Belle Isle sure is pretty, isn't it? Most people like using Belle Isle for picnics on summer days, or frisbee, maybe. Developer Rodney Lockwood does not like using Belle Isle for those things. He prefers using Belle Isle to sell his self-published book about Belle Isle's dystopian future. It is a future in which Detroit sells Belle Isle to developers for $1 billion dollars, presumably because Detroit is poor and everything is for sale. The island then secedes from Michigan as an independent commonwealth and a sparsely-regulated business boomtown springs up. Somehow, it all turns out looking like the lush, pedestrian-only paradise seen in the rendering. We could point out the problems with this idea all day, but we won't — it's well-worn territory, and it'll just serve to sell more books. We recommend enjoying the attractive rendering, and maybe picking up some litter if you happen to pass by any later. It'll do Detroit a whole lot more good than Lockwood's book ever will.
· Developer pitches $1B commonwealth for Belle Isle [Detroit News]
· Commonwealth Of Belle Isle Scheme Is Unhinged, Un-American Radicalism [Deadline Detroit]
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