The following story is set in Milwaukee. I hope there are neglected places in your city where similar stories may be told.
 
In the midst of active rail lines and towering industrial buildings, I find the activity of beavers most mysterious. Discovering the little haven of nature in a place so completely altered by humans is itself unexpected. The presence of a beaver, an animal also driven to modify its environment, seems miraculous and symbolic.
 
Against long odds, a wetland remains within the historic estuary of the Milwaukee River.

I loved this story from public radio's "The Story" because it was honest about the decay, the vacancy, and the general conditions of Detroit, without making Detroit sound like a bad place to be. That's a tricky balance to walk. The interviewee, a photographer named Jim Griffioen (who takes incredible photos) and "explorer" of vacant buildings and Detroit's built and un-built environment, expressed the curiosity that I think many of us feel about our dynamic cities...