# Photos reveal tiny urban island of downtown Detroit **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459 "2014-12-17T01:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/41 "2014-12-18T16:17:01Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Wrong definition of of “[above](http://www.burohappold.com/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_High_Line_Park_end_section_cd6a284f41.jpg)”. 🙂 Its just an old railway viaduct, not a skyway; its below 99% of structures in the area. 😛 I was just teasing a little because you made the High Line seem like some kind of AMAZING OASIS OF GREENERY. It’s not. NYC actually has some very large greenspaces, and they are a) fairly well known, b) more impressive than some grass planted on a train trestle. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/42 "2014-12-18T16:54:36Z")
The reclamation of a train trestle which would otherwise have been torn down seemed appropriate for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/43 "2014-12-18T17:40:11Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I’ve been watching that move along, but it is a troubling ethical area, which will keep it moving slow. It’s one of those complicated situations that nobody likes any alternative. My liberteriany side is disgusted by the notion of “Congratulations on maintaining a nice house and contributing to the betterment of an area while crime, arson and complete dystopia crashed in from all sides, now get the fuck out” But the practical side, that can do math, can’t help but see the economics can’t possibly work the other way. I don’t really like emminent domain either, but this is a situation where it seems to be the best option. The alternative would be to jack up utility rates to represent the real cost of running electicity, water, etc, to the outlier houses. But that brings its own ethical problems, namely that it comes across as an underhanded attempt to sqeeze out the residents, and it would ultimately leave them worse off than before, because their houses would be totally unsellable, while emminent domain at least involves being bought out. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/44 "2014-12-19T00:48:35Z")
It does look like they’re doing some good things with the hand they’ve been dealt. It must feel like trying to empty the ocean with a teacup, though. The scale of the problem is pretty amazing. I love the urban gardens. Are they doing any orchards or forestation projects? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/45 "2014-12-19T07:17:26Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Its just an old railway viaduct, not a skyway; its below 99% of structures in the area. 😛 I was just teasing a little because you made the High Line seem like some kind of AMAZING OASIS OF GREENERY. It’s not. NYC actually has some very large greenspaces, and they are a) fairly well known, b) more impressive than some grass planted on a train trestle. To get an idea of what was really happening up there on what has become The High Line, [scroll down a few photos on this page to see what it looked like prior to any development at all.](http://designapplause.com/2011/the-highline-new-york-city-an-aerial-greenway/20758/) Nature had taken foot. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/46 "2014-12-19T09:54:38Z")
What’s with all the big buildings still remaining in the very centre? Do people still work there? If not, are they all going to get torn down at some point too? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/47 "2014-12-19T15:44:57Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > What’s with all the big buildings still remaining in the very centre? Do people still work there? If not, are they all going to get torn down at some point too? Yes, lots of people still work there. Most of the commercial buildings are well occupied. The city center is actually growing. In fact, [residential units within the business district are being rented as fast as they can be built/renovated and rents are through the roof](http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2014/12/07/rents-keep-going-downtown-detroit/20019111/). People are thrilled with the option of walking to work and living in an artistically thriving and entrepreneurial downtown. Where people DON’T want to live is in the innermost suburbs were services are far away or don’t exist, and you still have to drive to work. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/48 "2014-12-19T15:51:02Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > [Here’s my photo](https://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/5166862304/) of Detroit taken 4 years ago from south of the border in Windsor. You can just see the high-rise in downtown Detroit, and not the urban blight of the inner suburbs. > > And [here’s a photo](https://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/5160787895/) taken the same day in downtown Detroit, with the Wayne County Building “for sale or lease by owner”! Nice shots! Here are a [few](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mccawleyphotography/15235207603/)of [mine](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mccawleyphotography/14787184287)from this [summer](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mccawleyphotography/15620731719/). Oh, and one where I [really went nuts with the colors.](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mccawleyphotography/14793697630) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/49 "2014-12-19T16:03:28Z")
People this the midwest, we don’t need irrigation to grow things. Farmers just 50 miles away from the city do just fine on depending on rain. It really depends on what you intend to grow. The problem is the land itself. The big three automakers AND all of their supply base dumped toxic waste just about everywhere over the last 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/50 "2014-12-19T16:11:48Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Yes, lots of people still work there. Most of the commercial buildings are well occupied. The city center is actually growing. In fact, [residential units within the business district are being rented as fast as they can be built/renovated and rents are through the roof](http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2014/12/07/rents-keep-going-downtown-detroit/20019111/). > > People are thrilled with the option of walking to work and living in an artistically thriving and entrepreneurial downtown. Where people DON’T want to live is in the innermost suburbs were services are far away or don’t exist, and you still have to drive to work. The inner-ring suburbs (Dearborn, Southfield, the south end of Warren) are basically the “new Detroit,” because these are the places all those people who moved out of Detroit relocated to. Further north, Pontiac is pretty bad as well. It’s more-or-less the Mini-Me version of Detroit, with similar blight and similar incompetant morons in charge. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/51 "2014-12-19T16:57:49Z")
And the problem with those neighborhoods with only one house on each block is bunker mentality. The people who are there survived hell. They saw there neighbors get killed, houses burned down and lost family members to crime and punushment. They are shell shocked survivors who don’t want to be relocated to an area where they most likely would have to take up the fight again; an unknown area where they would have no local support so they hunker down. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/52 "2014-12-19T17:25:37Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The inner-ring suburbs (Dearborn, Southfield, the south end of Warren) are basically the “new Detroit,” because these are the places all those people who moved out of Detroit relocated to. Further north, Pontiac is pretty bad as well. It’s more-or-less the Mini-Me version of Detroit, with similar blight and similar incompetant morons in charge. You mistook me. I wasn’t talking about “inner ring suburbs” which as you say are separately incorporated cities with their own issues, but rather the portion of Detroit proper which is not _walking distance_ from downtown employers. The “primordial suburb” if you will. The chained-to-your-car-to-go-anywhere-or-get-anything-yet-crime-and-taxes-of-a-city area. That’s the part that’s becoming particularly depopulated, while the downtown walk-to-Eastern-market-walk-to-work-feel-like-a-hipster area is becoming quite desireable. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/53 "2014-12-20T00:47:43Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The inner-ring suburbs (Dearborn, Southfield, the south end of Warren) are basically the “new Detroit,” because these are the places all those people who moved out of Detroit relocated to. Further north, Pontiac is pretty bad as well. It’s more-or-less the Mini-Me version of Detroit, with similar blight and similar incompetant morons in charge. Flint is a giant shithole as well. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/54 "2014-12-20T00:51:46Z")
the last thing I give a shit about is what the Daily Fail thinks of Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/55 "2014-12-20T01:02:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > the last thing I give a shit about is what the Daily Fail thinks of Detroit. That right there is my new favorite everything everywhere. It may be time I added a signature line. ---
**Author:** ![littlespeedysuperbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/56 "2014-12-20T07:31:14Z")
That’s what happens when 2/3 of a city moves 8 miles out. Macomb, Oakland, and Washentaw County are all thriving. None of the big 3 are based in Detroit proper anymore: Ford is in Dearborn, GM in Warren, Chrysler in Auburn Hills. As for water, it’s Michigan. That’s the one thing we are never short on. Detroit has more rainy days each year than Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459/57 "2014-12-22T03:28:24Z")
> [@littlespeedysuperbike](#): > > That’s what happens when 2/3 of a city moves 8 miles out. Macomb, Oakland, and Washentaw County are all thriving. None of the big 3 are based in Detroit proper anymore: Ford is in Dearborn, GM in Warren, Chrysler in Auburn Hills. > > As for water, it’s Michigan. That’s the one thing we are never short on. Detroit has more rainy days each year than Seattle. Technically, GM is headquartered in the RenCen in downtown Detroit, but most of the real action is at their Tech Center in Warren. And [del]Chrysler[/del] [del]Fiat Chrysler Automobiles[/del] FCA is headquartered in the Netherlands, but the tax domicile is in England, but the real decisions are made in Italy… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-reveal-tiny-urban-island-of-downtown-detroit/707459.md?page=2)