Detroit: Worst City in America, (World?)? (2013, construction, property taxes)

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

I'm not sure when you see that context.

Well you already answered part of your question...

Originally Posted by aniatedmartian

He only mentions US cities.

The US is a first world (developed) nation.

Also, note the big question specifically placed next to world.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by VM1138

That's a historical untruth. Black communities have been successful all over the country. When you get to the root of the problem it's not that there's a bunch of black people, but that the failed places are dominated by poverty, a lack of education, and a lack of a legal economy. Now due to historical conditions it just happens to affect the black community more prevalently, but it would a similar situation if Detroit had "too many whites" who were poor and lacked jobs and education.

Please identify locales where there is a majority Black population that you would deem "successful". I live in the wealthiest majority Black county in the country and our public school system is the 2nd worst in the state.

I could reel off other stats but I'm curious as to what your response is first.

[MS313]

There are alot of bad statistics that Detroit isn't #1 in. Air Quality, Traffic, cost of living, worst housing market, ect. I just think 2 main problems are public transportation and a DIVERSE ECONOMY... Detroit is way to big of a city and metropolitan to be THIS dependent on 1 economy. I mean if the metro area grew this much by mostly manufacturing then imagine how far it would of gotten if there were more major economies decades ago. We probably would have never fell this far in the first place.

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

There are alot of bad statistics that Detroit isn't #1 in. Air Quality, Traffic, cost of living, worst housing market, ect.

True, but it's darn near the top on all of them (especially the ones you listed). Nothing to brag about, unless your standards are low.

Texas also isn't number one on all of the bad statistics lists either.

EDIT: As for cost of living, how high it is correlates with how high the quality of life is. Why would people pay big bucks to live in a city that has the highest crime rate, the worst school, the worst unemployment rate, very limited retail options, blight everywhere you turn, the poorest city in the country, the fattest city in the country, has no functioning mass transit, and is now on the verge of bankruptcy? For a major city, Detroit's cost of living is pretty low. Rural areas also have even lower cost of living.

New York City's cost of living is the highest in the country, but where are people moving to (between NYC and Detroit)?

[SadieMirsade]

The Geography of Stuck - Housing - The Atlantic Cities

Demographics of "Getting Stuck"

[MS313]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

True, but it's darn near the top on all of them (especially the ones you listed). Nothing to brag about, unless your standards are low.

Texas also isn't number one on all of the bad statistics lists either.

EDIT: As for cost of living, how high it is correlates with how high the quality of life is. Why would people pay big bucks to live in a city that has the highest crime rate, the worst school, the worst unemployment rate, very limited retail options, blight everywhere you turn, the poorest city in the country, the fattest city in the country, has no functioning mass transit, and is now on the verge of bankruptcy? For a major city, Detroit's cost of living is pretty low. Rural areas also have even lower cost of living.

New York City's cost of living is the highest in the country, but where are people moving to (between NYC and Detroit)?

The only people I heard complaining about retail in Detroit is the people that write news articles that live way in another state. Never heard a Detroiter say we don't have enough stores, the most I heard was not having a mall within the city limits which I never realized until I payed attention to the negative press. There are 3 malls within walking distance to the city limits. Their technically right across the street from the city. I mean if you live near the southfield freeway your probably closer to Northland or Fairlane than you are downtown.

Blight every where you turn is a bit of a stretch even for the eastside.

Detroit is not the fattest city in the country lol who the hell even makes these statistics and how can they be so accurate about it??? what do they do include your height and weight in the census??? lol
But seriously... Detroit isn't even top 25
America's Fattest Cities : Men's Health Metrogrades
Dallas, Memphis, San Antonio, Chicago, Vegas, NO, Philly, ect are all "fatter" than Detroit lol.

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

The only people I heard complaining about retail in Detroit is the people that write news articles that live way in another state. Never heard a Detroiter say we don't have enough stores, the most I heard was not having a mall within the city limits which I never realized until I payed attention to the negative press. There are 3 malls within walking distance to the city limits. Their technically right across the street from the city. I mean if you live near the southfield freeway your probably closer to Northland or Fairlane than you are downtown.

