Plot Synopsis

Planet Green and General Motors present this three-part story of a diverse and dynamic citizenry working together to overcome tremendous odds to rebuild their cherished Motor City -- and create a 21st Century Detroit -- by re-establishing a community that has slowly fallen apart due to years of an ailing economy. Detroit was once known for dominating the world's automotive production, creating the Motown Sound, and its one-of-a-kind blue-collar work ethic. Currently, however, the Motor City finds itself at a crossroads. Global competition, a global recession, and a declining population have taken a severe toll on what was once America's industrial backbone. Despite these challenges, die-hard Detroiters still have not given up on restoring this once thriving metropolis. Each hour-long episode features four stories with a central theme. The first episode, "Reinventing the Motor City," highlights: fashion designer Joe Faris and his fashion line of jeans, Motor City Denim, which incorporate seatbelts, rivets and other car-inspired elements found around the factory; five-time Grammy nominated rocker and Detroit native, Kid Rock, who created his own beer label; John Bradburn, an environmental engineer at General Motors whose family has worked in the automotive industry for multiple generations; and 18-year-old-senior, Jacob Durrah, who acquired a newfound interest in robotics and engineering through Dean Kamen's F.I.R.S.T Robotics program. Next, "Art Saves Detroit" focuses on: Tyree Guyton, best known for the Heidelberg Project, is an artist recognized around the globe but tackling Detroit's homeless problem head-on; Andrew Beer, the founder of Woodbridge Records -- a start-up record label with three bands under its belt and a drive to make a mark on Detroit's illustrious music scene -- is nurturing, producing, promoting and distributing the bands on the label; adjunct professor John Manoogian, a 33-year veteran car designer for General Motors, teaches a rigorous, yet gratifying design studio class at College for Creative Studies; and for years high-school senior China Leitner has been playing trumpet in the Sphinx Program, which puts musical instruments in the hands of Latino and African American children to expose them to classical music and encourage a career in the arts. Finally, "It Takes a Village" showcases: Veronika Scott, a fourth year student at the College for Creative Studies, who has designed a heat-capturing coat that turns into a sleeping bag for the homeless; a monthly event called "Soup," where young artists pay a small fee to come together for a simple dinner of soup and bread at The Russell Industrial Center and to pitch projects to better their community of Hamtramck; and Edith Floyd started an urban garden where abandoned and blighted houses once stood.