenozoic plate and ocean basin reconstruction. While his work paved the way for the current knowledge and understanding of time periods such as the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, those such as the Paleozoic remain unknown. Here, the map is based on information and results presented in a symposium on Paleozoic Paleogeography. The oldest map of the Atlas was the last to be assembled, but is based on a model Proterozoic plate tectonics, developed by Scotese and other geographers. From this, they were able to conclude that the Proterozoic was a time of Rodinia supercontinent assembly and breakup. Each map incorporates some form of scientific data and knowledge, making it as accurate as possible.

Despite the amount of collaboration, research, and time that went into this groundbreaking project, Scotese describes it as ongoing. The Atlas only describes the current knowledge and understanding of ancient Earth. As with any science project, new data and findings are always emerging, which leads to the need for constant updates and improvements to the Atlas. To keep up with new information, Scotese has a vision for a digital Atlas. Combining scientific data with technology such as GIS will allow for not only improved user friendliness but also easier compilation of data. Programs such as Paleo-GIS will be the foundation for the next version of the Atlas. In addition, Scotese is working with a group of scientists to add other Earth System information such paleoclimate, paleoenvironmental, biogeographic, and palaeoceanographic information.

Even though Webster’s project is based on the old version of the Atlas, it still has many features that make it easy to understand and educational. His work gives people living in today’s world a sense of connectedness to the ancient earth through time.

View Christopher Scoteses’s website Explore Ian Webster’s visualization of Dr. Scotese’s work

 

DOI: 10.14433/2017.0134

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On the Map: Traveling by Trolley Back to the Dinosaurs

A cheerful yellow sign announces “Trolley Rides Today.” Credit: Paul Swansen, Flickr
A cheerful yellow sign announces “Trolley Rides Today.” Image by Paul Swansen, Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

 

By Samantha Hinton

From the Fossil Trace Golf Course to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver is a modern city where the age of the dinosaurs is still present.  

One of the best ways to experience Denver’s dinosaurs is the Denver Trolley route (formerly called the Platte Valley Trolley route) to Lakewood Gulch, home to the site of the first Triceratops fossil ever found. 

 

Map showing the Denver Trolley route starting at Confluence Park in downtown Denver and hugging the Platte River Greenway. Credit: Denver Trolley
The Denver Trolley starts at Confluence Park in downtown Denver and hugs the Platte River Greenway. Credit: Denver Trolley

 

In 1887, American paleontologist, John Bell Hatcher discovered the mostly intact triceratops skull and horns and sent it to colleague, Othniel Charles Marsh. Marsh mistakenly thought the bones were from a bison, and they were not confirmed to be from a triceratops until the following year when another set of remarkably similar fossils was discovered in the area.   

The trolley trip to Lakewood Gulch combines history and paleontology with transportation geography. The current Denver Trolley system recalls the city’s once-extensive electric rail transit system. At its peak in the early 20th century, the trolley system had over 250 miles of track connecting the city and another 40 miles connected Denver to Golden and Boulder. In 1910, the system had 87,819,000 passengers.  

 

Map showing the Denver streetcar routes in 1917. Credit: Denver Urbanism
Denver streetcar routes in 1917. Credit: Denver Urbanism

 

Also in 1910, there were only 3,000 automobiles in Denver. After World War II, the American economy highly encouraged modernizing everyday life. By 1928, there were 78,000 privately owned automobiles and trolley ridership declined by 59%. By 1951, all the city’s trolley lines were abandoned and replaced by a new urban bus system.  

The Denver Trolley, a small section of that rail system, was later restored and reopened on July 4th, 1989, to revive some of the history and nostalgia along a route of some of Denver’s most popular attractions. The trolley runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from early spring to around Oct. 31. Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for children. Other stops along the route include Confluence Park, REI’s flagship store, Elitch Gardens, and The Children Museum of Denver.   

Sources: Denver Trolley Colorado, Denver The Mile High City; “Dinosaurs in Denver,” Fossils Facts and Finds; “Triceratops Facts You Need to Know,” Denver Urbanism; “The History of Denver’s Streetcars and Their Routes”  

DOI: 10.14433/2017.0129

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On the Map: Denver’s Five Points and Whittier neighborhoods

Image of Robinson Atlas of the City of Denver (Plate 12). Source: Denver Public Library, Special Collections
Image of Robinson Atlas of the City of Denver (Plate 12). Source: Denver Public Library, Special Collections

By Sam Hinton with Lisa Schamess

Northeast of downtown Denver, the Five Points and Whittier neighborhoods are among the city’s oldest, the first to extend beyond Denver’s original Congressional Grant. As a longstanding center for African American life in Denver, as well as a hub for the Chicano Movement, these neighborhoods are a vital location in the city.  

Five Points starts at 17th and Downing on the east edge and extends north along Downing to 38th Street. The Whittier neighborhood is less extensive, starting at 23rd and Downing Street and extending north until East Martin King, Jr. Boulevard. Established in the 1870s, Five Points was named after Denver’s diagonal downtown grid with a rectangular suburban grid, which meet at Washington Street, 27th Street, 26th Avenue, and Welton Street. Whittier Elementary School was named in honor of John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), an American poet and abolitionist. 

The neighborhoods were and still are today dynamic and multi-cultural places. Many Latinx-Americans and Asian Americans work and reside in the area. While it was always historically a home to African Americans, increasing segregation in the 1920s resulted in more than 90% of Denver’s African American residents living in Five Points or Whittier during the mid-20th century.  

Throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, the area was also a significant cultural and entertainment destination. The area is home to Denver’s first urban park, Colorado’s oldest Black church, and Temple Emanuel, one of the state’s oldest synagogues. Jazz also runs strongly through Five Points and Whittier’s narrative. Sometimes called the “Harlem of the West,” the area was a popular stop for jazz stars like Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis. They played clubs like the Rossonian and the Rainbow Room, and Benny Hooper’s hotel. Today, the annual Five Points Jazz Festival and Juneteenth Music Festival are renowned.  

The neighborhoods have a rich entrepreneurial history. For example, the Niederhut Carriage Company was a family-run business by brothers Henry and William Niederhut for a century, and one of the largest transportation manufacturing companies in Denver.  

In 1920, Dr. Clarence Holmes founded a dental practice at 2602 Welton Street and was the first African American to join the Denver Dental Society. A graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC, he otherwise lived his entire life in Denver. He was born to a family that valued civic responsibility: his mother Mary Holmes was the first African American woman to run for the state legislature. Dr. Holmes helped found the Colorado-Wyoming branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His early years as the first Black dentist in Denver were “rough,” he said in 1973, with obstacles put in his path by segregation, individual racism and intimidation, and white supremacist forces in professional societies and businesses serving dentists. Hear Dr. Holmes offer his oral history to the Denver Public Library in 1973 (Content Warning: frank use of racist terminology). 

Reverend David West Mallard owned multiple businesses including Mallard’s Grocery and Confectionery. Other notable businesses included Rice’s Tap Room and Oven, The Rhythm Records and Sporting Goods Shop, the American Woodmen’s Insurance Company, and Melvina’s Beauty Shop. 

 

Photo of Niederhut Carriage Company circa 1900; credit Denver Public Library Special Collections
Niederhut Carriage Company circa 1900. Credit: Denver Public Library Special Collections

 

Photo of David and Virginia Mallard in front of their store, circa 1948, with an unidentified man. Credit: Denver Public Library Special Collections
David and Virginia Mallard in front of their store, circa 1948, with an unidentified man. Credit: Denver Public Library Special Collections

 

Today, many descendants of the original Black residents no longer live in Five Points. Efforts to bring new life to the community have included a new urban rail line and the renovation of the Rossonian Hotel. These changes, however, have also accelerated gentrification, Nonetheless, the Five Points and Whittier remain an important touchpoint for Black and Latinx communities. The neighborhoods host many artists and are the center of several lively mural projects depicting their history and culture, such as La Serpienta Dorada and the Five Points Mural Gallery.  

 

Photo of Artist Brian Doss at the annual Jazz Festival in Five Points. Credit: Kent Kanuse, Flickr.
Artist Brian Doss at the annual Jazz Festival in Five Points. Credit: Kent Kanuse, Flickr.

 

Learn more: 

The neighborhood Business Improvement District hosts a self-guided, self-paced walking tour of Five Points. Five Points Plus is a museum and online exhibit that showcases the human stories and collective memory of living, working, and growing up in Five Points. Developed in partnership with the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center along with Five Points community members and supported by the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library (Denver Public Library) and Manual Highschool. Prepare for your visit by finding out about the Black-owned and other businesses in the area. 

This article was prepared using sources from Denver.org and the Denver Public Library.  

DOI: 10.14433/2017.0126

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On the Map: The Spot Where Modern Denver Began

Confluence Park rapids and beach with a backdrop of the Denver Skyline by Kent Kanouse, Creative Commons
Confluence Park rapids and beach with a backdrop of the Denver Skyline by Kent Kanouse, Creative Commons

The confluence of two rivers in downtown Denver — Niinéniiniicíihéhe (the South Platte River) and Cherry Creek — marks the 1858 gold strike that launched a major city.

This spot also marks the prospectors’ encounter with the Arapaho, whose winter camping grounds and sovereign land this was, as affirmed in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. In addition to white settlers, Cherokee Nation citizens made up a significant number of the early prospectors, pushed off their own land after the 1828 Georgia Gold Rush and subsequent Trail of Tears.

At the site of Confluence Park, it was William Greenberry “Green” Russell who led the group that began a search for gold there in May 1858. When they found indications four miles south, their temporary settlement became what is now known as Denver.

In the intervening century, the 10.5-mile stretch of the South Platte River where Confluence Park rests fell on hard times, like many urban rivers. By the 1970s, it was a polluted, not only neglected but a frequent dumping site, “Denver’s receptacle for anything they wanted out of sight, out of mind.” according to Colorado State Senator Joe Shoemaker, who led the campaign to restore the riverfront. In 1974, Shoemaker co-founded the Platte River Development Committee with then-Denver Mayor Bill McNichols, eventually transforming it into the Greenway Foundation. The park underwent a long renovation and reopened with more amenities in 2018.

Confluence Park rapids and beach by Kent Kanouse, Creative Commons by Wally Gobetz, Creative Commons
Confluence Park rapids and beach by Wally Gobetz, Creative Commons

Today’s Confluence Park is a public gathering place that offers recreation, paved paths and nature trails, river views and natural landscapes; tubing, and a kayak run. Fishing is permitted, as are wading and shallow swimming at a small beach. Shopping and dining are close by.

 

Find out more about the Cherokee Nation’s participation in the Colorado Gold Rush

DOI: 10.14433/2017.0118

Sources: Colorado Encyclopedia; “Confluence Park,” The Cultural Landscape Foundation; “RIVER TOWNS: Denver | The South Platte’s dirty past promises a pristine future,” September 18, 2021 Colorado Politics; OsiyoTV; Uncover Colorado; “The Birth of Denver, from Boom to Bust to Boom,” Indian Country Today, Oct. 29, 2013. 

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