Detroiters have low standards. They've adapted to not having retail in the city. Same with the grocery stores. Why should one HAVE to leave the cityat all to find any legible retail for basic necessities beyond a CVS (BTW, drug stores sell items at higher prices than what you can find at Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart, etc.) and, for most Detroiters, no-frills chaldean market? It shouldn't be that way, as it's not in any other city (including Gary, IN)

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

Blight every where you turn is a bit of a stretch even for the eastside.

What's your definition of blight?

Foreclosed properties and dilapitating commercial structures (which you CAN find in every part of the city) are blight as far as I'm concerned, but maybe it's different for you.

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

Detroit is not the fattest city in the country lol who the hell even makes these statistics and how can they be so accurate about it??? what do they do include your height and weight in the census??? lol
But seriously... Detroit isn't even top 25
America's Fattest Cities : Men's Health Metrogrades
Dallas, Memphis, San Antonio, Chicago, Vegas, NO, Philly, ect are all "fatter" than Detroit lol.

Ooops, my bad, I meant heart diseases. Detroit did top that list not even 10 years ago though.

It's still the same end result though, poor health from eating unhealthy foods often (likely due to the lack of fresh foods in reasonable reach to the average Detroiter), no matter the means.

BTW, looking further into that report, Detroit still earned a grade D+. Yep, it's happy days again alright.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

Detroiters have low standards. They've adapted to not having retail in the city. Same with the grocery stores. Why should one HAVE to leave the cityat all to find any legible retail for basic necessities beyond a CVS (BTW, drug stores sell items at higher prices than what you can find at Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart, etc.) and, for most Detroiters, no-frills chaldean market? It shouldn't be that way, as it's not in any other city (including Gary, IN)

This is how I know that is not true. Ill use some examples... I CONSTANTLY hear people who lived in Michigan ALL their life complain about snow or it being cold in the middle of the winter. We have had the same weather pattern since before their was a Detroit. They are used to it by now but still complain. Another thing is the violence people born and raised in some of the worst neighborhoods complain about, not just Detroit but Chicago and STL people complain about it as well. lots of people even act like it's surprising when someone they know are into all types of trouble gets shot or something. They complain about traffic, noise, ignorant people, ect... all things that their used to. If there really wasn't grocery stores in Detroit... they WOULD complain. This is a video I came across


Grocery Shopping in Detroit - YouTube

And people eat how they want because they choose too. How successful do you think a vegetarian market would be in a 75% black city where people LOVE to eat soul food lol. Just look at all of these restaurants around the city... how many coney islands, popeye's, church's chicken's, ect is in the city of Detroit alone? now how many of these resturants are in other MI cities outside of southeast MI. You can count on one hand for each, especially in West MI. People In Kalamazoo drive all the way to Battle Creek or Grand Rapids for popeye's. It's what your preferences are. If most people in the city wanted to eat healthy, there would be a high demand for those types of stores.
BTW I never heard of frills chaldean market what is that???

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

BTW I never heard of frills chaldean market what is that???

NO-FRILLS Chaldean Markets

Stores that are owned by the Chaldeans and are not full service. Theifference between it and Aldi is it sell meat/produce of marginal quality and sells name-brand foods at heavily marked-up prices in comparison to suburban stores and places like Kroger.

I can count on one hand the number of full service grocery stores in the entire city, that should, based on its area and population alone, support 43 of them (and one of them, on the eastside, had a severe rat problem, and may still have one).

As for your first paragraph, I agree the weather has no bearing on anything. Chicago and Minneapolis also have crappy winters, but they're growing fairly consistently (regionally).

About the soul food, lol, those are excuses.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

NO-FRILLS Chaldean Markets

Stores that are owned by the Chaldeans and are not full service. Theifference between it and Aldi is it sell meat/produce of marginal quality and sells name-brand foods at heavily marked-up prices in comparison to suburban stores and places like Kroger.

I can count on one hand the number of full service grocery stores in the entire city, that should, based on its area and population alone, support 43 of them (and one of them, on the eastside, had a severe rat problem, and may still have one).

As for your first paragraph, I agree the weather has no bearing on anything. Chicago and Minneapolis also have crappy winters, but they're growing fairly consistently (regionally).

About the soul food, lol, those are excuses.

So you seriously think a whole lot of people in the city would start regularly eating at a vegetarian restaurant serving absolutely NO meat? lol. If they opened one up tomorrow on Linwood and Joy Rd or 7 Mile and Evergreen or something I guarantee it would be another (insert name here) Coney Island by spring.