The River That Broke Through Detroit

In 2016, the city of Detroit was still synonymous with collapse. Abandoned factories. Boarded windows. A population halved. Everyone who talked about Detroit talked about what it used to be — the Arsenal of Democracy, Motown, the engine of American industry. The past tense hung over the city like exhaust. But something quiet was happening on Michigan Avenue. A young urban farmer named Devita Davison started converting vacant lots into community gardens.…