Well, today Detroit is 310 years old. And, it looks about as nice as I’d expect any 310 year-old lady would look. Seriously, I root for the city, but I don’t think any real changes will happen before my kids are having kids.
Well, today Detroit is 310 years old. And, it looks about as nice as I’d expect any 310 year-old lady would look. Seriously, I root for the city, but I don’t think any real changes will happen before my kids are having kids.
A lot of things have to happen nationally before some of our cities can make positive changes.
What I'm really sad about is how a lot of you choose to ignore the good that has been happening to Detroit, to constantly remind the bad things.
But it's easier, and apparently more interesting, to look at the negative more often, isn't it? 
I know there is positive going on, that's why I still hold on to some hope. The days of Kwame are behind us, but how far and for how long? They talk of a high-speed train to Chicago, but they've talked about that since I was a small boy. They talk about building up the waterfront, but again, they've talked about that since before Coleman Young. I'd love to see things improve but I fear it may never happen.
So Eric, it's your turn to beat the positive drum. Help me to feel better.
Detroit's problems are interesting because they're unprecedented. Even positive stories (for example, how Slow's is acting as a hub of revitalization) are about overcoming adversity, so you have this context of economic devastation lurking in the narrative.
No other American city has ever faced anything like Detroit does. Not at that scale. Any progress (and there's always some) is amazing, but it's still bleeding out. More people left between '00 to '10 than between '90 to '00. As a share of the population, I think the '00 to '10 losses were the largest in 60 years of decline. It's smaller than Columbus now.
The 'solution' is relocating people to the remaining nice neighborhoods and razing the rest of the city, which has been proposed a number of times and the city is currently trying to figure out how to do. I can't even believe the Bing administration there had the balls to suggest it. That gives me more hope than all the little stories of revitalization put together. You never see American politicians putting such radical ideas out there. People in Detroit have absolutely no reason to trust the government, so who knows how it'll turn out, but it's a start.
What's most incredible about the city is how well people do in spite of everything. Somewhere in my photo archive I've got pictures of some dude with a bike frame wired on to a wheelchair, powered by a snowblower motor. He didn't do this for E36 M3s and giggles but AS HIS DAILY DRIVER. You can't help rooting for that sort of person.
alfadriver wrote: What I'm really sad about is how a lot of you choose to ignore the good that has been happening to Detroit, to constantly remind the bad things. But it's easier, and apparently more interesting, to look at the negative more often, isn't it?
I work in the most dangerous area of Saint Louis. The neighborhood to the north is a trouble spot and the alderman has gotten a grant to improve the area and streets adding landscaping and streetlights not to mention knocking down dilapidated buildings with absent owners with back taxes.
I haven't heard a positive thing about it. Just, "Why are they doing this to such a crappy neighborhood?"
Last year we were tops in homicide rate per capita. We took third this year.
Nobody here is bashing the city. How is it that people that post here, poeple that I'd otherwise swear are very intelligent (I mean, how else would you explain the higher per capita Miata ownership here?) don't seem to read posts.
I said, basically it's rough looking. You can't argue that. I also said I have hopes for the city but lament that I don't expect to see anything real for at least 15 years (that's assuming my oldest knows how to keep his pants up around a pretty girl).
And for those that work in the city, or live nearby. Uh, try growing up there. It's a bit different than spending your working yours (daylight) there, 5 days a week (or so) and going home. Going to sleep to the sounds of a woman being beaten (very badly) and crying out for help and no cops come, Waking to the sound of drug-house raids (kinda interesting actually) seeing no street-lights on for years so the city can save money. Watching blocks and blocks of neighborhoods turn into wastelands and so on.
Yes, I do believe the city will turn around, mainly because it's at the bottom of the hill, nowhere to go but up. I am SHOCKED and amazed that Bing had the cajones to even mention the re-structuring of the city. I think that would be pivitol. I'm afraid though, that if he tries it they'll elect Kwame or his wife (since I don't think he CAN be elected).
Ok. I'm wrong. Detroit rocks! The graduation rate is 95% and rising, crime is down to near nothing and falling, the cops come when called, EMS comes when called, small business are doing well, and more importantly, large businesses (that actually employ people) are moving in by the dozens! Vacant houses aren't attracting crack-heads and gang activity....the place is WONDERFUL! And while I'm sure folks could walk me through select areas that are safer now than a decade ago, I could take you to areas that neither one of us would return from on the wrong night.
I'll state it again, I hope detroit makes it. I think they will, it will just be a long time. No matter what small business do, they will need the backing of the politicians to change things to help keep them safe and help them grow.
