I saw Detroit pics! (Grosse Pointe, St. Louis: environment, credit, highrise)

[elfyum]

On some thread on this forum was a link to a forum called removed which has alot of topics & pictures. (although you have to click a link for EACH picture which is quite annoying & time consuming...)
Well there were a bunch of pictures of downtown & it looks like Manhattan!!!
Why do people seem so "freaked" by Detroit?! I mean, if they were freaked by Manhattan as well, I wouldn't be so confused!
Looks like home! No wonder I have such an afinity for the place!
Has no one else noticed the similarities?!

[mariatherese]

hey elfyum!

i have never been to NYC!

but detroit isnt as bad as people make it out to be, IMO. what is different about detroit than other cities is that there isnt a lot there anymore. there arent tons of businesses and people walking around. it might not look that bad, but a lot of it is abandoned. whereas NYC is really urban, too but there is so much there.

but, thats all changing. i reallly think detroit is headed up (hopefully). it is a great place to be when everyone gets together- and with the superbowl, and the tigers in the world series, everyone has been pulling together and downtown has seen a lot of activity! its been awesome!

[paintballer1708]

I wanted to comment on this. Detroit really is starting to make a comeback, but it still has a really long way to go. I am an urban planner, and just last week we made the trip up to Detroit to work on the casino getting built up there. The Cincinnati and Indianapolis urban planners went up to see what we can do about the urban decay facing the city. There is still a lot of abandonment in the downtown itself. But if you travel just a few miles SW of downtown you see complete neighborhoods abandoned. I had never seen this extent of Detroit before. I give the urban planners up there credit, they have a lot of work on there hands.

The downtown is taking some of these abandoned highrises and turning them into housing. Its really nice to see this. You are seeing downtowns do this all across the nation. To say that Detroit is out of the woods is not right yet, but in 20 years Detroit will have made a huge comeback.

Comebacks like Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.

[mariatherese]

Yes, I agree paintballer! Detroit still has a long way to go- I've made that same point in other posts. It's just a Detroiter's way to talk about our area in a positive light!

[RedWingsFan]

Detroit is a dump. Plain and simple. Maybe the downtown area is making a "comeback" because of all the investments being made in stadiums and such. But take a look around beyond that and it's a dump. Every third or fourth house has been burned down, others look like they should be. One big reason that people are so afriad of Detroit is because of the demographics. The city is 80 percent black, has huge crime rate, horrible schools, etc.

[c1schnei]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

Detroit is a dump. Plain and simple. Maybe the downtown area is making a "comeback" because of all the investments being made in stadiums and such. But take a look around beyond that and it's a dump. Every third or fourth house has been burned down, others look like they should be. One big reason that people are so afriad of Detroit is because of the demographics. The city is 80 percent black, has huge crime rate, horrible schools, etc.

Wingsfan,

If you ever want a tour of Detroit to see it in it's entirety, send me a message. I will show you things that are amazing, breathtaking and beautiful.
This city has so much to see, and it is a shame that there aren't more people on this board standing up for the city. It is not paradise, but Detroit is a really cool place, and i hope that you spend some time exploring the city, beyond Driving to Joe Louis Arena and home.

[c1schnei]

Detroit's Indian Village

[mhogan10010]

Originally Posted by paintballer1708

I wanted to comment on this. Detroit really is starting to make a comeback, but it still has a really long way to go. I am an urban planner, and just last week we made the trip up to Detroit to work on the casino getting built up there. The Cincinnati and Indianapolis urban planners went up to see what we can do about the urban decay facing the city. There is still a lot of abandonment in the downtown itself. But if you travel just a few miles SW of downtown you see complete neighborhoods abandoned. I had never seen this extent of Detroit before. I give the urban planners up there credit, they have a lot of work on there hands.

The downtown is taking some of these abandoned highrises and turning them into housing. Its really nice to see this. You are seeing downtowns do this all across the nation. To say that Detroit is out of the woods is not right yet, but in 20 years Detroit will have made a huge comeback.

Comebacks like Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.

I grew up in Western Suburbs of Detroit. Just finished my Urban Affairs Graduate degree at Hunter college in NYC. I appreciate your take on things. I was back in Detroit for the first time in 5 years this summer. It actualy looked a little better, but is still very sad. We toured some of those neighborhoods up MI avenue beyond old Tiger Stadium. One nice house, three empty houses and two empty lots (where something was obviously bulldozed), and then another nice little house. That for block after block.
When people say Detroit is making a comeback, I think they must realize a couple of things.
1. It will never be what it was. It will probably never be the 5th largest city in America again. It may vastly improve, but will never be what it once was (then again neither will Buffalo or Cleveland). So, success has to be measured in relatives.
2. What happens in the Auto Industry will largely determine what takes place.
3. The State of Michigan, must embrace Detroit. If it continues along the we/them that has so characterized the cities relationship with the state, I don't see much relief in sight. Of course, I have even heard folks in the suburbs say, "Detroit, let it die, I only go there for ball games anyway."

[Rohan]

Detroit will NEVER make a comeback unless the people there now, leave, and the people not there, come back.

That ain't going to happen, because where are the people there now going to go? Liberia? I don't think so.. So Detroit will always be trash city.

[Blue Grass Fever]

Detroit has its nice parts of town only to step out of a nice particular environment to a stark contrast! (including Indian Village!)

I'd have to say the epitome of Detroit (if it can be summed up) is Alter Road. It is the dividing line between Detroit and the Grosse Pointe area! One side looks like Beruit and the other side looks like Affluent America-Anywhere, U.S.

Let's not forget Delray either! Most Detroiters refer to Delray as a seperate entity!

In summary, living in a rather nice part of Detroit only to step into the real Detroit is/can be quite depressing. (especially along Woodward)