David Stott being neglected. Flooding and frozen pipes. this is infuriating

[nain rouge]

Let's face it, these monolithic office buildings are tough to maintain long-term unless you're in a REALLY healthy economic area. I still think it's a shame Detroit lost so many of its old 2-4 story buildings in and around downtown in the name of progress. At one time, just about every major ethnic group in Detroit [[as well as African-Americans) had a business district similar to Greektown, usually surrounded by single-family homes and duplexes on small lots.

But instead, we replaced those areas with giant buildings that have maybe 2 or 3 storefronts, if we're lucky. And even if the first couple floors are open to the public [[which is rare), the businesses are usually lackluster and have no character. I wonder why?

Presently, downtown Detroit has such a shoddy, modernist design I really have a hard time conceptualizing how it can ever be that great of an urban area unless there's tons of new construction. If all it took was big, pretty buildings, Southfield and Troy would be urban meccas by now. There's more to it, and the city hasn't had a clue in over 80 years. Mixed use is only attempted out of desperation.

What's left of the Cass Corridor is way more urban than anything downtown, which is just one big set piece.