Overview

“Rod Lockwood has written an amazing book. Belle Isle champions freedom and opportunity, the powers that attracted so many adventurous souls to America over the years. In Belle Isle, he helps us rediscover the roots that built this great nation and suggests that these great powers might once again work their magic, this time for Detroit, for Michigan, and perhaps even once again for the country we love.” —Hal Sperlich, former president, Chrysler Corporation, and member of the Automotive Hall of Fame Belle Isle is a work of fiction set twenty-nine years in the future. It is a blueprint to transform Detroit from a stalled city to a “Midwest Tiger,” rivaling Singapore, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. In the process, the principles for success reach far beyond Detroit and could apply to all Western democracies. In 2025, Belle Isle, a 982-acre island in the Detroit River, is sold by the City of Detroit for $1 billion to a visionary group of investors, with the island receiving relief from USA and Michigan taxation and regulations. They form an American Free City, with innovative systems of government, taxation, and money, transforming Belle Isle from an uninhabited park to a thriving metropolis of 35,000 people, with room for more. The city’s dynamism is rooted in its principles of providing transparent governance that provides value, promotes freedom and beauty, and respects each of its residents. Belle Isle has no cars but does have a racetrack for Formula 1 and other events integrated into the downtown. It is a walkable community, served by a monorail connecting it to Detroit. Resembling an old-world European city, aesthetics and fine architecture are respected values, along with freedom, opportunity, and limited government. The main character, Darin Fraser, a gifted architect, shows his visiting friend Joe Sharif how Belle Isle has become a model of prosperity, rivaling the great economic miracles of modern history. In the process, Detroit itself has transformed beyond its former glory as a world-class city and shows the way for America as well.

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Reviews

“Rod Lockwood has written an amazing book. Belle Isle champions freedom and opportunity, the powers that attracted so many adventurous souls to America over the years. In Belle Isle, he helps us rediscover the roots that built this great nation and suggests that these great powers might once again work their magic, this time for Detroit, for Michigan, and perhaps even once again for the country we love.” — Hal Sperlich, former president, Chrysler Corporation, and member of the Automotive Hall of Fame “As a non-American, I have to say that Rod Lockwood’s inspiring book has a relevance that reaches far beyond the borders of the USA. It has lessons for all of us living in any Western democracy, with its inevitable bureaucratic compromises and, often, its complacency. His fresh proposals as to how we might rise above the daily restrictions and penalties under which we all live, and which often limit both our ability to find success and our motivation to do so, should make Belle Isle required reading for politicians throughout the supposedly free world.” — Simon Taylor, former chairman, Haymarket Magazines, UK; Formula 1 race announcer for radio and TV on BBC and ITV; played himself in the race movie Rush “When given the opportunity, free from overbearing government regulations and restrictions, individuals will outperform the decisions made by bureaucrats. Nowhere is that more evident than in Rod Lockwood’s story of the transformation of Belle Isle. Central planners and obstructionists be damned—and stay far, far away. Bold actions are needed to transform Detroit, and Lockwood’s vision lays the groundwork to make it all happen.” — Manny Lopez, award-winning journalist and former opinion editor, Detroit News “Change requires us to think differently. Detroit has been changed by Cadillac, Woodward, and Henry Ford in the past. Rod Lockwood’s vision and passion for Detroit and its citizens are the changes we need for the future. I hope the people who decide will see the vision for what it is—finally real freedom and opportunity for us Detroiters, the chance of a lifetime to let us share in the American Dream. And we need it now.” — Larry Mongo, owner, Cafe D’Mongo’s Speakeasy in Detroit, and entrepreneur “Aristotle wrote that ‘the soul never thinks without a picture.’ Rod’s book paints a vivid picture of the impact the Belle Isle concept would have on individual lives and standards of living—both on the island and in surrounding areas. Art, according to Aristotle, is supposed to consist of ‘life as it could be or ought to be.’ In this sense, Rod’s book is most certainly art—the most effective medium for conveying concepts. As Detroit continues to decline in both population and capital, the likelihood of Rod’s idea taking hold will most certainly increase.” — Steve Thomas, owner, Detroit Athletic Company “I found Belle Isle: Detroit’s Game Changer to be cogent, interesting, well written, and easy to read. Much writing is focused and narrow; this book is broad in scope and outlines important ideas. As a university professor, I can see Belle Isle being used as a special resource in a class in macroeconomics, public administration, or strategy. I would ask the students to take one of the issues (education, health care, role of government) and contrast the issue as developed in the book with current practices. Belle Isle is about ideas and would prove to be a great learning tool.” — Dr. Neil Bucklew, former president, West Virginia University “Rod Lockwood’s Belle Isle laboratory creates a culture of beauty, optimism, and economic freedom that reawakens a once-powerful Detroit economy. Our beautiful island is the catalyst for his experiment—a chemistry that combines government and financial institutions that embrace individual opportunity, celebrate the growth of wealth, and unleash the extraordinary power of the human spirit.” — Bill Volz, former dean, Mike Ilitch School of Business, Wayne State University “Progress depends on freedom, courage, and imagination. Lockwood’s Belle Isle is not another fig leaf to dress up the status quo. It is the sort of bold, outside-the-box thinking that promises to revitalize a region and inspire the whole country.” — Lawrence W. Reed, president emeritus, Foundation for Economic Education

Author Information

Rod Lockwood is the leading spokesperson for promoting the Belle Isle community, using extensive experience in both real estate development and governmental policy. The Lockwood Companies have built over 25,000 single-family homes, apartments, and senior living residences, including over 500 in Detroit. During his career, he has acquired significant knowledge on land planning, permitting, architecture, construction, marketing, and most importantly, how government policy impacts a community’s prosperity. Mr. Lockwood currently serves as the board chairman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, one of the most influential free-market, state-based think tanks in the US. In 2012, he served as chairman of the board of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and under his leadership, the chamber was instrumental in passing Right to Work in Michigan. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA in finance from Wayne State University.

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