What can be done to improve Detroit? (Troy, Wayne: gated, jobs)

[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!

[Blue Grass Fever]

Stop having the politicians being "proud".

A few years back, an entrepenuer extended an olive branch to help the public school system in Detroit but it was turned down. Maybe there was more to this than meets the eye but it really seemed encompass as to what Detroit has been and will be about for some time to not be accepting help from "outsiders".

If i can make an analogy in short to sum up Detroit's problems regarding politicians, it's this: The city is being held back by "militants".

So, in short, i think if the politicians would be more open to ideas, this alone would help fix the city tremendously!

[The Icy River Vagabond]

Replace all of the non tax paying residents with people that work and do pay taxes. Then the city will have enough money to think about improving itself. Even then there would not be enough of a tax base to get a city that was meant to hold around 2 million back on it's feet. So, I guess there is not really anything that can be done. And that is pretty much why nothing has happened. Just the way it is.

[soyezheureux]

Essentially, Detroit has been on the decline for quite a while - ever since people started flocking out of the city into the suburbs. I realize that a similar situation happened in most major cities in the country, but it was COMPLETE flight in Detroit. Plus, these other cities had attractions downtown that brought the people from the 'burbs, back in to spend their money. And if they didn't have them, they built them (see Cleveland, OH.) But there was literally no reason for anyone from the suburbs to come into Detroit unless they worked there.

But thoughout all of that time, the "Big 3" were raking in the money and so, even with a lot of people leaving the city, the city had enough money to basically "get by" without having to have any reason for people to "visit" Detroit. Apparantly, Detroit and/or Michigan leaders at the time didn't notice (or care?) that we were putting all of our financial eggs in one auto industry basket. And now, that basket has broken. Now, the people who left the city to live in the suburbs, are now leaving Michigan to live...ANYWHERE but Michigan. Obviously, this hurts the whole state, and especially Detroit - which can ill afford any more economic loss.

What can fix this problem? Well, even though anything that happens will probably be "too little too late," what needs to happen is for new industries to come into Michigan. I don't think the auto industry is ever going to recover back to its height of prosperity, barring some kind of REVOLUTIONARY breakthrough... But other industries could come in and give us some kind of economic base to fall back on. However, the obvious problem with that is: no one wants to have their industry in Michigan. So we need to have some kind of incentive to lure business back to our state. The problem with that is that we don't really have enough money to have any worthwhile incentives, and our population is declining so quickly that they realize moving here, even with incentives, might not be worth it since they won't have very many customers. And it might be possible if we had some more tourist attractions, but again, we don't really have anything that people want to come to Detroit to see. Moderately safe, moderately enjoyable casinos in a run down city, do not attract very many people.

It's a vicious cycle that keeps on getting worse because it's already bad. If only we had a time machine and we could start all of these plans in the 70's or 80's...by the time that the auto industry finally dies, we would already have several other industries to fall back on economically. Detroit could have some great attractions and tourist locations in it, which would benefit itself as well as the entire state. And maybe instead of people losing their jobs and houses at the worst rate in the country, people would be moving TO Michigan, and coming TO Detroit to live, work, and visit.

But, in the absence of a time machine? We could write letters to the mayor of Detroit, or to the Governor of Michigan, or our state representatives and tell them that the future of Michigan (and Detroit) is actually important to us. That we would like to see some action happen to improve things around here. Maybe they could offer a tax-free year to any new business that comes to Michigan, or two years if they locate within the city of Detroit. Maybe some of the "richer" suburbs could altruistically donate some cash to the city to fix up some of the run-down areas, or hire more police officers, or something.

I'm just one person, but I've read (on this website, among other places) stories of many other people who would like to see things change. And I've read even more stories of people who are being practically forced to leave this state because of how bad things have gotten, and are going to continue to get. This is just one website, and here we are, thinking of ways to "fix" all of the problems with our city and state. With this many concerned (and often desperate) citizens, it seems like it would be easy for a politician to be very popular and successful if they came around, and had an actual concrete plan for what to do. Or at least had some kind of forum for citizens to suggest solutions, or hire a team of experts, or SOMETHING. But it has never happened in our past, and isn't happening in the present. I hope something happens in the near future. Before it's too late.

[RedWingsFan]

I know it's a really liberal thing to say let's not talk about race. But let's face the facts. Detroit is a mess and one of the biggest reasons is race. You cant possibly discuss Detroit and not discuss race. It's the most segregated major city in the country. You can't overlook that. It has a lot to do with why Detroit is a ghetto and the suburbs are mostly nice.

I don't want hurt anyone's feelings but it's the truth. Detroit at one time was a thriving city of mostly white people. Then blacks starting moving there to get work. With them they brought a lot of crime and the white people fled for the suburbs. Now the city is around 80 percent black, while the suburbs are 80 percent white. It's crime ridden, a mess and a ghetto. Those people turned it into a dump that is so dangerous to go into that my grandmother who was born and raised there is so fearful that she won't cross into that city today!

How do you get Detroit back on track? Get the bums out that are there now. Clean it up, tear down the shacks and half burned buildings and rebuild. Make the land and houses expensive so that only upper class people can afford it. Lock the criminals up and throw away the key. Then once it's a safer and whiter place more people from the suburbs will visit and some will move back.

That's the truth plain and simple.

You can look to the northern suburb of Troy to see a big difference. Troy consistently ranks as one of the safest cities in the country. Not the state, but the country! Why? What's so different there? It's mainly hard working white people who don't committ crimes. They take care of their property, cars, etc. And they value education, something most of the people living in Detroit do not. If they make Detroit more like Troy it will improve!

[CHICAGOLAND92]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

I know it's a really liberal thing to say let's not talk about race. But let's face the facts. Detroit is a mess and one of the biggest reasons is race. You cant possibly discuss Detroit and not discuss race. It's the most segregated major city in the country. You can't overlook that. It has a lot to do with why Detroit is a ghetto and the suburbs are mostly nice.

I don't want hurt anyone's feelings but it's the truth. Detroit at one time was a thriving city of mostly white people. Then blacks starting moving there to get work. With them they brought a lot of crime and the white people fled for the suburbs. Now the city is around 80 percent black, while the suburbs are 80 percent white. It's crime ridden, a mess and a ghetto. Those people turned it into a dump that is so dangerous to go into that my grandmother who was born and raised there is so fearful that she won't cross into that city today!

How do you get Detroit back on track? Get the bums out that are there now. Clean it up, tear down the shacks and half burned buildings and rebuild. Make the land and houses expensive so that only upper class people can afford it. Lock the criminals up and throw away the key. Then once it's a safer and whiter place more people from the suburbs will visit and some will move back.

That's the truth plain and simple.

You can look to the northern suburb of Troy to see a big difference. Troy consistently ranks as one of the safest cities in the country. Not the state, but the country! Why? What's so different there? It's mainly hard working white people who don't committ crimes. They take care of their property, cars, etc. And they value education, something most of the people living in Detroit do not. If they make Detroit more like Troy it will improve!

As I stated before, let's not throw race cards, because honestly it has nothing to do with race. People can't choose what race they want to be. I mean look at Washington D.C. or Atlanta. They're a majority black, and have large upper class citizens. Many of head managers of the fire dept. and police dept and the mayor in Atlanta are black, yet it's a thriving city, so no, it doesn't have anything to do with race.

Based on your statement, all black people are ghetto and commit crime. That is definitely NOT the case.

It's more about economics. Whiter place? You make it sound as if all white people are upper class, and live in nice areas. Detroit DOES have a white population, and so does the rural south. They're not exactly the riches people around.

So yes, as I've said before, no race cards. That's really lowly to assume that ALL of Detroit is ghetto. Because if you actually did some research, you would see that there are some wealthy pockets in the city. But no, of course someone will come along and say it's the black peoples fault. It's nothing with race. Wow.

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

As I stated before, let's not throw race cards, because honestly it has nothing to do with race. People can't choose what race they want to be. I mean look at Washington D.C. or Atlanta. They're a majority black, and have large upper class citizens. Many of head managers of the fire dept. and police dept and the mayor in Atlanta are black, yet it's a thriving city, so no, it doesn't have anything to do with race.

Based on your statement, all black people are ghetto and commit crime. That is definitely NOT the case.

It's more about economics. Whiter place? You make it sound as if all white people are upper class, and live in nice areas. Detroit DOES have a white population, and so does the rural south. They're not exactly the riches people around.

So yes, as I've said before, no race cards. That's really lowly to assume that ALL of Detroit is ghetto. Because if you actually did some research, you would see that there are some wealthy pockets in the city. But no, of course someone will come along and say it's the black peoples fault. It's nothing with race. Wow.

As I had said - race is a huge issue in Detroit. Because it's the most segregated metro area in the country it is an issue. You can choose to look the other way or cross it off the list of factors but believe me, it's not going away and it's one that is a big factor.

Why are the ones near DC more successful? Most people that move to DC do so because of gainful employment. They are professionals with professional careers. Most of the people of Detroit are not like that. Most people don't pick up and choose to move to the city of Detroit (maybe the suburbs, but not the city). They are there because they were born there, they don't value education so they do nothing to better their conditions.

Of course there are some wealthier people in Detroit, just as in any major city. But that's a very small fraction of the make-up of the city and certainly not who we are all referring to when we speak about Detroit.

[mike jones]

Carpet bombing.
No one could tell, it already looks like Beirut without the air raid sirens.

Seriously, flatten the town and rebuild over again.

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by butternut

Carpet bombing.
No one could tell, it already looks like Beirut without the air raid sirens.

Seriously, flatten the town and rebuild over again.

Great suggestion, I think it just might work. I had thought of something along those lines as well.... like burn the rest of the city down, the residents there have already burned down much of it!

[zoomzoom]

I think the best way to improve the city would probably be to increase funding to educational programs that direct their focus on helping the citizens in Detroit, like Wayne State University’s Honors Program. That program offers a sequence of two classes for ambitious children coming out of high school. In the first semester, the students learn about the city, and the reason why it has been damaged so much. In the second semester, the students formulate a proposal to improve the city. It would be absolutely wonderful if generous donations could be made to that program to create a third semester, and actually allow the students to work out the BEST proposal with the help of their professors. This would serve three purposes, the students would become more attached to Detroit, and eventually settle there, the city would improve, and the students will be able to learn how to help improve the city. These Honors kids would definitely put in their best since they are smart and they also want to have something AMAZING to write in their Grad school resume.

Wouldn’t that be great? Some of these kids show genuine respect for the Detroit community, since a couple of them carried out their proposals with their own money, and other resources. For example, a girl hosts a “FREE STORE” for the homeless each year.

zoomzoom