Originally Posted by
mwilbert
I would not deny that Highland Park is quite distressed [[the decline of Hamilton since my childhood hanging out on Antique Row is something I marvel at, in a bad way), but the three square mile thing isn't a problem--if anything it is a strength at this point, for two main reasons.
One is that because of its small size, anything that happens can have a citywide effect, which is why is declined so fast. Since it is now in terrible shape, things aren't likely to get a lot worse, whereas any improvement will be very noticeable.
The other is that the entire city is within maybe six-tenths of a mile of Woodward, which is the most strategic and most likely- to-be-invested-in part of the area. Detroit has large sections that are near nothing and have probably have a future as primarily parkland or farm. This is not really true of Highland Park.
I'm still not overly optimistic--it could take decades before the Woodward corridor is revived all the way up to Palmer Park from downtown--but I don't believe HP's size is a handicap at all.