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Good day to all. I've been interested in visiting Detroit for a while. A little background on me. I'm from the D.C. area (Prince George's County, MD). I'll have to admit. I'm one of those that wants to jump in and be apart of the revitalization of Detroit.
To get to the question, Even though Detroit has lost a lot of it's population, Why are people acting like it's a catastrophic loss. To go from a million plus to 713,000 is a lot. However the 700K+ in the city limits is still a lot of people. DC isn't as populated as Detroit is. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the metro population still around 4-5 million. If you ask me that is still a lot of people. So is the population loss blown out of proportion or is it really that bad in the city of Detroit period.
Also while I know a lot of people would not advise living in the city, is there anywhere in the city that is nice and family friendly. Also how are the people of Detroit? I know I have presented a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.
While the populations may be similar, in terms of square miles, Detroit is much larger.
Thus you have much less density in the city - so you can drive for blocks and see nothing but abandonded homes etc.
DC has the cap on no buildings being higher than the Washington monument - so it creates an artificial cap on the supply of homes, while demand is high, hence the high rents in DC and the higher density.
However, there are many buildings/homes in Detroit that would rival those in DC. You don't have the pockets next to each subway stop (e.g. Dupont Circle, Friendship Heights, Metro Center, Chinatown) in Detroit like you do in DC. Come and visit. You may get hooked!
Hmmm.... very interesting. Thanks for the response. How would you describe the people of Detroit. They say that D.C. folks aren't really friendly. While I can understand we aren't the friendliest bunch, I don't think it's that hard to find friends around here. Of course this is speaking as a native so my opinions might be a little biased. What is your take on living in the city and the friendliness of Detroit citizens?
Quote:
Originally Posted by belleislerunner
While the populations may be similar, in terms of square miles, Detroit is much larger.
Thus you have much less density in the city - so you can drive for blocks and see nothing but abandonded homes etc.
DC has the cap on no buildings being higher than the Washington monument - so it creates an artificial cap on the supply of homes, while demand is high, hence the high rents in DC and the higher density.
However, there are many buildings/homes in Detroit that would rival those in DC. You don't have the pockets next to each subway stop (e.g. Dupont Circle, Friendship Heights, Metro Center, Chinatown) in Detroit like you do in DC. Come and visit. You may get hooked!
To get to the question, Even though Detroit has lost a lot of it's population, Why are people acting like it's a catastrophic loss. To go from a million plus to 713,000 is a lot. However the 700K+ in the city limits is still a lot of people. DC isn't as populated as Detroit is. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the metro population still around 4-5 million. If you ask me that is still a lot of people. So is the population loss blown out of proportion or is it really that bad in the city of Detroit period.
For decades, the majority of the population has lived in the suburbs. The Metropolitan Statistical Area population is about 4.3 million, but that doesn't include the 300,000+ that live on the other side of the Detroit river. So, yeah, the city of Detroit has lost population, but the suburbs have grown tremendously.
Good day to all. I've been interested in visiting Detroit for a while. A little background on me. I'm from the D.C. area (Prince George's County, MD). I'll have to admit. I'm one of those that wants to jump in and be apart of the revitalization of Detroit.
To get to the question, Even though Detroit has lost a lot of it's population, Why are people acting like it's a catastrophic loss. To go from a million plus to 713,000 is a lot. However the 700K+ in the city limits is still a lot of people. DC isn't as populated as Detroit is. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the metro population still around 4-5 million. If you ask me that is still a lot of people. So is the population loss blown out of proportion or is it really that bad in the city of Detroit period.
Also while I know a lot of people would not advise living in the city, is there anywhere in the city that is nice and family friendly. Also how are the people of Detroit? I know I have presented a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.
The City population has declined from over 2,000,000 to 700,000 and is expected to drop to about 500,000. The wealthy have fled the city boundries as have most of the middle class both white and african american. The City itself is left with a small middle class and a vast low income population Since there are only poor people left in the city, to pay city services the city has property taxes 3 times higher than in the suburbs. It has an income tax 60 percent higher than the suburbs. Being the auto capital of the world, we have a city road system designed for 2,000,000 people that allows easy access from the suburbs to the city. A well off person can move 8 miles from downtown and save literally millions in taxes over their lifetime and still be 10-20 minutes from all the benefits of a big city. You're right about MetroDetroit not being bad, but we've created a legal/tax system which makes the city proper a reservation for the poor.
