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I wonder how many people in this thread have actually been to Detroit.
The worst thing about life in the city is the auto insurance rates.
My family drove through there once, back in 1982, after my cousin's wedding in Saginaw. My parents decided to drive through Detroit and enter Canada and drive through Canada to Buffalo, NY. My brother and sister were 8 and 4, and were so disappointed to see a foreign country looking exactly like the United States.
But as to Detroit's issues....speaking as somebody who only drove through it once, over 30 years ago, if you had asked me what there was to see in Detroit back then, I could have only told you I know they built cars there and Motown. If Detroit is known for beaches, or museums, or theaters, then I have to confess that I've never heard of them....so if you asked me if I'd go to Detroit for a vacation, I'd probably look at you and ask you what on earth there is to do there.
Not sure if you noticed any of the architecture of some of the buildings and homes that are left. Just incredible. You can tell affluent people resided in those homes at some point in time.
Take a look along Ashland road , over by the lake. Those homes are on canals , and many of them had actually boat houses. That area isn't as bad as other parts though. Mostly because it borders Grosse Pointe.
I did. Even on those abandoned homes, some of the architecture is just ... wow! I'll check that out as well.
My family drove through there once, back in 1982, after my cousin's wedding in Saginaw. My parents decided to drive through Detroit and enter Canada and drive through Canada to Buffalo, NY. My brother and sister were 8 and 4, and were so disappointed to see a foreign country looking exactly like the United States.
Yeah, Southern Ontario might as well be one of the parts of the US Midwest across the lakes.
They've made downtown into an entertainment center with the casinos and now it's the only city in America with its MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL teams all playing downtown, in venues close enough together to walk between.
If the QLine rail system ever gets expanded beyond downtown and up Woodward, Detroit could become a great transit city. The prevalence of divided boulevards with wide medians would make its expansion easier in a lot of spots than many other cities trying to retrofit their car city for urban rail. Alternatives to driving in the city with America's highest insurance rates can only be a good thing.
Yeah, Southern Ontario might as well be one of the parts of the US Midwest across the lakes.
They've made downtown into an entertainment center with the casinos and now it's the only city in America with its MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL teams all playing downtown, in venues close enough together to walk between.
If the QLine rail system ever gets expanded beyond downtown and up Woodward, Detroit could become a great transit city. The prevalence of divided boulevards with wide medians would make its expansion easier in a lot of spots than many other cities trying to retrofit their car city for urban rail. Alternatives to driving in the city with America's highest insurance rates can only be a good thing.
Denver is similar in that aspect. One could easily walk between the Pepsi Center and Mile High. Coors Field is a little further away but still walk-able.
I have absolutely nothing to add about Detroit. All I know about it is through the media which makes it come off as a third world country. 60 Minutes did a segment on it a few years back about how it was being gentrified but from what I am hearing on this thread that may not be the case. I hope it eventually succeeds. I hear Michigan has beautiful scenery.
Exactly. This is what happens when a city is dependent on a single industry, and when that industry consists of heavy manufacturing or mining. Such an industry is bound to be impacted by cheap foreign labor and automation. Trump is not bringing back coal mining jobs, or steelworker jobs, in any significant numbers, no matter what he does with tariffs and regulations.
A contrast is Pittsburgh, which also was dependent on a single industry and suffered a similar fate as Detroit. However Pittsburgh has managed to remake itself as a high-tech and healthcare mecca. Pittsburgh's mayor and all 9 members of the city council are Democrats. So I wouldn't look at which party is in charge, but what steps did Pittsburgh take, and Detroit fail to take?
This ^
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsjj251
1. There are only 4 cities in the US with over 2 million residents , New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston
All of which are financially sound
2. Detroit is in Michigan , a state that had been mostly controlled by the GOP for the last 40 years . It's hard to make an argument that a strong governor state like Michigan had no influence over the state of it's largest city and cultural/ economic heart.
Detroit, like much of Michigan and the Rust Belt didn't diversify it's economic portfolia , that's why it fell off the way it did . That's not a Dem or GOP problem, it's a human one.
Cities like Chicago operate under the 'kick the can down the road' fiscal management system, along with other unique incentives to 'reward' their associates for their patronage and loyalty. Frequent remedies are property tax increases and peculiar attempts to raise more money (a soda pop tax which I believe never came to fruition) from the backs of the citizenry, already overwhelmed and
If one looks at the numbers, oddly enough Detroit is actually placed higher than New York, LA or Houston.
And of course over time these rankings will change, for better and/or for worse. JMHO, of course.
How Strong Are Your City's Finances? 116 US Cities Ranked
City Fiscal Strength Index 2017
Chicago and New York rank at the bottom of a new analysis of fiscal strength based primarily on data from 2015 financial reports issued by the cities themselves. The analysis includes 116 U.S. cities with populations greater than 200,000.
Cities like Chicago operate under the 'kick the can down the road' fiscal management system
Actually, just about every government in the US, from city administrations to the US Congress, do this.
America is a fiscal house of cards destined to fall.
The City of Houston is an absolute mess in its finances. Services are extremely overextended after having annexed 500 square miles of suburbia sprawl, with lots of aging infrastructure both there and in the city center within Loop 610.
Detroit did not have the freedom to annex and follow the tax base that left in the white-flight cycle, in comparison.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timmyy
Denver is similar in that aspect. One could easily walk between the Pepsi Center and Mile High. Coors Field is a little further away but still walk-able.
Denver is the next closest to having this, of course the utility of actually being able to walk from one to the other is limited. Still, it's a sign of life in the core of the city perceived to be the most "dead."
Midtown and all the way up Woodward is where the rents and property values are going up the most.
. . . On part 1, Detroit was a one trick manufacturing pony. That kicked ass in the 50s and 60s when Europe and Japan were still rebuilding from WW2 . . .
Europe and Japan weren't allowed to drive big american cars.
Ford made Falcons to get their markets. My mom bought one.
The Falcons got 30 MPG, and the Volkswagens also got 30 MPG.
The Falcon was a MUCH better car. (Except for their small, single rear drive problems with snow.)
Volkswagens could handle snow, but you got no heaters with 'em. (Didn't give a damn about people)
Europe hated America.
They wouldn't even drive a Ford Falcon in sunny areas of Europe.
I could go on, but, hey, ya know . . .
Last edited by Hyperthetic; 04-05-2018 at 01:15 PM..
I did. Even on those abandoned homes, some of the architecture is just ... wow! I'll check that out as well.
Check out that home improvement show "The Rehab Addict" on HDTV or DiY, she specializes in old homes mostly in Detroit. A lot of those places look spectacular.
Poor urban dwellers vote Democrat so the poorest urban areas will always be controlled by Democrats.
With Detroit there were some serious macro economic issues involved. Transitioning from a blue collar to white collar economy is not easy.
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My parents decided to drive through Detroit and enter Canada and drive through Canada to Buffalo, NY. My brother and sister were 8 and 4, and were so disappointed to see a foreign country looking exactly like the United States. 
