What can be done to improve Detroit? (Warren, Dearborn: neighborhood, buy)

[Vicman]

The Detroit Blog has an entry that originally appeared in the Metro Times: detroitblog » Blog Archive » Kung fu fighting
I think more self-defense classes like these ones can help - Both karate techniques and street smarts (i.e. if a dude says "i'll kill you if you scream" - scream ANYWAY) will be good for Detroiters and Livonians alike.

[tijlover]

Has anyone considered just changing the name of the city, for a fresh new start?

I worked in a long-term health care facility which had gotten a very bad reputation, over the years, people were avoiding it because of its name. The new owners attached a fancy new name to the place and it's been full eversince. How clever! And the same people work there! And if you asked some of the new residents which care facility they'd least likely want to reside in in the city, they'd name the place they were staying in.

You might do the same with a car. Re-name it and it might sell like hotcakes!

[Vicman]

I think we also need to bankroll private security forces in neighborhoods, complete with their own car fleets, weapons (get very powerful weapons), and stations.

If possible, make these private sources able to hold suspects captive until the police get there.

Also have the residents armed with powerful weapons. Boobytrap abandoned buildings and sensitive structures with bear traps. It is 100% okay to use mutilating force to deter vandals.

Residents should be encouraged to film criminals they captured and post the videos to YouTube. Make sure the films catch the criminals committing acts red-handed and then getting captured.

Make sure police may ONLY use marijuana possession charges as a pretense to catch someone suspected of committing a more serious act; arresting people who only possess marijuana who have not and are not suspected of committing anything else is a waste of resources.

[lpatrick]

I was born and raised in Detroit, but moved to Lansing after graduating high school. I now reside in Nashville Tn. but I truly love my place of birth. The majority of my relatives still reside in Detroit, as a matter of fact my father still lives in the home where I grow up, on the east side of Detroit. While visting relativies on the north end of town, as I looked around It look as though I was visting a war torn third world country. Its just sad to see how a once beauiful neighbor hood, look like a combat zone. I believe the problem is not a racial issue but a pride issue. Our youth must be reached at a young age, instilling pride, hope, encouagment and tools to improve their conditions. Education is a major key, reaching out to the youth to let them know that they have a purpose in life. That they are important and that they can make a difference not only in their lives but also in the lives of others. Gearing minds to be productive will help to solve future problems. Some resolutions for the immediated problems can be helped, in my opinion by utilizing the government aids and stimulus funds provided for by the goverment, the state promoting incentives such as tax and land breaks to businesses that are looking to build or relocate and also encourage professionals in the Detroit area to develope programs that can be funded by goverment grants. Programs that would benifit the communities such as giving our young men and women, who have turned to illegal activies to make money a different alternative.

[City of Motor]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

I know a downtown renaissance(sp) is going on, but what about outside of downtown? Gentrification? Or anything at all? Detroit WAS once a bustling city (the pop used to be well over 1.5 million, but its only around 900,000 now) , and it still can be!

So, in your personnel view how can we fix the city of Detroit?
Please no good or bad views about Detroit no personal attacks Just ideas on how to fix Detroit

And before you start throwing race cards, just know that not ALL people of a race are the same! Everyone is unique, and they didn't choose their race!

Let me help you out.

Chene West:

[Slago1205]

If you really want to turn Detroit and Michigan around and fast, we need to be the first to legalize marijuana. It would create a ton of money for the state.

[Remisc]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Has anyone considered just changing the name of the city, for a fresh new start?

Changing the name from Detroit to something else won't fix the corrupt government, massive crime, and 50,000+ abandoned structures.

[zthatzmanz28]

A few years ago there was an idea to change the name to POINTE...

[Remisc]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

A few years ago there was an idea to change the name to POINTE...

I hope you're not being serious...