Also while I know a lot of people would not advise living in the city, is there anywhere in the city that is nice and family friendly. Also how are the people of Detroit? I know I have presented a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated
Nice? There are areas of Detroit where you can buy well maintained homes that would cost $500,000-$1,000,000 in Top neighborhoods of Washington that can be bought for $30,000-$100,000. Crime is an serious issue, but people obscess over the relative rather than absolute risk. City services are awful and nice areas often abut some very bad ones.
Family Friendly? As in send your kids to the schools? NO, NO, NO! Not to overstate my horror, but putting your kids in DPS when you could send them elsewhere should be considered a Prima facie case for child abuse.
People? Detroit is a friendly area and much more laid back than you will find on the east coast.
Location: 30% Brighton--60% Grand Rapids 10% on the road
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoomRShine
If that is the case, I wonder what some of the following cities must look like.
Detroit 5,143 people per square mile
Sacramento 4,764
Fresno 4,417
Portland 4,347
Las Vegas 4,299
San Diego 4,020
Denver 3,979
Columbus 3,623
Dallas 3,518
Houston 3,311
Omaha 3,217
Mesa 3,216
Atlanta 3,153
San Antonio 2,880
Raleigh 2,826
Phoenix 2,798
Austin 2,653
El Paso 2,544
Charlotte 2,457
Tucson 2,294
Indianapolis 2,270]
Colorado Springs 2,141
Memphis 2,053
Louisville 1,836
Virginia Beach 1,759
Kansas City 1,460
Nashville 1,266
Jacksonville 1,100
Oklahoma City 957
I can say that Atlanta, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Portland, Columbus, and Denver do not resemble the ghost town Detroit looks like.
I am not sure of the cities square miles, but the last time I passed through them they had significantly more people, traffic and occupied housing than Detroit has.
Not to mention much better infrastructure.
Good day to all. I've been interested in visiting Detroit for a while. I'm from the D.C. area (Prince George's County, MD).
To get to the question, Even though Detroit has lost a lot of it's population, Why are people acting like it's a catastrophic loss? To go from a million plus to 713,000 is a lot. However the 700K+ in the city limits is still a lot of people. DC isn't as populated as Detroit. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the metro population still around 4-5 million? that is still a lot of people. So is the population loss blown out of proportion or is it really that bad in the city of Detroit period.
Also while I know a lot of people would not advise living in the city, is there anywhere in the city that is nice and family friendly. Also how are the people of Detroit? I know I have presented a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.
My parents live in MI (East Lansing) so I would like to contribute my ten cents. You have to understand.....its not just about population loss or even major population loss. Its about the livlihood of the core city that is almost completely gone. In its heyday in the 50s, Detroit was the nations 5th largest city with 1.7 million in the city limits alone. Ove one-million have left. Over one-million! Thats more population alone than total population most American cities. The metro area has not shrank, but not nearly as much as the core city. The current population of the Detroit MSA is like 4.2 million from like 4.5 million a decade ago. And I believe Detroit is also the only MSA to lose pop over the past 10 years, not to mention Michigan being th eONLY sdtate to see a population decline. But Detroit still has a lot of nice suburbs. In fact, Detroit has more 'millionare' suburbs than almost all MSAs of similar size.
This bigger issue is the 'death' of the city itself. Almost 90% of the city's neighborhoods are in awful decay and not the place to raise a family at all. More and more of the city is becoming vacant, as if it was never developed in the first place.
People in Detroit have given up on their city and dont care, nor does Detroit have any civic pride anymore. The poeple have developed an attitude of entltlement and expect their city government to give them everything from the womb to the tomb. This makes Detroit the epitome of socialism that produces a society of hoplessness and despair. And then there is also the issue of corruption in the city government itself I dont have room to talk about.
And then theres the city budget. There is no $$ left anymore to operate BASIC city services. People have to leave the city limits just to go to the grocery store. Schools are closing. Police and fire being laid off. Etc. In fact, the city cant even afford to tear down the estimated 45,000 abandoned structures.
This will sound politically incorrect, but Detroits problems are the end result of a minority-majority population that has a culture of violence (sad but true) and demands everything from the government. Its a city where people literally REFUSE to take individual responsibility for anything. Detroit epitomizes the Me Generation, and it will get much worse around out country if we dont turn around.
BTW, I lived in Washington DC in 2005 and loved it. I can picture myself moving back to DC easily.
