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Detroit is not that "urban" now. Seattle is much more intact, dense, even the original housing styles of both cities Seattle looks denser. Then you have to add the fact that so much of Detroit city and some of the surrounding suburbs are vacant lots/urban prairies. There are entire neighborhoods in Detroit that are completely leveled, look at the area between Van Dyke and Mt Elliot, and the area just west of the city airport. Then there are other entire neighborhoods that have many houses standing but their abandoned and in ruins. The majority of the new housing going up in Detroit city is suburban-style which is all too common now, not that "urban" in nature.
I've been traveling for work during the last two years and have recently looked at making Detroit my home again. Born and raised in suburbs of Detroit for the first 34 years of my life. Most family and friends live in and around the Detroit area. I visit often and I know the area well. But I'm still not convinced at settling in greater Detroit (or Michigan for that matter).
My reasons:
1. The city itself is ready to implode. The streets are vacant, the infrastructure is in shambles, homes look war-torn, and there is no money coming into the city.
2. Poor track record of scandelous officials. The last one (kilpatrick) is now doing 2 years behind bars.
3. The public schools are near the bottom in the entire country. no students, NO MONEY.
4. Direct impact of this "great recession" on the detroit marketplace. From foreclosures to job losses, the metro Detroit area was hit hard. Back in the day, everyone lived and breathed cars. Now, shuttered dealerships, plants, and scaled-back inventories seem to be the norm. Weird...
5. UAW. Enough said!
6. Mass exodus of residents over the last 5 years. I left 2 and half years ago and still can't believe how many people have moved on to green pastures.
7. Crime. Detroit is and will be a contender for the top spot each and every year.
These are just some of the reasons that come to mind. My wife (who's expecting) and I are still searching for our future city that we'll call home. Detroit was on the top of the list, but suffice it to say, is on the back page now.
Family and friends would be the only real reason to settle back near my roots. A close second would be housing prices. At this point, those are the only two reasons I can think of.
As urban as either of these cities are, do either of them have decent public transportation? Just curious, it seems like Seattle has a nice Light Rail System.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clean_polo
As urban as either of these cities are, do either of them have decent public transportation? Just curious, it seems like Seattle has a nice Light Rail System.
Detroit has the better airport based off services. However it's public transportation is behind Seattle's. It's a car centric city, no pun intended.
I know detroit has two primary systems of transportation. The bus (Smart Bus to be exact), and the People mover. The People Mover is a downtown very light rail system that circles major interest points of downtown. Bigger than Seattle's Monorail but of similiar principle. Detroit's bus transit is there (I mean operationable) but funds are limiting, the fleet is old, and convenience was never an option with suburban connections. Plus, I'd think twice of sending my wife alone on an innercity ride from 8 mile Rd to Outer drive.
But Seattle just finished that system like a year ago with one single line (excluding the trolley like Tacoma link of course), behind cities like Houston, Phoenix, Charlotte and Salt Lake City, and far behind the likes of Dallas and Denver. It is not like Seattle is traditionally a public transportation, especially rail transportation oriented city, but it does have arguably bigger plans than some of the cities mentioned, and there is no way that Detroit can catch up with the current financial situation up there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by clean_polo
As urban as either of these cities are, do either of them have decent public transportation? Just curious, it seems like Seattle has a nice Light Rail System.
But Seattle just finished that system like a year ago with one single line (excluding the trolley like Tacoma link of course), behind cities like Houston, Phoenix, Charlotte and Salt Lake City, and far behind the likes of Dallas and Denver. It is not like Seattle is traditionally a public transportation, especially rail transportation oriented city, but it does have arguably bigger plans than some of the cities mentioned, and there is no way that Detroit can catch up with the current financial situation up there.
Seattle is a city of relatively dense neighborhood nodes sprawled across a fairly large area with numerous dead zones in-between.
In other words, it is a city that is ripe and desparate for a good public transit system, which it doesn not have.
Yes, it has one of the better bus systems in the country, but bus can only do so much.
Its light rail system is one of the nicest in the country in terms of ROW with several tunnels and sections that elevate above traffic. Really, it feels viscerally more like lower-capacity BART than a light rail system a la Portland or Salt Lake City...
BUT Seattle light rail doesnt really go anywhere yet besides the airport. Central Link goes through low density neighborhoods in the city's generally forgotten southeastern section. Once you leave the Pioneer Square/Stadium/ID stations, there isnt much one would want to stop at except for Columbia City, which is one of the coolest, more walkable and urban parts of the city. Beacon Hill and Othello are interesting, but really, not too much there.
The real vibrant neighborhoods Seattle needs to connect: Capitol Hill, U-District, Queen Anne, Ballard, West Seattle, Fremont, Central District, Phinney/Greenwood, etc. (these neighborhoods make up the life-blood of the city) will only be partially connected once Central Link is expanded to Capitol Hill, U-District, and Roosevelt.
This leaves out the numerous vibrant and vital neighborhoods on the Western side of the city. Even with the ambitious plans Sound Transit has for light rail to Lynnwood via Northgate by 2020-something, completely leaves out neighborhoods like Belltown, Queen Anne, Fremont, Ballard, Phnney/Greenwood, West Seattle, etc. This is why Seattle has poor public transportation and why, even with current plans, it is far away from being a truly connected city.
Its nowhere close to going to most of the neighborhoods where people live. Capitol Hill and U-District is a start, but to be honest, I feel like the Belltown/Queen Anne/Ballard/Fremont/Greenlake/Wallingford/U-District connection is of far more importance. Once these areas are connected via rail transit, Seattle will feel like a real city. Yet, there are currently no plans for that to happen.
Last edited by AcroJimmy2; 06-09-2010 at 05:51 AM..
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