IHD - I don't think the leaders in the past necessarily preferred the dense population or walkable, urban spaces - and I think now it's all about putting the budget/collapse/receivership fire out. And even then, I'm not convinced either Bing or his challenger Barrow are any different on this issue. Many if not most of the new development you see across the city is suburban in style - Jefferson avenue after you cross 375 is looking more and more suburban every day. Woodward north of Grand Blvd - almost anything that gets knocked down gets replaced with a huge setback. Some urbanists I've talked to don't believe downtown Detroit will be the walkable center of the region, or is currently [[gasp!) Looking at the data, I can see how one comes to that conclusion.

DN - the question comes down to a personal one. If you are willing to wait between 10-25 years to maybe have the city you want to live in, great. Or, you decide to move somewhere else and get whatever "X" you want - in your case good urban planning - and get it now, or within the next couple years it takes you personally to make that move. Some that "X" is safety, others it's schools, others it's employment, or a combination. Most start out saying they are willing to wait for their personal "X", but personal experience tells me most burn out after 4-6 years and leave, and I can't say I blame them. Some, it's the process of building, not the destination, that enthralls them, and of course, that's valid too.

Many city lovers in this area I meet however, they've never actually lived in a New York or San Francisco or Chicago, or even visited them. To be honest, unless you've functioned [[visitors only see so much, I really mean live in them for even a month or six) in those spaces, you don't actually know what you're talking about when it comes to urbanity, where Detroit, Royal Oak, Birmingham and the region are in regards to it, what it would take, what's needed. It's all a bit of a walkable romance in those cases.

Books help, but they can't teach you the feel, the perceived distances, the vibe that occurs - and they can't teach you if you actually like it. Seen that too. They live in in an area for a few months and realize what it's really like to be without a car or without that instant mobility - and they come on back. Again, that's okay. That's life. Better to have experienced it and know what you want than not.