Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Michigan
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 11-04-2013, 12:28 PM
 
171 posts, read 302,472 times
Reputation: 69

Advertisements

Southfield wants after-work downtown vibe and nightlife | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

Southfield wants after-work downtown vibe and nightlife

With its Northland shopping mall and its many suburban office parks on acres of asphalt, Southfield typifies the sprawling low-density suburbs of Detroit. It’s the sort of landscape that met the needs of businesses and residents leaving Detroit for suburbia a generation or two ago.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-04-2013, 01:33 PM
 
2,210 posts, read 3,483,430 times
Reputation: 2240
That's nice and all, but if they don't start improving their schools a city center will amount to nothing. People moved out to places like Southfield initially to flee DPS. As Southfield and other inner-ring school districts began to decline, young families stopped moving there. Trying to build a shopping/nightlife district to attract new residents is the equivalent of putting a band aid on a broken arm.

Livonia is attempting the same thing with their "Livonia Tomorrow" initiative.

Livonia Tomorrow > Home&
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2013, 05:03 PM
 
171 posts, read 302,472 times
Reputation: 69
I think their aim is to get the people that work in Southfield to move and live in Southfield instead of traveling back and forth.

Having a nightlife there might help it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2013, 05:57 PM
 
Location: Metro Detroit Area, Michigan
1,107 posts, read 3,065,417 times
Reputation: 537
They have a long way to go. I have never heard any good reviews about Southfield from all age ranges 18-60+
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2013, 06:57 PM
 
171 posts, read 302,472 times
Reputation: 69
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jwo85 View Post
They have a long way to go. I have never heard any good reviews about Southfield from all age ranges 18-60+
Four of my friends moved there and love it. I've visited them 3-4 times and enjoyed my stay there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2013, 08:29 PM
 
Location: Michigan
4,647 posts, read 8,572,798 times
Reputation: 3775
There's a lot of great mid-century architecture in Southfield. Better than many other suburbs that were developed around the same time.

According to city-data, crime in Southfield has actually been going down and now it's still about the same as other suburbs adjacent to 8 Mile. If there was a bad time to be in Southfield, I clearly missed it because all the times I've been there it felt like just another suburb.

I also think their plan to make a 'downtown' is pretty tame. There's a lot of space that they can fill with dense development if those renderings are all they have planned for now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2013, 08:33 PM
 
171 posts, read 302,472 times
Reputation: 69
Quote:
Originally Posted by animatedmartian View Post
There's a lot of great mid-century architecture in Southfield. Better than many other suburbs that were developed around the same time.

According to city-data, crime in Southfield has actually been going down and now it's still about the same as other suburbs adjacent to 8 Mile. If there was a bad time to be in Southfield, I clearly missed it because all the times I've been there it felt like just another suburb.

I also think their plan to make a 'downtown' is pretty tame. There's a lot of space that they can fill with dense development if those renderings are all they have planned for now.
I agree. When my friend bought his house, it was vandalized right before closing. When he got there and realized, he immediately called the police. He said their response time was better than the NYPD response time here in NYC. lol He was actually really surprised how fast they came.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-05-2013, 08:56 AM
 
2,210 posts, read 3,483,430 times
Reputation: 2240
I'm always skeptical when cities announce plans to reverse engineer a downtown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-05-2013, 10:24 AM
 
1,636 posts, read 2,133,668 times
Reputation: 1832
Southfied however is one suburb that really should have capitalized on its highrises. Imagine if the people mover was expanded to go down the center median of the Lodge Freeway and stop at civic center and then continue down Northwestern Highway and end at Orchard Lake Road. So many businesses, corporations, and people. It could connect the business districts of Farmington Hills, Southfield and Downtown Detroit with mass transit. It would help solidify a downtown pedestrian Southfield as it would be a major metro stop.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-05-2013, 07:29 PM
 
1,317 posts, read 1,929,948 times
Reputation: 1925
Southfield reminds me of a failed version of Tysons Corner, VA outside of DC
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Michigan
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:57 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top