Good day to all. I've been interested in visiting Detroit for a while. I'm from the D.C. area (Prince George's County, MD).
To get to the question, Even though Detroit has lost a lot of it's population, Why are people acting like it's a catastrophic loss. To go from a million plus to 713,000 is a lot. However the 700K+ in the city limits is still a lot of people. DC isn't as populated as Detroit is. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the metro population still around 4-5 million. If you ask me that is still a lot of people. So is the population loss blown out of proportion or is it really that bad in the city of Detroit period.
Also while I know a lot of people would not advise living in the city, is there anywhere in the city that is nice and family friendly. Also how are the people of Detroit? I know I have presented a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.
My parents live in MI (East Lansing) so I would like to contribute my ten cents. You have to understand.....its not just about population loss or even major population loss. Its about the livlihood of the core city that is almost completely gone. In its heyday in the 50s, Detroit was the nations 5th largest city with 1.7 million in the city limits alone. Over one-million have left. Over one-million! Thats more population alone than total population of most American cities. The metro area has shrank somewhat, but not nearly as much as the core city. The current population of the Detroit MSA is like 4.2 million today from like 4.5 million a decade ago. And I believe Detroit is also the only MSA to lose pop over the past 10 years, not to mention Michigan being the ONLY state to see a population decline. But Detroit still has a lot of nice suburbs. In fact, Detroit still has more 'millionare' suburbs than almost all MSAs of similar size.
This bigger issue is the 'death' of the city itself. Almost 90% of the city's neighborhoods are in awful decay and not the place to raise a family at all. More and more of the city is becoming vacant, as if it was never developed in the first place.
People in Detroit have given up on their city and dont care, nor does Detroit have any civic pride anymore. The people have developed an attitude of entltlement and expect their city government to give them everything from the womb to the tomb. This makes Detroit the epitome of socialism that produces a society of hoplessness and despair. And then there is also the issue of corruption in the city government itself I dont have room to talk about.
And then theres the city budget. There is no $$ left anymore to operate BASIC city services. People have to leave the city limits just to go to the grocery store anymore. Schools are closing. Police and fire being laid off. Etc. In fact, the city cant even afford to tear down the estimated 45,000 abandoned structures.
This will sound politically incorrect, but Detroits problems are the end result of a minority-majority population that has a culture of violence (sad but true) and demands everything from the government. Its a city where people literally REFUSE to take [individual[ responsibility for anything. Detroit epitomizes the Me Generation, and it will get much worse around out country if we dont turn around.
BTW, I lived in Washington DC in 2005 and loved it. I can picture myself moving back to DC easily.
If that is the case, I wonder what some of the following cities must look like.
Detroit 5,143 people per square mile
Sacramento 4,764
Fresno 4,417
Portland 4,347
Las Vegas 4,299
San Diego 4,020
Denver 3,979
Columbus 3,623
Dallas 3,518
Houston 3,311
Omaha 3,217
Mesa 3,216
Atlanta 3,153
San Antonio 2,880
Raleigh 2,826
Phoenix 2,798
Austin 2,653
El Paso 2,544
Charlotte 2,457
Tucson 2,294
Indianapolis 2,270]
Colorado Springs 2,141
Memphis 2,053
Louisville 1,836
Virginia Beach 1,759
Kansas City 1,460
Nashville 1,266
Jacksonville 1,100
Oklahoma City 957
The answer is a lot different than a simple population/total miles calculation would imply. For example, the Airport in Dallas covers 30 square miles or 1/5 the total area of Detroit. The issue is often local geography or political definition. Many of the cities political boundries include most of their geographic and population. Some extend well beyond the edges of their central core population. Others contain only a portion of the land or population, City of London is ONE SQUARE mile and has a population of 11,000. To misconstue this as relating to "greater London" can cause ridiculous misunderstandings. (If we legislated the "Great Lakes and Detroit River to be included in the city of Detroit, I could massively change the "statistical population density, but not change the actual population distribution. When talking about public transportation, pop density is a good short hand descriptor, but we are talking about a density/distribution metric which is hard to visualize and easily misinterpreted.
For example does Alaska have high or low density population?
A) High: because virtually the entire population is urban
B) Low: because there are very few people over a vast terrain.
Detroit was historically known as "city of homes" Our ratio of private homes to multifamily dwellings is much higher than most similar sized cities.
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