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Location: Detroit's eastside, downtown Detroit in near future!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by citylove101
I wrote in another thread about how defensive people in Detroit are about their town and DetroitLove seems to be exhibit A.
Whether you want to consider Detroit dead, dying, declining, or more politely “past its prime,” it’s clear that Motown is one of the most screwed-up cities in the U.S. and anyone who can’t admit that is living in a state of denial.
And yes, I lived there for two years so I know the place. As my wife said, “Those were the longest two years of our lives.”
What makes the city so bad off and its defenders so seemingly oblivious? I don’t know for sure, but I suspect one reason is that so few Detroiters have ever left Detroit. When I lived there in the mid-1990s I was told that D had one of the lowest rates of in- or out- migration of any big city. That is, people who were born there, stayed there, and nobody came in. (Mind you I’m talking about the city now, not the metro area.).
That explains to me why the city seems so incredibly insular, provincial and small-time. Too many people in Detroit are happy to be there and proud of Detroit! Puh-leese. If they’d ever spent a few months living in a functional city they’d be smart enough to be embarrassed about the place. Hardly anyone knows what a functional big city is supposed to be. Detroiters are happy to sit in that dump of a city with massively dysfunctional schools, a string of corrupt politicians, thousands of abandoned buildings and empty lots, and virtually non-existent public transit. In fact, Motown has virtually nothing a functional city needs to do well. It can’t survive off of a few casinos, a new ballpark, one big downtown company (Compuware) and a few summer street festivals.
For the first month I lived in the city I didn’t have a car and took the bus to work. I was constantly struck by the fact that maybe 90% of the time I was the ONLY person reading a book or newspaper on the bus—something you’d be hard pressed to see in New York or Chicago. And the Detroit Library is magnificent. But most of the times I visited, it was empty. It’s all part of the Detroit insularity. Nobody knows or cares what goes on outside of the city so everybody is defensive about how we “pick” on Detroit
When I was there, Detroit had about 900,000 people. About one-third were poverty level or below. Say another third were effectively too poor to have much discretionary income. That would leave a solid 300,000 with working class means or more. But there was virtually no retail vibrancy, a skimpy arts sector, and I could go across the river to Windsor, Canada and have more fun downtown in a city of 200,000. Detroit couldn’t even support a McDonald’s downtown.
Detroit has changed some since then, I know. I’ve been back. But until it sheds its insularity and decides to take some radical policy steps it may not be dead, but it’ll be on life support for the foreseeable future.
End of rant.
Are you serious??? lmao look I'm not even about to even read your whole post. This thread isn't about boosting Detroit or any other city. Its about showing respect to those who do live in places like Detroit, Cleveland, New Orleans, Youngstown, Camden and many more I've seen people on here bash and bash until they are blue in the face. Why is it when there are a million threads to point out the negatives of cities everything is fine but if somone makes a non negative thread its an issue? I don't have enough energy to build up a lot of negativity for a city I don't live in and don't plan on visiting. You didn't like Detroit.....oh well. But yet your little two years here is not the same as the many people born and raised in Detroit who feel a certain way about the city because we're FROM here.
look, I never said I cared wether someone desired to come here or not
I'm trying to have a discussion here, in case you missed that. The reason why I asked is because I am curious if you can actually SEE why others have the impressions they do about Detroit. If you could acknowledge that there are shortfalls, far beyond what other major cities have, perhaps you would understand why outsiders view the city as "dead".
And it will not improve this image until these problems are mitigated to levels similar to other cities. I understand that violent crime has been on a steady decline in the last 20 years. That's a start, but Detroit seems to have a long way to go.
Or am I completely wrong? Is the outsiders viewpoint completely misguided? Are those issues I mentioned earlier no as serious as they appear? And if this is the case, how so?
I wrote in another thread about how defensive people in Detroit are about their town and DetroitLove seems to be exhibit A.
Whether you want to consider Detroit dead, dying, declining, or more politely “past its prime,” it’s clear that Motown is one of the most screwed-up cities in the U.S. and anyone who can’t admit that is living in a state of denial.
And yes, I lived there for two years so I know the place. As my wife said, “Those were the longest two years of our lives.”
What makes the city so bad off and its defenders so seemingly oblivious? I don’t know for sure, but I suspect one reason is that so few Detroiters have ever left Detroit. When I lived there in the mid-1990s I was told that D had one of the lowest rates of in- or out- migration of any big city. That is, people who were born there, stayed there, and nobody came in. (Mind you I’m talking about the city now, not the metro area.).
That explains to me why the city seems so incredibly insular, provincial and small-time. Too many people in Detroit are happy to be there and proud of Detroit! Puh-leese. If they’d ever spent a few months living in a functional city they’d be smart enough to be embarrassed about the place. Hardly anyone knows what a functional big city is supposed to be. Detroiters are happy to sit in that dump of a city with massively dysfunctional schools, a string of corrupt politicians, thousands of abandoned buildings and empty lots, and virtually non-existent public transit. In fact, Motown has virtually nothing a functional city needs to do well. It can’t survive off of a few casinos, a new ballpark, one big downtown company (Compuware) and a few summer street festivals.
