Heard a quick blurb on the radio today. A writer for, I think, the NY Times did a bicycle ride through Detroit and had some flattering things to say about the city, even compared to New York (here I thought anything that happened in NY was cool) like the friendly people and architecture.
My google-foo has failed me. Anybody know what I'm talking about?
It probably got stolen. 
A quick googling brought up this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/opinion/05barlow.html
From this year:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2012/04/20/earth-day-in-detroit-motor-city-becomes-cycle-city/
June this year:
http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/gcdapril612.aspx
2 Days ago:
http://tourdehood.wordpress.com/
As for a documentary on Detroit, I like this Johnny Knoxville lead trip through the city in 3 parts for Palladium Boots.
http://www.palladiumboots.com/exploration/detroit#part1
Dang, those weren't it jrw, but thanks for looking. The Johnny Knoxville one was very good. It's easy to pile on when others look for the negative (I've been known to do it) but that was a very good look.
I do fully expect Detroit to rebound, but that was a cool look at what is going on there on a small scale.
This was the closest thing I saw on the New York Times website: http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/travel/08hours-detroit.html I doubt it's the same as what you heard but it has some good information anyway.
New York Post, just read it on the train home. Next time I go I want to spend more than a couple days.
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/travel/just_back_detroit_BfI8YFbbFtFCnHbMzVuTzK?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Travel
Well done Wally.
That's it Wally, thanks!
I'm amazed by the following:
"The streets may have appeared a little lonely at first, but when I did encounter people, they seemed extraordinarily cheerful and friendly. As I biked past total strangers walking their dogs, or chatting with their neighbors, they unfailingly looked up and waved, like we were in a small town. Maybe that’s the best way to sum up what I saw in Detroit. One part urban blight. One part something like buried treasure. And really, really friendly."
That's soo exactly how I remember it growing up, and soo exactly how it wasn't 15 years ago when I fled. I know it depends on exactly where he rode but it's still blowing my mind. When I grew up there, 70's and 80's it was very, very much like a big family. We all knew each other, watched out for each other, and helped each other all the time. By the time I left (1997) my once great neighborhood was riddled with crack houses and gang houses. I saw a few friends murdered there and, quite frankly by the time I left, I wouldn't walk my own streets at night unless I couldn't help it.
It'll come back, it's just going to take a whole lot of work, and a whole lot of different people.
My wife (from Southfield) wouldn't let me go see 8 mile on 8 mile when released. Something about staying alive. Been back numerous times over the years and yeah, I agree, it will come back. Just not the way my in-laws would like. Perhaps falling below 800000 on the census is helping to weed out undesirables?
vwcorvette wrote: Perhaps falling below 800000 on the census is helping to weed out undesirables?
Perhaps it has weeded out the desireables and now there is only 79,000 undesireables left. They are all in the same undesireable boat so it's not as bad as it was 15 years ago when there were still desireables around to kill and steal things from.
I've never been to Detroit other than layovers at the airport which was crappy enough. I don't see our cities coming back without industry and jobs.
T.J., watch the Johnny Knoxsville link above....
Ok, first of all my post above was mostly tongue in cheek - that's why I said at the end that I've never even been to the city.
I watched the 10 minute plus long metal boot commercial eventhough it has some jackass in it. The only part I really liked was at 8:23 when the woman was talking about seeing things that are not aesthetically pleasing and there was a newer 911 parked in one of the shots.
What I got out of the video is that there are some hipster kids on bikes that like to frequent a black man's bar and that derelict buildings look cool if you think of them the right way. It is still an overly empty city. Bars, restaurants, performance spaces, and clubs will not bring the city back to life.
T.J. wrote: I've never been to Detroit other than layovers at the airport which was crappy enough.
Odd, Detroit Metro Airport is regularly ranked as one of the top 10 airports in the US (by quality of experience, not number of travelers). Why did your experiences suck so bad, or was it just having a layover in general that sucked?
Ranked #1: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-best-airports-in-america-2010-2#no-1-detroit-metropolitan-dtw-10
Ranked #3: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-and-worst-airports/15
Ranked #3: http://www.businessreviewusa.com/top_ten/top-10-lifestyle/top-ten-us-airports
Plus DTW isn't in Detroit either.
I like reading the positive articles about Detroit too. There's a lot of really great things going on in the city, a lot of exciting energy including the growth of the Midtown, Mexicantown, and downtown neighborhoods. Every year there are new events coming to town, like the Marathon, Tour DeTroit, Thunderdrome, Marche du Nain Rouge, and I could go on and on. People are putting energy into the city and it's making a big difference.
That said, it's not, by and large, a safe place to live. There is next to no public transportation. In many neighborhoods Police, EMS, and Fire simply do not respond to calls, let alone the utility companies. The neighborhood that has 50% of its houses occupied is the rarity, not the norm. And we're talking about a giant city, that is larger in area than Manhattan, Boston, and San Fran combined. There are few densely populated centers with safe walkable streets separated by miles of (no other way to say it) ghetto. And with no real way to get between, except by car. Buses run hours behind schedule. And don't try buying gasoline after nightfall.
I just can't condone painting a totally rosy picture of Detroit. I wish there were some balanced reporting on the city, but it seems to skew either "hole in the earth" or "it's amazing!" in every article.
In reply to Schmidlap:
T.J. wrote: Ok, first of all my post above was mostly tongue in cheek
I barely remember the airport. In fact the only two airports that stand out to me in a negative way are the Philly airport and JFK. I happened to be at the Philly airport the 10 years it was being remodeled and the entire thing was under construction - it may be fine now I don't know.
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