# Could Detroit Revive? Would This Work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 25, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948 "2011-01-25T19:13:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/41 "2011-01-26T17:22:36Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > It is the kind of people who are now in Detroit that makes Detroit bad, corrupt, unsafe, poor, dirty, etc. Detroit will not revive until a different kind of people move into it. Unless a different kind of people move into Detroit, none of the touchy-feely nonsensical artificial gimmicks are going to work. Gee let’s think. What kind of people is Susanann talking about here? They commit a lot of crimes and have illegitimate children and drop out of school and collect welfare and live in inner cities. And Canada doesn’t have “this kind” of people. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/42 "2011-01-26T17:25:24Z")
Hmm…that’s a tough one. Let me think…well, after her(?) immigration thread could it be…um…it’s right on the tip of my tongue…um… Nope, sorry, can’t quite grasp the thought. -XT ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/43 "2011-01-26T17:26:42Z")
> [@toofs](#): > > What party is the city mayor and what party are the city council comprised of? > > Democrats. You could not win in Detroit as a Repub. But the love of money and the love of power are right wing characteristics. Greed is good. You can not have too much money. They are Dems acting like Repubs. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/44 "2011-01-26T17:27:43Z")
Gods that’s really funny. Did you mean it to be? 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/45 "2011-01-26T17:31:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Gee let’s think. What kind of people is Susanann talking about here? They commit a lot of crimes and have illegitimate children and drop out of school and collect welfare and live in inner cities. And Canada doesn’t have “this kind” of people. Americans! What do I win? ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/46 "2011-01-26T17:33:34Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Americans! > > What do I win? You win a boot in yer ass, It’s the Amurrican way! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/47 "2011-01-26T17:35:59Z")
My comment about “law and order” is based upon the experience of the city of Singapore. Before an tough prime minister Lee Kwan? took over, the city had a high crime rate and huge slums. The government decided that it could not tolerate criminal behavior, so they set up a mini police state. Was it worth the curtailment of human rights? I’d say so…where would you rather live…Detroit or Singapore? A city like Detroit cannot thrive with crack addicts and criminals. Maybe what the city needs is a Singapore-like enforcement of basic behavior? I remember when that American brat was caned in Singapore (for vandalizing cars)-all the liberals were aghast that the Singapore government would actually punish misbehavior! His parenst had Clinton make an appeal-so stupid (on his return to the USA, the brat attacked his own father). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/48 "2011-01-26T17:37:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Gee let’s think. What kind of people is Susanann talking about here? They commit a lot of crimes and have illegitimate children and drop out of school and collect welfare and live in inner cities. And Canada doesn’t have “this kind” of people. Auto industry executives? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/49 "2011-01-26T17:41:18Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Ive been to Windsor, and it is a nice city, with none of the problems of Detroit even though it is in the same location as Detroit but on the other side of the river. > > In Windsor there is a much lower crime rate, most of the babies born are legitimate, most kids in Windsor finish high school, most of the people in Windsor are not on unemployment, etc etc etc. > > Moreover, Detroit was not always poor, dirty, crime-ridden, Detroit was once one of the best cities in the world, and as recently as the 1950’s Detroit was a nice safe beautiful city where most people worked and where most babies were legitimate. > > It is the kind of people who are now in Detroit that makes Detroit bad, corrupt, unsafe, poor, dirty, etc. Detroit will not revive until a different kind of people move into it. Unless a different kind of people move into Detroit, none of the touchy-feely nonsensical artificial gimmicks are going to work. > > Detroit is a pig’s ear. Must be the Canadian gun laws are to credit for Windsor’s low crime rate. Race bait much? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/50 "2011-01-26T17:52:07Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The government decided that it could not tolerate criminal behavior, so they set up a mini police state. Was it worth the curtailment of human rights? I’d say so..where would you rather live..Detroit or Singapore? Where do you get this silly idea that police states result in good places to live? Been to Rangoon lately? How about Pyongyang? I would like to pose a false dilemma to you and get your answer. Where would you rather live: Riyadh with it’s police state, or Amsterdam with its respect for freedom? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/51 "2011-01-26T17:53:58Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The latest plan (of the city management) is to tear down abandoned houses-the plan is to destroy over 12,000 houses. > To me, this is shocking-if you consider than many of these homes were worth over $100,000 (in the “good days”), we are talking about destroying $1.2 billion of real estate value. > … > Or would the union-led Michigan legislature fight this tooth and nail. 1. I doubt any of the targeted homes ever had a valuation over $100K. I don’t think the total valuation is anywhere near a billion dollars. 2. Are you at all familiar with Michigan politics? Do you know what party controls both state houses and the governor’s chair? Personally, I don’t feel a bit unsafe in Detroit. Like any large city, there are good and bad parts. Mayor Bing’s heart is, I believe, very much in the right place and he truly wants to help the city. Will his plan work? Not sure, but doing nothing doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/52 "2011-01-26T18:10:08Z")
Every time a house is Bing’d, an angel gets it’s wings. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/53 "2011-01-26T18:14:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Gee let’s think. What kind of people is Susanann talking about here? They commit a lot of crimes and have illegitimate children and drop out of school and collect welfare and live in inner cities. And Canada doesn’t have “this kind” of people. Palinistas? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/54 "2011-01-26T19:32:19Z")
No, the correct answer is professional football players. Which shows that what Detroit really needs is a new stadium. That’ll turn the city around and get the Lions in the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/55 "2011-01-27T01:03:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, the correct answer is professional football players. Which shows that what Detroit really needs is a new stadium. That’ll turn the city around and get the Lions in the playoffs. Football stadiums are cheap! They just sold the domed Detroit Lions Ponitac Silverdome last year, along with 125 acres of parking, for only $550.000.00 If I lived in Detroit, I would have bought it myself for $550.000 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/56 "2011-01-27T01:08:04Z")
I’d have held out for that extra tenth of a cent. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Amazing_Hanna)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/57 "2011-01-27T01:08:06Z")
Maybe we could solve the Middle East peace process while we’re at it? Just buy every Palestinian a house in Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/58 "2011-01-27T02:17:48Z")
> [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](#): > > Saint Cad: Last I heard there were houses selling for $50 in parts of Detroit. Even in the remaining nice neighborhoods, you can buy something really nice cheaply. Apparently the nicer neighborhoods are in the west of the country and on Lake St Clair. > > [Average prices in Wayne County](http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/Michigan/Wayne_County-heat_map/) Those figures are not even close. The real estate in Detroit has not even bottomed out yet. The sad fact is you can not sell a home now. They sit empty for years When banks redo mortgages. They extend the time (even to a new 40 years). They drop the interest rate. But they never re-evaluate the house. It still sits on the asset side of their books as a 150 thousand dollar asset when it is practically worthless. Bonuses and salaries are predicated on the false belief that the banks are on solid footing. They are in far rougher shape than they chose to let on. They will loot us until we stop them. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/59 "2011-01-27T03:37:16Z")
The OP is incorrect on the population of Detroit. According to census figures, it maxed out at about 1.8 million (not 2,000,000) in 1950, and preliminary 2010 results show over 900,000 (not 600,000). It’s worth noting that Detroit is hardly the only Rust Belt inner city that has lost population while its metropolitan population has grown. The City of Detroit is certainly in a bad way, and has hard choices to make, but it’s really no different from similar cities such as St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and so on and so forth. It’s only more noticeable due to having been the center of the auto industry for a century. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948/60 "2011-01-27T17:20:51Z")
So what makes Singapore not like Detroit? Singapore encorages industry and education-and they discourage drug use and anti-social behavior. True, they trample upon a lot of basic rights, but I suspect that having clean streets and not having crack houses may well be worth it. Detroit seems to encourage the very worst human behavior-and adds to it a corrupt and incompetent city government. So I guess that Detroit will continue to decline, despite all the Federal Aid money spent on it. I wonder what Detroit will look like in 2030? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-detroit-revive-would-this-work/568948.md?page=4)