Death of Detroit. (Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, Redford: mover, how much, limousine)

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by KingDoughnut

Thank You for telling the Truth!!!! They get mad when I say that they lie about Detroit being cool and a great place.

Quite an example of tunnel vision and narrow opinion. Since in your limited field of view all you prefer to see is blight, what does that say about your "fair and balanced" objectivity?
Here's an idea, tell us about your town so we can compare all aspects, pro and con, of each - for example, their relative historical importance, cultural offerings, etc. This is your chance to affirm the overall "superiority" of your beloved town (though I'm glad you are living in contentment there - to each his own).

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Maybe because many people actually enjoy living in Detroit and think it's great. Not everyone rides up and down the blighted neighborhoods all week.

Given how the blight in Detroit is distributed, everyone probably does ride up and down blighted areas all week.

But it probably no longer phases them and they just ignore it now, given that most Detroiters have become predictively programmed to it (like with the poor city services, lack of retail and high rates of crime).

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

Given how the blight in Detroit is distributed, everyone probably does ride up and down blighted areas all week.

But it probably no longer phases them and they just ignore it now, given that most Detroiters have become predictively programmed to it (like with the poor city services, lack of retail and high rates of crime).

I would suppose so if people are supposed to be shocked every time they see a vacant building. Many people still have other things to worry about.

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

I would suppose so if people are supposed to be shocked every time they see a vacant building. Many people still have other things to worry about.

The amount and distribution of blight in Detroit is unprecedented for a major American city, so understandably folks who aren't from Detroit (or folks who haven't lived here for a while and remember a more vibrant/populated Detroit) would be shocked by it.

Of course, for Detroiters, it's just considered a normal part of life (something that shouldn't be normal, but is).

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

I would suppose so if people are supposed to be shocked every time they see a vacant building. Many people still have other things to worry about.

I am as dismayed as anybody at the spectacle of blight, even in my old haunts, however I know that this is only a part of what Detroit is about. When someone like myself dares say such a thing, we suddenly become a Detroit "cheerleader" and "pollyanna" to those angry types who are validated by the city's demise.
I always felt that the bashers who hope and pray that the slide would continue linearly, resulting in the "inevitable" doom (they even say as much in their posts) will lose - and it is happening.
Progressive-minded positive types are recognizing the infrastructure as an asset already in place which can be newly exploited and built upon. They will succeed.

[animatedmartian]

It's one thing to constantly complain about blight, especially when so much of a majority of people don't actually have to deal with it, but it's not like people are unaware of it. The powers that be are taking to steps to relieve the problems and I feel I have personally seen progress at eliminating blight which I have always stated in my first post of this thread. It use to be worse, and now it's getting better, in my experience.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

It's one thing to constantly complain about blight, especially when so much of a majority of people don't actually have to deal with it, but it's not like people are unaware of it. The powers that be are taking to steps to relieve the problems and I feel I have personally seen progress at eliminating blight which I have always stated in my first post of this thread. It use to be worse, and now it's getting better, in my experience.

While it would be nice if you were correct the numbers show a worsening situation. While the powers that be are aware of the situation they are also mostly pledged to do nothing about it.

You cannot fix a huge Black and poor ghetto by erecting a small upper middle class enclave.

I would still believe the only workable solution is to combine the metro area in to a single government.

Virtually impossible however. At least until things get much worse. Maybe when Detroit gangs began praying on the freeways?

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by lvoc

While it would be nice if you were correct the numbers show a worsening situation. While the powers that be are aware of the situation they are also mostly pledged to do nothing about it.

You cannot fix a huge Black and poor ghetto by erecting a small upper middle class enclave.

I would still believe the only workable solution is to combine the metro area in to a single government.

Virtually impossible however. At least until things get much worse. Maybe when Detroit gangs began praying on the freeways?

In my neighborhood on the west side of Detroit, there were several vacant buildings between the Lodge and Livernois. These buildings were vacant for probably almost a decade. This past summer all of those buildings were demolished.

In my grandparents old neighborhood in University, several homes were foreclosed on and some boarded up a few years after the recession. This past summer, the homes are no longer boarded up and some even look to be restored better than they looked pre-recession.

7 Mile and Livernois, I've seen a bunch of new small businesses open. Farther down the street I've seen numerous blighted structures that have been demolished. It's not all demolished, but it's better than it looked in 2008.

Numbers obviously aren't showing you the full story.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

In my neighborhood on the west side of Detroit, there were several vacant buildings between the Lodge and Livernois. These buildings were vacant for probably almost a decade. This past summer all of those buildings were demolished.

In my grandparents old neighborhood in University, several homes were foreclosed on and some boarded up a few years after the recession. This past summer, the homes are no longer boarded up and some even look to be restored better than they looked pre-recession.

7 Mile and Livernois, I've seen a bunch of new small businesses open. Farther down the street I've seen numerous blighted structures that have been demolished. It's not all demolished, but it's better than it looked in 2008.

Numbers obviously aren't showing you the full story.

Although I have no clue what "numbers" he's talking about, but if anything it shows the amount of vacant land period and not the amount of vacant structures.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by MS313

Although I have no clue what "numbers" he's talking about, but if anything it shows the amount of vacant land period and not the amount of vacant structures.

I think he's been purely referring to population numbers if I remember reading correctly in his other posts. Just based on structure demographic changes alone means the city will have less people, but not worse conditions.

In fact, during the formation of Detroit's bankruptcy plan, city planners expect that even with improved services, lower crime, and eliminated blight doesn't guarantee population growth for Detroit. So at this point, population numbers are almost a non-factor in the condition of the city.