[Vinncent]

Here are my thoughts on the city:

Detroit is in bad shape, to say the very least. The city reached its peak in the 1950's, and due to various factors (the decline of the Ford auto industry being one of the most important, since it composed practically the entire Michigan economy), has been going downhill since. What downhill means is higher unemployment rates, higher crime rates, and an overall lower standard of living. The most obvious, and consequently the worst thought process is along the lines of, “Let's go back to when the city was great, or in other words, get back the auto industry.” Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, few people are interested in buying cars from Ford. Even if they were, betting an entire state's economy around a single business is what led to Detroit's current situation in the first place, making this a terrible idea.


To avoid a situation like this in the future, Michigan's economy must become more diverse. And for this to happen, businesses must want to invest in the city. Unfortunately, Detroit is about as appealing to investors as roadkill is for dinner. With Detroit fighting its damn hardest to win the championship title of “Most Dangerous City in America”, the entire city is one gigantic liability. Another problem is a resounding lack of skilled, or even educated workers. The latest statistic is that 47% of Detroit is “functionally illiterate”.


In other words, half the city is goddamn retarded.


It's unsurprising that the lack in education, or even a basic interest in becoming educated in things such as reading and writing, correlates with the city's rates of crime, substance abuse, etc. It stands to reason that intelligent people realize that they have an inherent interest in investing in the area they choose to live their lives, or at the very least, an interest in investing in themselves. Intelligent people also realize how short-sighted partaking in petty crime is, compared to what they could be getting out of life. Intelligent people don't run around selling drugs and mugging people, because they realize there's a significant chance of getting caught, and that going to jail sucks. Indeed, there exist few things more dangerous than stupidity.


From this, one might think the problem lies in the education system. Though this is part true, the real problem actually lies much deeper than this. The real problem is that a significant amount of Detroit's population is unmotivated and uninterested in becoming educated. On the whole, the people are unmotivated in investing in themselves, their city, or their future. Detroit's education system there has suffered a large downsizing with the closing of many of the city's schools, which certainly hasn't helped matters. However, even if the city built schools on every street corner, this would do absolutely nothing for the majority of the population that doesn't care about becoming educated.


This by no means implies that anyone should believe that Detroit and it's people somehow “deserve” their current situation. The majority of children, if given the choice between “Have recess all day, every day”, or “Go to class and do homework, while everyone else chose to have recess all day”, would choose Option #1. The lack of formal education can be chalked up to social factors, access to schools, poor parenting, economic problems, or any number of other completely reasonable and understandable excuses. Regardless, the bottom line remains that on the whole, the city is uneducated, lacks any real motivation to become educated (due to the lack of education), and is reflected in the choices made by its people, that end up appearing as the city's embarrassing statistics.


What the city needs is essentially a large, revolutionary spiritual awakening. An internal awakening that drives and motivates not just a few, but a majority of the its people to invest in themselves, to acquire the tools they need to change their environment, and not be swept under as victims of their current environment. Outside businesses will only choose to invest in the city when it proves itself to be worth investing in, which only the people of Detroit are capable of accomplishing. When its people become more intelligent, the effects will be seen in numerous ways, including a decrease in petty crime, a greater amount of cooperation among the people, and an overall increase in the quality of living there in general. These effects are not speculations; they are simply the logical conclusion.


There is nothing easy about this. There is nothing natural or to be expected about anyone spontaneously choosing to act completely different than the majority of their peers, and choosing to act in a higher manner amongst a myriad of easier options. There's nothing conductive to acting in a higher manner in an environment riddled with poverty, crime, drugs, and decay. There's nothing easy about influencing not only a person, but an entire city of people to act in a way different than their naturally learned behavior.


Regardless, I not only believe, but undoubtedly know that this can be done. Despite what spewed rhetoric may claim, it is very possible to drag people kicking and screaming towards spiritually awakening, whether or not they like it, or even know it. Now that the underlying problem has been identified, the next step to figure out is how to influence an entire city of people to become actively motivated on becoming more intelligent.