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Sarah Hulett

Sarah Hulett became Michigan Radio's assistant news director in August 2011. For five years she was the station's Detroit reporter, and contributed to several reporting projects that won state and national awards.

Sarah considers Detroit to be a perfect laboratory for great radio stories, because of its energy, its struggles, and its unique place in America's industrial and cultural landscape.

Before coming to Michigan Radio, Sarah spent five years as state Capitol correspondent for Michigan Public Radio. She's a graduate of Michigan State University.

Contact Sarah Hulett at sarah@michiganradio.org.

U.S.

6:02 am

Sat March 2, 2013

Can Detroit Be Saved?

Credit Paul Sancya / AP

Michigan is taking over Detroit's finances and will appoint an emergency manager to deal with the city's massive debt.

By Sarah Hulett

Originally published on Sat March 2, 2013 11:04 am

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Detroit is broke. On Friday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced the state will take over the city's finances.

"It is time to say, we need to start moving upward with the city of Detroit," he said.

But the question on many people's minds is whether state intervention will be enough — and whether the more ominous and painful scenario of municipal bankruptcy can be avoided.

Adding Up The Debt

Just how far gone is Detroit? Eric Lupher, director of local affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, sums it up like this:

4:45 pm

Fri December 21, 2012

An Urban Tree Farm Grows In Detroit

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Credit Sarah Hulett for NPR

Mike Score, president of Hantz Farms, shows off a small-scare version of what Hantz Woodlands will look like.

Credit Maurice van der Velden / iStockphoto.com

By Sarah Hulett

Originally published on Fri December 21, 2012 9:21 pm

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An entrepreneur says he's got a plan to curb urban blight in parts of Detroit. He's buying up acre after acre of abandoned lots and planting thousands of trees. But where backers of the plan see a visionary proposal, critics see a land grab.

Entrepreneur and Detroiter John Hantz, owner of Hantz Farms and the tree-planting effort called Hantz Woodlands, wants to plant at least 15,000 trees on about 140 acres. Hantz promises to clear out all the trash and keep the grass cut, things the city cannot afford to do now.

5:56 pm

Tue September 11, 2012

Racial, Regional Divide Still Haunt Detroit's Progress

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Credit Detroit1701.org / Collection maintained at the Univ. of Michigan by Ren Farley and Judy Mullin

Part of the wall that was built in 1940 has since been painted over with a mural.

Credit John Vachon/FSA / Courtesy of the Library of Congress

The concrete wall separating the black and white sections of Detroit is seen in 1941.

Credit John Vachon/FSA / Courtesy of the Library of Congress

A house in the black section of Detroit in 1941, abutting the wall.

Credit Detroit1701.org / Collection maintained at the Univ. of Michigan by Ren Farley and Judy Mullin

Part of the wall that was built in 1940 has since been painted over with a mural.

Credit Detroit1701.org / Maintained at the Univ. of Michigan by Ren Farley and Judy Mullin

A 6-foot high, half-mile-long separation wall was built in 1940 by a real estate developer to separate white and black parts of Detroit. His purpose was to be able to secure FHA mortgages for homes that would be build on the "white" side of the wall.

Credit Detroit1701.org / Collection maintained at the Univ. of Michigan by Ren Farley and Judy Mullin

A section of the the "separation wall" is seen in Detroit.

Credit John Vachon/FSA / Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Children stand in front of a half-mile concrete wall in Detroit in 1941. The wall was built in 1940 to separate the black section of the city from a white housing development going up on the other side.

Credit Sarah Hulett for NPR

Suburban voters recently elected to raise property taxes to help fund the Detroit Institute of Arts. Some say it's a sign that city-suburb tensions are beginning to ease.

By Sarah Hulett

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 10:20 pm

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For many years — perhaps even decades — Detroit has been the poster child for economic malaise. Adjusting for inflation, per capita income in metro Detroit dropped more than 20 percent between 1999 and 2010.

Some analysts say regional cooperation might have helped keep Detroit above water when the car industry sank, but that entrenched divisions that pit the city against its suburbs, and blacks against whites, have hindered that.

A Deeply Entrenched Regional Divide

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