The city has relied on it's residence to pick the city up. The Blight Busters (started on my street, just a handfull of doors down), Angels Night and so on. I remember the city sending letters out to US, asking US to keep our porch lighs on at night to help keep the neighborhoods safe. This is when the street lights are off! Yeah, you'll get some hipsters looking to transform a few blocks into a hippy-haven, but Detroit is a HUGE area and the city does have to step in, no matter what the newspapers tell you. Try spending a quarter of a million hours there and then check your outlook.
And to all those that think I'm bashing, I'm only stating my observatons, not what I read in the paper from the cushy sofa in my suburban home. Yes, there are positive things going on (the ones that people list are done my politicians, or at lease facilitated by them) but in a city with that many roadblocks, the road is very long.
And the Book looks amazing. It took how long? That's my point. Things like this, huge turn-arounds, take a loooooong time. I'm pretty sure I've read that here before.....
Detroit, the city proper (not the suburbs), is a huge place. This is one of my favorite graphics.
It is an amazingly spread out place, built by and for the automobile.
jrw1621 wrote: Detroit, the city proper (not the suburbs), is a huge place. This is one of my favorite graphics.
Both Edmonton and Calgary, each with 850,000 and almost 1 million people respectively, are twice the size at ~260sq miles each 
Agreed on the Canadian towns, but, I will bet that there are genuinly nice residential parts of each town and parts of each town that have "high income" areas. Now imagine that same space as all "inner city."
Put a fork in the whole state.
Detroit took a "big hit". But with good leadership it will come back and be better than ever.
I grew up in the Pittsburgh PA area and saw what happened when the steel mills closed. Still vist the area frequently because I have relatives there. It is a much better place now than when the mills were running full blast.
The same thing can happen to any city,area where employment is single industry based. When it does good leadership and diversified employment opportunities will bring it back to life.
jrw1621 wrote: Detroit, the city proper (not the suburbs), is a huge place. This is one of my favorite graphics.
Correction as of the last census the population of Detroit is 713,777
Hal wrote: I grew up in the Pittsburgh PA area and saw what happened when the steel mills closed. Still vist the area frequently because I have relatives there. It is a much better place now than when the mills were running full blast.
Oh come on....it wasn't that bad; was it? I read somewhere when in Pittsburgh that men would go home at lunch to change their white suit shirts because of all the soot from the steel mills.
pete240z wrote:Hal wrote: I grew up in the Pittsburgh PA area and saw what happened when the steel mills closed. Still vist the area frequently because I have relatives there. It is a much better place now than when the mills were running full blast.Oh come on....it wasn't that bad; was it? I read somewhere when in Pittsburgh that men would go home at lunch to change their white suit shirts because of all the soot from the steel mills.
I remember a family road trip (many years ago) and the skies were a nice, clear blue - until we reached the city. That was a trip where reaching Ohio was actually a reward.
Detroit is as suburb!
According to Wiki the DFW area is 9,286 square miles.
We have burbs bigger than Detroit.
DFW alone is bigger than the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.
Hanging out at Woodward and 14mi or so on Friday and Saturday is awesome fun.
dogbreath wrote: Hanging out at Woodward and 14mi or so on Friday and Saturday is awesome fun.
Hunter House to the north and Red Coat Tavern to the south. Surrounded by different but good burgers either way.
It has been more that 7 years since I have been in either but I bet they are both still there.
On that map up there is the hope for Detroit- that big blue thing. Once either North America has come down to, or the rest of the world has come up to, a common standard of living, Detroit is very well placed to regain its place as a manufacturing powerhouse.
As to the razing of lousy neigborhoods- all that does is move the problem to another area. Knock their hovels down, and the crack whores and dealers are gonna move next door to you. Scum gotta sleep somewhere.
carguy123 wrote: Detroit is as suburb! According to Wiki the DFW area is 9,286 square miles. We have burbs bigger than Detroit. DFW alone is bigger than the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.
Isn't Dallas-Fort Worth like two cities? I'm asking because I always assumed there was Dallas TX, and Fort Worth TX? If we're bunching cities together, then DRLSNBFFSBM is HUGE (Detroit-Redford-Livonia-Southfield-Novi-Brighton-Fenton-Flint-Saginaw-Bay City-Midland)!
DrBoost wrote:carguy123 wrote: Detroit is as suburb! According to Wiki the DFW area is 9,286 square miles. We have burbs bigger than Detroit. DFW alone is bigger than the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.Isn't Dallas-Fort Worth like two cities? I'm asking because I always assumed there was Dallas TX, and Fort Worth TX? If we're bunching cities together, then DRLSNBFFSBM is HUGE (Detroit-Redford-Livonia-Southfield-Novi-Brighton-Fenton-Flint-Saginaw-Bay City-Midland)!
Drive through and you will see. There is no line between Dallas and Ft Worth now.
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