Does Detroit have any industry abandoned spots that would be safe to show a friend? (Flint: high crime, hotel)

[matty122]

for a community college project my friend was told to write and essay on economically depressed cities we took a tour 2 weeks ago and he wants detroit to be his last stop. I told him I wanted some info before we went here. Is there any areas you could go by car to see some of the urban decay/abandonment without risking safety? i dont mean to sound like im jumpin to the conclusion everywhere in the city is unsafe i just want to make sure when/if we go were not putting ourselves at risk. So any suggestions for me?

[Coldjensens]

McClouth Steel down in Trenton is pretty remakable. The place is HUGE. It is empty and slowly being taken apart for scrap. You cannot get inside unless you get permossion form the owner.


The Detroit train station is always intersting. A beautiful building with no windows. It is sometimes used in movies (transformers, among others)

Del Rey - once a seperate villiage/small town that later became part of Detroit, then a booming factory and residential area, now has acres and acres of empty lots and/or empty houses and buildings. Del Rey is mostly empty so it is only amazing if you know what used to be there.

Downtown accross from the DAC there are two large office towers that are abandoned and empty. (Maybe it is one office tower and a hotel, I do not recall).

these places are reasonably safe, although I would avoid Del Rey at night, and I would not be walking around side streets if you are dressed nicely and/or white.

[fmax]

Matty,

Park and catch buses for a day. Make sure to ride the Chalmers, Chene, Gratioit... triangle.


Detroit Department of Transportation Pocket Schedules | City of Detroit | www.detroitmi.gov



FEARLESS!

[matty122]

Thanks guys, weve been To Cleveland, Cincinnatti, Saint Louis, Gary and Flint but were forget about detroit as stupid as it sounds, with the exception of St.Louis none were as bad as i thought theyd be but hearing about Detroit i figured id ask to be on the safe side.

[ForStarters]

Honestly, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Packard Plant, possibly the world's largest industrial ruin:

East Grand Boulevard and Concord, Detroit, MI - Google Maps

detroitblog » Blog Archive » Big (http://www.detroitblog.org/?p=163 - broken link)

[The Homogenizer]

Originally Posted by matty122

So any suggestions for me?

Yes. Before you print the flyers for your rave, please arrange for real security. Detroit is exceptionally dangerous and it'd be sad if some poor kid gets her life ruined walking to her car by herself.

[matty122]

Originally Posted by The Homogenizer

Yes. Before you print the flyers for your rave, please arrange for real security. Detroit is exceptionally dangerous and it'd be sad if some poor kid gets her life ruined walking to her car by herself.

Im a guy my man, theres 3 of us, the guy whose doing the project on industrial and economical decline needed a first hand view of the cities hit the hardest. ST.Louis didnt have much violence on the streets, just ppl offering us. Weed, Crack ect. but is Detroit that much more dangerous? i mean ive taken road trips through the midwest and the people on the east coast seem to have it stuck in their minds that Michigan is totally like Detroit and stay away, when infact the state itself is gorgeous and not nearly as bad as every1 thinks it is. Is with the exception of Downtown and Metro really that much worse then everywhere else?

[yardbirdjack]

Detroit's ruins will knock your socks off. As for being dangerous, the reality is not near as bad as the perception, but if you happen to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time you better be armed, a great street fighter, or a fantastic runner. Forget about police or ems response, on some days it can take an hour for emergency response.

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by matty122

but is Detroit that much more dangerous?

No, it's not. Most violence is specific and limited to criminal activity, e.g. drug disputes, just like it is in the rest of the United States. There really isn't any difference between Detroit's crime and any other citys'. The only difference is that the vast (and by vast I mean VAST) amount of the wealth (and by wealth I mean enormous WEALTH) moved out of the city and to the suburbs. There is crime in Detroit, and it is possible to get robbed because a percentage of the residents are poor (and by poor I mean DESTITUTE). The truth is, if there wasn't such an outmigration of wealth over last half centuty, Detroit would very nice (and by nice I mean NICE) with some isolated pockets of poverty and high crime similar to other major cities. So, to answer your question, it is not as bad as you probably expect. People often mistake blight and deterioration for dangerousness, when in fact blight is only a sign of mass abandonment. People in Detroit are not wildly violent for reasons unprovoked; there's nothing in the water here that causes people to be violent. There are more crimes resulting from poverty because poverty is prevalent, but the majority of Detroiters are civil, non-violent, and law abiding. It's a shame that many across the nation are of the opinion that Detroit is so much different- that the people here are some type of an outlier- that we're out-of-control violent maniacs. There is absolutely no difference between Detroit and any other American city, except that the wealth left Detroit for the suburbs en masse.

[The Homogenizer]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

No, it's not.

There are more crimes resulting from poverty

Because of these, your post contradicted itself.

With respect, if you're robbed at knife point because a thief is stealing for fun, drugs, sex or food doesn't matter so I don't understand why you're making excuses for any crime.

The FBI states that in 2008, Detroit had 1,887.7 violent crimes and 5861.8 property crimes per 100k inhabitants. Chicago, in 2007, had 1195.6 violent and 4,565.4 property per 100K inhabitants. In violent crimes, Detroit has over 45% more. In property crimes, Detroit has over 30% more.

In '08, LA had less than 1100 violent crimes per 100k inhabitants. New York city is even less violent! Crime in New York City - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


By the way, check out the aggravated assaults between Chicago and Detroit! Detroit's motto should be "Wanna Fight?"



*Please note that these figures are separated by a year and since Chicago does not report forcible rape, Detroit's forcible rape figure was excluded.

Crime in Detroit, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crime in Chicago - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crime in Los Angeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia