The west side is slowly becoming the east side (Detroit: condo, new home)

[Triggerclown313]

I live in the most blighted area of the city but it was a small concentrated brightmoor only thing. Now it's spreading into the other west side neighborhoods and can't be stopped

[Retroit]

As people move out into better areas, the areas that are in the process of being abandoned will get worse. So it's good for people on the top end who are building new homes, and bad for the people left behind.

Over all, I think it is good. Many of the older homes are too small, poorly insulate, have lead paint, small yards and garages, etc. Eventually, these areas could be cleared out for new development, possibly factories, warehouses, commercial districts, etc. And hopefully the nicer areas of historical mansions can be preserved.

[Triggerclown313]

Originally Posted by Retroit

As people move out into better areas, the areas that are in the process of being abandoned will get worse. So it's good for people on the top end who are building new homes, and bad for the people left behind.

Over all, I think it is good. Many of the older homes are too small, poorly insulate, have lead paint, small yards and garages, etc. Eventually, these areas could be cleared out for new development, possibly factories, warehouses, commercial districts, etc. And hopefully the nicer areas of historical mansions can be preserved.

Yes but the west side was always the crown jewel beside brightmoor

[Geo-Aggie]

What Retroit says applies if more emphasis is placed on redevelopment of Detroit, like what you see happening in the Southeast Oakland County suburbs, but if emphasis continues to be placed on new development in Northville, Oakland TWP and other far-flung reaches of the exurbs then Detroit will continue its decay.

I'm about as pro-redevelopment as it gets, but even I recognize that if regular people (and not just as amateur demographers on City-Data) aren't owning this whole redev thing and attracting people with middle class incomes to older parts of town, then Detroit can and will fall further.

This is why I'm such a huge proponent of the Fitzgerald neighborhood redevelopment plan that has been in the local news today. This is a West(ish)-Side Detroit neighborhood with realistic plans for redevelopment. This is a typical neighborhood redevelopment slated for a relatively stable part of Detroit, not a Midtown luxury-condo. If this goes well and middle class people move in then you've got a blueprint for a number of other neighborhoods that are similar to Fitzgerald in abandonment/decay.

[slowdawg]

I'm all for chopping up the city and creating tiny new ones. It sounds absurd but I'm serious. Take some badly blighted areas and make some new Hamtramcks. Hamtramck--small city, completely surrounded by Detroit, but a different approach. The result is a very different place.
Get a few Hamtramck-sized areas damaged by blight, give them their own governments-their own governments,police forces, a new name, and let each micro-municipality try different things to redevelop their area. Some might turn residential blocks into commercial land.Some may focus on rebuilding neighborhoods. I think leadership, attitudes and ideas have to change before many areas ever come back. Plus, it would be an interesting experiment to see who ends up succeding the most. Suppose a new micro-city is created, called Detroit Heights. Another one a mile away is created called Detroit Meadows. Detroit Meadows becomes a safe, thriving community while Detroit Heights struggles to grow and improve. The city and its residents will never be willing to give up any land, but it could be a valuable experiment for discovering how to and not effectively run a city.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Triggerclown313

Yes but the west side was always the crown jewel beside brightmoor

I don't know about that. North Rosedale Park and Palmer Woods, maybe, but that's a small part of the westside. Most neighborhoods were populated by working-class residents and without any notable increase in working-class jobs, they're more or less doomed to decline. Of course, very few people with an education will stay in crime-ridden areas and the schools have yet to be fixed so generally most neighborhoods are undesirable to live in.

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

I don't know about that. North Rosedale Park and Palmer Woods, maybe, but that's a small part of the westside. Most neighborhoods were populated by working-class residents and without any notable increase in working-class jobs, they're more or less doomed to decline. Of course, very few people with an education will stay in crime-ridden areas and the schools have yet to be fixed so generally most neighborhoods are undesirable to live in.

No, in general, the westside HAD held up much better than the eastside. Before the mass exodus of black folks from Detroit starting around 2000, the MAJORITY of the residential neighborhoods on the westside were BLIGHT free, except for places like Brightmoor and Dexter-Davison-Linwood. Even Dexter-Davison wasn't THAT bad in terms of blight (now in terms of crime, yes, very bad even before 2000).

And the housing stock is, in general, is better on the westside. Much more brick homes and brick 2-family flats were built on the westside. The east side in general is older than the westside. The housing stock and age of the housing on the east mirrors the southwest side, which was built up earlier than the westside.

The west side has far more blocks that look like the below than the east side:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4154...8i6656!6m1!1e1

[Triggerclown313]

Originally Posted by slowdawg

I'm all for chopping up the city and creating tiny new ones. It sounds absurd but I'm serious. Take some badly blighted areas and make some new Hamtramcks. Hamtramck--small city, completely surrounded by Detroit, but a different approach. The result is a very different place.
Get a few Hamtramck-sized areas damaged by blight, give them their own governments-their own governments,police forces, a new name, and let each micro-municipality try different things to redevelop their area. Some might turn residential blocks into commercial land.Some may focus on rebuilding neighborhoods. I think leadership, attitudes and ideas have to change before many areas ever come back. Plus, it would be an interesting experiment to see who ends up succeding the most. Suppose a new micro-city is created, called Detroit Heights. Another one a mile away is created called Detroit Meadows. Detroit Meadows becomes a safe, thriving community while Detroit Heights struggles to grow and improve. The city and its residents will never be willing to give up any land, but it could be a valuable experiment for discovering how to and not effectively run a city.

Not a bad idea. Like making brightmoor it's own city with its own government would drastically reduce blight in Detroit . And crime.

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by Retroit

As people move out into better areas, the areas that are in the process of being abandoned will get worse. So it's good for people on the top end who are building new homes, and bad for the people left behind.

Over all, I think it is good. Many of the older homes are too small, poorly insulate, have lead paint, small yards and garages, etc. Eventually, these areas could be cleared out for new development, possibly factories, warehouses, commercial districts, etc. And hopefully the nicer areas of historical mansions can be preserved.

What has happened to Detroit is coming to Eastpointe. White folks are bailing big time on Eastpointe, and the aftermath is not going to be pretty. You won't be so haughty and dismissive about declining areas in the city when your block starts to see vacant houses, uptick in crime, increase in blight.

Concerning the housing stock of these neighborhoods that you regard as inferior and disposable: Much of the housing, like the 2 family flats in Dexter-Davison, have features like intricate brick masonry work, woodwork, plaster crown molding, natural fireplaces, spacious dining rooms, kitchens with breakfast nooks, 3 good size bedrooms per unit. In cities like Philly, Chicago, Boston, etc, people willingly live in even more cramped quarters than we have in Detroit, and they don't have a problem with the old housing stock. Old houses can be insulated, storm windows can be installed, and lead paint is really not harmful unless it's eaten. Everybody doesn't need a big yard. And didn't you get the memo about factories and warehouses - they have left and are never coming back.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

People in the D are way too picky about houses. Come live here in the Bay Area. It will cure you of your haughty expectations.