Is Detroit really that bad? (St. Louis, Camden: low income, neighborhood, incomes)

[detroitlove]

Originally Posted by Retroit

That's true, but what is even more sad is that most Detoiters don't know or don't want to acknowledge knowing the reason for this. They'll blame the lack of investment on the racism of major corporations, when the reality is that no one within the city is courageous enough to address the social dysfunction (for fear of being labeled a racist).

..so the dis-investment and black flight continues.

wrong again! plenty of Detroiters know that the main and probably only reasons coroporations refuse to invest in Detroit is because its majority black, wether they choose to do something about is different. But I am not a sheep and thats the reason why I do as much shopping as I can within city limits. So once again f*** chain grocery stores

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by detroitlove

plenty of Detroiters know that the main and probably only reasons coroporations refuse to invest in Detroit is because its majority black.

Even as a black person myself I have to call bull**** on that.

The main reason corporations refuse to invest in Detroit is because the population per capita is too poor. The reason the Kroger on 7 Mile and Gratiot closed was because of shrinkage. The racial make-up of that neighborhood was 80-90% black when they opened and 80-90% black when they closed. The only reason the Chaldeans are probably making any profit at that former Kroger location now is because they've eliminated their labor costs by hiring family members as employees.

Other majority black cities (Atlanta, Memphis, DC, Newark, Birmingham, Baltimore) haven't suffered from no where near the type of disinvestment Detroit has.

[Retroit]

^Honesty.

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by MorganWall

People always tell me that Detroit is the worst city in the world but I don't know there seems to be a lot of people living in Detroit so how bad could it be?

Is it the worst in the world?? No, there are much worse places then Detroit. Places like Haiti and Somalia are much much worse. Is it the worst city in the United States?? Yes it is. No matter what Detroits defenders say, the city is 1/3rd abandoned and it is dominated by crime and poverty. The city goverment is largely corrupt, although the current mayor is a huge improvement from the past and he is doing the best he can. How many major American cities have lost more than half thier population?? how many have many abandoned skyscrapers in thier downtown area? How many cities other than Detroit use terms like "urban farms" or "Urban prarie"??? Google the phrase "ruins of Detroit", those videos are shocking. From what I have seen of Detroit it is a city that was once great but has been ruined completly by its current residents. A visit to Detroit will leave you feeling sad and depressed, seeing what it has become.
If you want to see what Detroit used to be go to its suburban ring and you will see the real Detroit. This is where people build things, live and shop.

[Retroit]

^Honesty.

[detroitlove]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

Even as a black person myself I have to call bull**** on that.

The main reason corporations refuse to invest in Detroit is because the population per capita is too poor. The reason the Kroger on 7 Mile and Gratiot closed was because of shrinkage. The racial make-up of that neighborhood was 80-90% black when they opened and 80-90% black when they closed. The only reason the Chaldeans are probably making any profit at that former Kroger location now is because they've eliminated their labor costs by hiring family members as employees.

Other majority black cities (Atlanta, Memphis, DC, Newark, Birmingham, Baltimore) haven't suffered from no where near the type of disinvestment Detroit has.

And all of those cities don't have a long history of whites promoting disinvestment in those cities either. Even in the 90s and early 2000s Detroit still had many affluent neighborhoods so why didn't we have a bunch of Krogers then? smh. I understand most northern/midwestern cities have experienced some type of white flight but not to the extent of Detroit.

[detroitlove]

Originally Posted by danielj72

Is it the worst in the world?? No, there are much worse places then Detroit. Places like Haiti and Somalia are much much worse. Is it the worst city in the United States?? Yes it is. No matter what Detroits defenders say, the city is 1/3rd abandoned and it is dominated by crime and poverty. The city goverment is largely corrupt, although the current mayor is a huge improvement from the past and he is doing the best he can. How many major American cities have lost more than half thier population?? how many have many abandoned skyscrapers in thier downtown area? How many cities other than Detroit use terms like "urban farms" or "Urban prarie"??? Google the phrase "ruins of Detroit", those videos are shocking. From what I have seen of Detroit it is a city that was once great but has been ruined completly by its current residents. A visit to Detroit will leave you feeling sad and depressed, seeing what it has become.
If you want to see what Detroit used to be go to its suburban ring and you will see the real Detroit. This is where people build things, live and shop.

good thing you live on the other side of the state huh? smh

[ForStarters]

^Honesty.

