I stumbled onto a site (didn’t keep it despite the beauty) of derelicts in Detroit being ceded for a $1000 or so, and beautifully photographed. I seem to recall: 100 Detroit building for less than $1000
The pictures were heartbreaking, some even breathtaking, the article mentioned the skyhigh local taxes
Found it back, “Detroit Will PAY You To Take One Of These 100 Abandoned Homes”
Or East St Louis or Camden, NJ (which, in a stroke of genius, cut a good portion of their police force)
Detroit illustrates the failure of municipal government in the USA. The abandonment of Detroit (by industry) was precipitated by a highly corrupt city government.
If Detroit could deliver good schools, crime-free streets, and reasonable taxation, businesses would not have left-instead, people voted with their feet.
Frankly, for Detroit to recover would take honest and efficient government…which Detroit hasn’t had in 60 years.
How come Detroit doesn’t attract IT businesses that can earn money anywhere if they just have Internet access?
Because a lot of IT workers don’t want to live in Detroit.
Coincidentally, the last Republican Mayor of Detroit, was Louis Miriani, 1957 to January 2, 1962.
Anyway, I agree with what you say.
As you say, all Detroit has to do is:
…and businesses would come back, employed married people would come back, and Detroit would boom once again as it did 10 years ago. Detroit was once one of the best cities in the world, not that long ago. Nothing to it to fix! It is not that hard to do folks. Pretty simple really.
The current condition of Detroit really has nothing to do with the recession, or with the auto industry, nor with unions, nor geographry, nor the times, nor the tooth fairy, nor any other things like that that people have mentioned. All you gotta do is look at the other side of the river, Windsor, is a really nice city with not much crime, no burned out buildings, lots of businesses, good schools, and married families moving to Windsor.
Well, shit, I think you just solved all of society’s ills right there. Next up rainbows will come flying out of my ass.
Because IT businesses need IT workers. And IT workers want good schools, low crime, good climate, reasonable taxes, transparent government, good infrastructure, universities, culture, and importantly, the presence of an IT ecology of other technology companies. It’s expensive to live and work in Silicon Valley, but companies start in Silicon Valley, move to Silicon Valley, and stay in Silicon Valley for good reasons.
They’re in Ann Arbor.
Bear in mind, “Detroit” is actually really small. Most of what people think of as “Detroit” consists of separately incorporated municipalities, most perfectly ordinary suburbs, many with excellent schools. For example, the River Rouge Ford Assembly plant, which is about as “Detroit” as Detroit gets, is not in Detroit. It’s in Dearborn. Which is only 7 miles from the geographic center of Detroit.
Originally Posted by Susanann
As you say, all Detroit has to do is:
Yeah, its really easy to completely change Detroit into a nice safe wealthy city overnight if anybody wanted to. IF Windsor can do it on the south side of the Detroit River, then there is no reason why it is just as easy for Detroit to do it on the other side of that little river.
here’s a tidbit- the City of Detroit has a single-digit number of actual grocery stores in it. the suburb (of Detroit) I live in has under 1/10th the population of Detroit but has almost as many grocery stores.
and that’s just one of the problems Detroit has. Yes, there are new/revitalized neighborhoods in the city which are, if not nice, at least not bad. but where the hell do you have to shop? I’m not going to go food shopping at a gas station.
when I was little we lived in a flat on Manistique near Chandler Park Drive. Last time I was in the area, the flat was like the only house still standing for several lots on either side of it.
If Detroit’s going to “come back,” there needs to be stuff in the city that makes people want to live there. the only peopleni I know of who “want” to live there are over-privileged suburban 19/20-year-olds who think they’re “making a difference” by renting an overpriced apartment in a gated neighborhood.
If you google “ruins of Detroit” you will be taken to a site showing dozens of huge, abandoned factories, hotels, theaters, mansions, the railway station. They are, taken as a whole, truly shocking images. I see a lot of the same thing, though on a lesser scale, in my own city. It’s like a glimpse of the end of the world.
Fascinating photos. Blatantly racist website. :dubious:
The most popular photos of the “ruins of Detroit” are quite selectively framed, and the go-to for incredibly lazy journalism.
http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n8/htdocs/something-something-something-detroit-994.php?page=1
One of the most depressing things when they were going to tear down the old Train station.
It’s such a beautiful unique old thing, I can’t believe nobody can find a use for it and restore it.
I havn’t heard much about tearing it down lately, but all the time that passes it deteriorates more, and soon(if not already) will be unsavable.
“Nobody” can find a use for it – by nobody, you mean transportation conglomerate CenTra, who owns it?
“They” could redevelop it if they chose. “They” are not exactly lacking the funds. “They” choose not to.
Anyway, it was never that useful as a rail station. It failed to sell in 1956 for one third of what it cost to build in 1913. In other words, it was an abject commercial failure long before blight took hold in Detroit.
This could have something to do with it:
This seems more than a little relevent - Census data shows Detroit population down 25% in last 10 years.
I know things in Detroit have been bad for a looooooooong time. I have several friends who have told me stories about how and when their family fled the city to the suburbs back in the 70’s and 80’s, but ***Judas H. Priest ***- losing a quarter of the already dwindling population from 2000 to 2010?
Sheesh.
I know Gary and East St. Louis have experienced population losses but this is mind boggling.
Youngstown, Ohio, once an industrial powerhouse, has taken some economic and social bodyblows since the late 1970s, but done surprisingly well in the past decade: http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=58970.
I think the real question we’ve all been thinking about is…
Is the Chrysler 200 actually imported from Detroit? 