For the first month I lived in the city I didn’t have a car and took the bus to work. I was constantly struck by the fact that maybe 90% of the time I was the ONLY person reading a book or newspaper on the bus—something you’d be hard pressed to see in New York or Chicago. And the Detroit Library is magnificent. But most of the times I visited, it was empty. It’s all part of the Detroit insularity. Nobody knows or cares what goes on outside of the city so everybody is defensive about how we “pick” on Detroit
When I was there, Detroit had about 900,000 people. About one-third were poverty level or below. Say another third were effectively too poor to have much discretionary income. That would leave a solid 300,000 with working class means or more. But there was virtually no retail vibrancy, a skimpy arts sector, and I could go across the river to Windsor, Canada and have more fun downtown in a city of 200,000. Detroit couldn’t even support a McDonald’s downtown.
Detroit has changed some since then, I know. I’ve been back. But until it sheds its insularity and decides to take some radical policy steps it may not be dead, but it’ll be on life support for the foreseeable future.
End of rant.
Please.
I know Detroit isn't the greatest city ever. Its not even close. I'll just come out and say that some areas like Brush Park are a blighted mess. But, that doesn't give you a reason to come in here and paint Detroit with a broad brush, calling all 138 square miles of the city a ghetto thats totally devoid of life, culture, and normal people with an education.
I'm a white former suburbanite who possesses an Master's Degree and lives in Detroit's Marina District with my wife and children. It's located in the Jefferson Corridor, which almost every Detroit-basher on this forum will readily call the city's worst area.
However, I've never had a problem here, with one exception; my youngest son's bicycle was stolen from our driveway during the night. But, name one place where that wouldn't happen.
I enjoy my proximity to downtown, with its museums, fine theater, sporting events, and hundreds of restaurants (Who needs a McDonalds, anyhow?). I enjoy the friendly neighbors and smiling faces. I enjoy being able to walk to work and to the grocery store. I love everything about this city, even with all its problems!
Lol my city is dead...
Its a small city compared to what has been mentioned here already.
It had a +50 000 population when I was born in 1990.
now its around 44 000...
The city is great at a few things:
Averagely seen this city has (almost) the worst statistics on:
Average income
Average education
Average age (65+ is very big)
Fastest increasing crimerates
etc....
LIke I said, Detroit people manage the trick of being extraordinarily defensive w/o having much to be defensive about. Its not the collpase of the car industry or suburbinization or crime that's killing the city. And i know full well, that there are nice place to live there and that it's not all some great big ghetto. But many cities have faced similar issues and made a greater comeback, as opposed to Detroit, which seems to be stuck in the 62nd year of its rebuilding effort.
It's the mentality that regins that is killing Motown. It's the insularity. Its the provincialism. Its sad.
And if the population has fallen with little net in-migration I'm afraid all that proves is that people who are born in Detroit die in Detroit.
I'd love to see a real rebirth there, but I don't think that the folks who live there are up to it yet because they're trapped in false pride about their city and living in denial. I hope that changes soon.
I'd love to see a real rebirth there, but I don't think that the folks who live there are up to it yet because they're trapped in false pride about their city and living in denial. I hope that changes soon.
Detroit IS being revitalized, contrary to popular belief.
I was driving around just the other day, and I saw 3 homes being restored in a neighborhood called Joseph Berry, all within a block of each other.
Big companies like Compuware and Quicken Loans are moving Downtown, which is experiencing a renaissance of sorts, with vacant buildings being restored, like the Book-Cadillac Hotel/Condos.
Formerly abandoned factories and other buildings on the riverfront, north of Downtown, are being turned into upscale lofts and office buildings. A huge swath of land off Chene Street was turned into condominiums.
Corktown is a gentrifying neighborhood, with a growing 'yuppie' presence. They're attracted there because of the ethnic diversity, eclectic businesses, and proximity to downtown.
In the Marina District, where I live, the entire neighborhood makes you feel like you're in the suburbs. They're large, well-maintained homes with big, green front lawns, swimming pools and patios, and minivans and SUV's in the driveways. There's a huge community involvement here, too. Me and my family live in a new home that faces the Detroit River, in the Marina District - and I couldn't be happier with it.
None of the major cities listed...Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo... are anywhere near the word "dead." Ironically enough, all these cities are seeing a renaissance in development occurring pumping hundreds of millions upon hundreds of millions into their city limits.
As a recent hobby, I've tried to keep track of all the developments happening in Cleveland, OH. So far, this is the list I have be able to compile: Dead?? Kill yourself
$$$ is being invested into the city by the Lake...we are talking BILLIONS:
(Please note the $800 million that will be breaking ground in Cleveland in one month)
That explains to me why the city seems so incredibly insular, provincial and small-time. Too many people in Detroit are happy to be there and proud of Detroit! Puh-leese.
Um, unless you're from NYC, SF, LA, or DC, Detroit is hardly "insular, provincial and small-time".
I'm a fierce critic of Detroit, but one can't deny its one of the dozen or so biggest, richest and most powerful U.S. metros.
Just off the top of the list, it's second in the Midwest to Chicago in population, economy, immigration and wealth.
It has a top 10 orchestra, opera and art museum.
It has some of the largest companies on the planet.
It has the fourth richest city in the country (Bloomfield Hills).
It has a musical heritage second to none.
It has arguably the best airport in the U.S.
Yes, Detroit has HUGE problems, but if you think Detroit is "provincial and small time", I can't imagine what you think about an Indy, a Charlotte, or a Kansas City.
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