[detroitlove]

Here's a quote from Urbanophile Blog from 2010

"Detroit Has Money. Detroit may be a very poor city, but with so many people in it, there are still a significant number of folks with money living inside the city limits. There are 18,140 households in Detroit with income over $100,000 per year. Milwaukee, hardly a basket case, has 19,297. Upscale Minneapolis only has 29,460, a mere 10,000 household gap vs. Detroit in high earning households. Now both of these cities are smaller (Minneapolis much smaller) and so are proportionately much richer. But the point is that in total, there actually are a material number of households in the city of Detroit with significant incomes."

The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » The Other Side of Detroit

so please miss me with that "Detroit is too poor" bs. Its kind of contridicting as well. You say Detroit is too poor for a chain store but Retroit swears we all not only shop at suburban chains but we also commute there. So we have enough money to afford gas and commute to the burbs for a Kroger but we're too poor for Kroger to put one in the city? smh F*** Kroger. All of those cities also have either a sizable white population still or enough white people backing. Which is totally different for Detroit.

I also lived in a smaller city that was majority black and poorer than Detroit, Daytona Beach. Which has 2 Walmarts, 2 Publix and plenty other chains. But I didn't see any black people living anywhere near how people live in Palmer Woods, Indian Village, Rosedale Park etc. The only truly affluent part of DB is beachside which is very small. oh and suprisingly (sarcastic) no black people on beachside either

[maclock]

Originally Posted by detroitlove

Here's a quote from Urbanophile Blog from 2010

"Detroit Has Money. Detroit may be a very poor city, but with so many people in it, there are still a significant number of folks with money living inside the city limits. There are 18,140 households in Detroit with income over $100,000 per year. Milwaukee, hardly a basket case, has 19,297. Upscale Minneapolis only has 29,460, a mere 10,000 household gap vs. Detroit in high earning households. Now both of these cities are smaller (Minneapolis much smaller) and so are proportionately much richer. But the point is that in total, there actually are a material number of households in the city of Detroit with significant incomes."

The Urbanophile » Blog Archive » The Other Side of Detroit

so please miss me with that "Detroit is too poor" bs. Its kind of contridicting as well. You say Detroit is too poor for a chain store but Retroit swears we all not only shop at suburban chains but we also commute there. So we have enough money to afford gas and commute to the burbs for a Kroger but we're too poor for Kroger to put one in the city? smh F*** Kroger. All of those cities also have either a sizable white population still or enough white people backing. Which is totally different for Detroit.

I also lived in a smaller city that was majority black and poorer than Detroit, Daytona Beach. Which has 2 Walmarts, 2 Publix and plenty other chains. But I didn't see any black people living anywhere near how people live in Palmer Woods, Indian Village, Rosedale Park etc. The only truly affluent part of DB is beachside which is very small. oh and suprisingly (sarcastic) no black people on beachside either

Another possible suggestion is that many major companies simply wouldn't put a dime in Detroit after the 1967 riots. I wouldn't necessarily call that a disinvestment, but rather a decision not to invest. As the city emptied out, as its people grew progressively poorer, and as crime increased, quite a few of these retailers may have then made a business decision to shutter their shops.

Also, in most parts of the country, outlets built in the '60s were closed a long time ago to make way for newer outlets in flashier malls/power centers, etc. (many of which were also closed again as the chains renewed their retail outlets and their retail strategies). This may have happened in Detroit as well, with outlets closing during the '70s, the '80s, and the '90s, and with no plan to replace them because it was felt that the city was too poor (or would become too poor) to merit new investment.

Long story short, my suspicion is that these companies did what all sensible companies do: they followed the money (in this case, to the neighboring cities/suburbs).

This is just a suggestion; I'm not trying to pick a fight here. The riots did do a number on Detroit, though. It's impossible to deny that.