Motorless in the Motor City
In 2012 Norman Witte found himself living in Detroit, unemployed with a dead car. With no means to replace it, Witte learned alternate ways to get around the city as he continued to look for employment. The process, he said, involved navigating the city’s public transportation system and learning to be a good cyclist.
More than a year later, Witte, now a web developer at Crain’s Detroit Business, is continuing his car-less life in the city, but this time out of choice. It’s a lifestyle, he said, and one he wants to share with others.
“It’s been both a learning experience and a challenge,” he said.
Witte has attended every TEDxDetroit conference since it began in 2009 and said his favorite talk was by Brian Mulloy, who spoke in 2011 of the history of Detroit and how the city’s original plans by the French can be applied today.
Witte is originally from Lake Orion and started to visit Detroit as a teenager to explore its music and art scene.
“Throughout the years, that’s what really kept bringing me back,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave. Eventually I realized this is the place I should be living.”
To make positive change, Witte said it’s about stepping outside your comfort zone.
“The idea is that status quo is not sustainable,” he said. “In order to move forward, you have to break some of the habits.”