is detroit safe for tourists?

[MS313]

Originally Posted by Retroit

People move to Miami for the weather. Inside the intercoastal, it's a slum.

***Mod: Not Detroit related. Should be posted in the City vs. City forum.***

That is exactly what surprised me about the city. I came to realize that Miami is just another major city, just a lil more glitter which makes it special to some people.

[detroitlove]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

See Chicago is a prime example of why downtown's (or a hot tourist spot) is so important. If Detroit's downtown/Midtown/Corktown area was like downtown Chicago or Manhattan, it would naturally have many investments running threw revitalizing places like Jefferson Ave (which is already happening), eventually, the national media would have less to talk about and many people would start completely ignoring the fact that it still has many bad areas and go off saying "aww Detroit is so beautiful, it's so nice ect." (Some of the worst projects in the nation was right next to downtown Chicago). A better example is Miami. South Beach has successfully hid the other side of Miami from everybody. Single handily. I could not believe that Miami had so many run down areas the way people talk about Miami like it's paradise. See when the entire nation thinks that a city is run down or very dangerous, it's not going to be as many people coming to visit and spend money there or invest. But put a hot tourist spot in the city and ut oh, the blinders are on. Tourism and investments are threw the roof.

so true. I honestly believe that the media doesn't tell the whole story when it comes to most cities. Thats why I've always had more of interest in cities like Baltimore, New Orleans, Philly etc. Because I know exactly how Detroit's rep has hurt us in so many ways and is exaggerated at times

[Annuvin]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

Even though this may be true. Just because it's the top 3 most dangerous doesn't mean you will be shot at on sight just for driving through. THAT is what we mean by "over dramatization".

That was not at all what the comment I replied to said at all. It implied that Detroit really was no different from any other city, and that the reputation it has for being rough was due in part to sensationalism. I stand by my statement that when your city consistantly makes the top 5 most violent cities list on a yearly basis, it reputation is deserved and for good reason. That being said, I concur you are not very likely to be shot dead while driving your car through Detroit at 1:00 in the afternoon, however I don't think that would be likely scenario for any city in the U.S.

And also Detroit is a big place, and even though it may be true that Detroit has neighborhoods that look worse than any neighborhood in Vegas or Chicago. The southside of Chicago is also a big place, the part you were in might not have looked that bad but I been all over the Chi and can tell you they have some neighborhoods that come very close to Detroit's worst ghetto's. Try going all the way down the "Magnificent Mile" (Michigan Ave) and once your around 47th or 55th street and it wont be nothing "magnificent" about it. Large vacant apartment complexes and large open spaces with garbage everywhere. Matterfact there are many neighborhoods on the southside east of the dan ryan comparable to the worse Detroit neighborhoods as far as condition goes, and when the projects was all over there it was even worse. And then there is the westside of Chicago which looks worse than the southside. Especially in the Lawndale area.

One of the top 10 worst neighbourhoods in America is within Harlem, but you don't hear Manhattan being touted as one of the most violent cities in the nation. The reason being is because overall, Manhattan enjoys a relatively low crime rate. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Detroit (although the arguement could be made that because of depopulation trends, the "low crime" neighbourhoods are depleting while the higher-crime areas are expanding).

I agree that there are parts of Chicago's South Side that I was in that were in a worse state of decay than many parts of Detroit. However, when you compare the rate of violent crime between cities on a per capita basis, it tends to paint a fairly accurate picture of how well deserved a reputation is for any given city. That being the case, the fact Detroit consistantly makes the top five year after year means exactly that; it is one of the most violent cities in America. That is not undeserved sensationalism, it is a fact.