Harper Woods....... (Detroit, Eastpointe, Grosse Pointe Woods: apartment, Home Depot, neighborhoods)

[ckhthankgod]

Is this a nice suburb or is it one in decline? It seems like the demographics of the community have changed pretty quickly too. How are the schools and is it safe?

[Dexterguy]

As you probably already know just by looking at the map, Harper Woods is just west of Grosse Pointe Woods and the eastern areas of the city actually share the Grosse Pointe North schools. As far as I hear it is still a nice area to live in, some of the apartment communities that are in Harper Woods are kind of in the decline though, at least they do not look very well kept to me, but most of the neighborhoods are single family bungalows that are well kept and clean. I am not very familar with Harper Woods public schools, so I cannot really tell you to much about the schools. The city was once known for the big Eastland mall when it first opened, it was one of the nicest malls in the state, but when the newer and bigger malls were developing (Somerset, Twelve Oaks) less and less people went there, eventually sending it down the tubes. Now there is a Lowe's there, but the mall is still there, but basically is a shell of what it once was.

You mentioned the demographics, I believe that many black people from Detroit fled to Harper Woods in the 1990's and are still moving into Harper Woods for better city services, schools, neighborhoods, etc. So yes the demographics have changed throughout the years.

I believe that Harper Woods still stands at about 84% White even with all of the black migration from Detroit.

Random Info:
A few years ago Harper Woods wanted to change its name to "Grosse Pointe Heights" but in the end it was voted down, and the other 5 Pointes hated the idea.

[BurtsBees]

Unfortunately, its on the decline. Its probably about 60-70% white, and 30-40% black. Eastland Mall is terrible, I would not shop there. Car jackings, robberies, etc.

[Twehttam]

Not that I go to Eastland Mall regularly, but I've been recently (mostly to frequent the adjoining businesses such as Lowes and Home Depot) and I've never had a problem. The Target there is newer and I've never feared my (or my car's) safety. While there aren't A LOT of stores within, the Macy's is as it should be. To each his own, I guess.

[Cliffie]

You guys, I'm really having a problem with the ongoing assumption on this forum that black neighborhood = bad neighborhood. That is far from true.

[Twehttam]

Not being from here originally, it's shocking. After living here, moving, and coming back it's even more pronounced to me. The past 40-50 years (or longer) is drilled into the minds of many that it's going to be hard to move this city forward simply on the issue of race, which is saddening. Visiting my wife's grandmoter, who has lived in East Detroit/Eastpointe since the 50's, drives me absolutely crazy when she gets onto social issues. I imagine "border suburbs" like Harper Woods and EP have even more of this ingrained philosophy.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Twehttam

Not being from here originally, it's shocking. After living here, moving, and coming back it's even more pronounced to me. The past 40-50 years (or longer) is drilled into the minds of many that it's going to be hard to move this city forward simply on the issue of race, which is saddening. Visiting my wife's grandmoter, who has lived in East Detroit/Eastpointe since the 50's, drives me absolutely crazy when she gets onto social issues. I imagine "border suburbs" like Harper Woods and EP have even more of this ingrained philosophy.

So true and when I went to MSU in the mid 90's, it was appearant that people in the Detroit area are still effected by issues in terms of race. I was actually surprised by that and the condition of Detroit.

I also find it hard to believe that all of the predominately Black or highly mixed neighborhoods in the area are "bad".

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by BurtsBees

Unfortunately, its on the decline. Its probably about 60-70% white, and 30-40% black. Eastland Mall is terrible, I would not shop there. Car jackings, robberies, etc.

Actually if you want to be specific Harper Woods is 84.9% White and 10.2% Black, look at the city data stats.

I think that Harper Woods is a nicer city than most people make it out to be, just because it has a 10% Black population does not mean that it is a bad city. Yes, it borders Detroit, but so do many other nice Detroit suburbs.

The only bad thing I see about the city is the Eastland Mall and the condition that it's in. It's a very old mall that needs to be updated or just totally rebuilt, no matter what they do to it though, it would be extremely hard to compete with Somerset Collection.

[ckhthankgod]

I think the demographics have changed some lately. I say that because I noticed that Harper Woods schools are about even between Black and White students. I did notice that some of Harper Woods is in the Grosse Pointe SD too. Check this info out:Search For Schools, Colleges and Libraries

Just click on any of the schools.

[Dexterguy]

I agree that the Harper Woods student population could be around 50% White 50% Black, especially since most of the whites now living in Harper Woods are older parents with children in college or even further along in life.

But, I still think that city data's stats are pretty correct at saying that Harper Woods is overall about 84% White and 10-11% Black.