Are suburbanites aware of how unattractive living in Metro-Detroit is to outsiders?

[Detroitnerd]

There is nothing worse than oversimplifying a situation, but I will try anyway.

Detroit's whole problem has been crime. From the starting shot of urban flight to the present day, crime has been the leading cause of flight out of the city.

People have left Detroit for many reasons.

My grandfather, for instance, left Detroit in 1924 or so, getting a lot in what is now Dearborn and building a house on it. He could do that because he had a personal automobile, allowing him to live wherever he wanted. For a while, Detroit could solve the problem of residents who left by simply expanding its borders, but by 1929 it was stopped along all major thoroughfares by cities it could not annex.

The flight from the city accelerated in the postwar period, 1945-1965. This was when Detroit was considered a model city. Was "crime" the major reason for people moving out of Detroit to the suburbs during this time? Not really. There were lots of inducements for people, mostly white people, to move out: GI Bill, freeway construction, etc. This is a compelling story well told in Thomas Sugrue's book The Origins of the Urban Crisis.

Finally, the death knell was the 1967 riot, which was less a race riot than an uprising by black residents of disinvested neighborhoods protesting a police force that was practically an institution of white supremacy. Finally, many of the last white holdouts left.

What happens to a city when the people of means, the homeowners, the people with strong local institutions, churches, money, equity, good jobs, educations, leave a city? When it becomes a city of largely poor, uneducated, poorly socialized people? Then you start to see a lot of crime, my friend.

And so, as a kind of rationalization for abandoning the city, a whole generation of people blamed the criminals living in the city for driving out good people -- even though people had been leaving the city since they could buy a motorcar.

We talk a lot about this on this forum, townone. Feel free to ask some questions about the history, or to read Sugrue's book. You'll find that it is, as you well know, a lot more complicated.

[townonenorth]

People have left Detroit for many reasons.

My grandfather, for instance, left Detroit in 1924 or so, getting a lot in what is now Dearborn and building a house on it. He could do that because he had a personal automobile, allowing him to live wherever he wanted. For a while, Detroit could solve the problem of residents who left by simply expanding its borders, but by 1929 it was stopped along all major thoroughfares by cities it could not annex.

The flight from the city accelerated in the postwar period, 1945-1965. This was when Detroit was considered a model city. Was "crime" the major reason for people moving out of Detroit to the suburbs during this time? Not really. There were lots of inducements for people, mostly white people, to move out: GI Bill, freeway construction, etc. This is a compelling story well told in Thomas Sugrue's book The Origins of the Urban Crisis.

Finally, the death knell was the 1967 riot, which was less a race riot than an uprising by black residents of disinvested neighborhoods protesting a police force that was practically an institution of white supremacy. Finally, many of the last white holdouts left.

What happens to a city when the people of means, the homeowners, the people with strong local institutions, churches, money, equity, good jobs, educations, leave a city? When it becomes a city of largely poor, uneducated, poorly socialized people? Then you start to see a lot of crime, my friend.

And so, as a kind of rationalization for abandoning the city, a whole generation of people blamed the criminals living in the city for driving out good people -- even though people had been leaving the city since they could buy a motorcar.

We talk a lot about this on this forum, townone. Feel free to ask some questions about the history, or to read Sugrue's book. You'll find that it is, as you well know, a lot more complicated.

I suppose that one person writing a book has all the insights in the world. But nothing like living the history of personal experience to drive the truth. Crime drove my parents, and I, out of Detroit. If it weren't for that, there would be a shitload more people paying taxes in the city. But keep believing your Pied Piper, DN. Believe it or not, the city empied out from the core outward due to crime. The police did nothing to help matters.

Now I'd love for you to think about something outside of your "pied piperish" zone, for a second. Explain to me how Hamtramck didn't suffer the same fate as other areas in the city, up till recently. Was it better civic governance? Better people? Or a functioning police force?

[Detroitnerd]

I suppose that one person writing a book has all the insights in the world. But nothing like living the history of personal experience to drive the truth.

Well, Thomas Sugrue was born in Detroit in 1962. He grew up in Detroit, just as all these changes were happening. So I think he knows a thing or two first-hand about Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s. Then he spent years studying Detroit, researching Detroit, looking at actual facts and trying to get past the mythology that is built up about "we left Detroit because of the riots" or "we left Detroit because of the crime." It turns out that it's a lot more complicated than the stories people who moved out tell.

Would you like to read it? Expand your mind a bit? Learn what people other than your parents have to say? Shouldn't be a problem if you really are an intelligent and open-minded person. Sounds like he's one of your peers.

Crime drove my parents, and I, out of Detroit. If it weren't for that, there would be a shitload more people paying taxes in the city. But keep believing your Pied Piper, DN. Believe it or not, the city empied out from the core outward due to crime. The police did nothing to help matters.

I didn't deny that, by the late 1970s, there was a great deal of crime in Detroit. But you claim crime was the only thing driving people out of the city, from the core outward. You know, that's really not borne out by the facts -- and facts are not some mythical pied piper. [[I'm not even sure what that means.) People moved out of Detroit because of a variety of factors, many of them inducements: automobiles freeing up people to live away from transit lines, GI Bill-subsidized home loans, freeways to carry them farther away, lower taxes. And when people of means leave a city, they leave the people who cannot leave: the poor, the uneducated, the poorly socialized.

Then there's also the matter of white-black relations, and how conservative white Detroiters' faith in the city collapsed with the reform of the Detroit Police Department.

See, there's a lot of history there, if you would only examine it. It might force you to re-examine what you think you know already, though. In which case I imagine you'll likely want to stick to your simple, almost mythological view of what happened rather than look more closely at the history.

Explain to me how Hamtramck didn't suffer the same fate as other areas in the city, up till recently. Was it better civic governance? Better people? Or a functioning police force?

Traditionally, Polish people have been an outlier in Detroit. Unlike a lot of the Southerners who moved north for work, or the later immigrants who showed up to make money in the plants, Poles were super-invested in their communities. When you pour money into building a cathedral, community centers, social halls, parochial schools, veterans' halls, fraternal organizations, etc., you are less likely to pull up stakes and go when times get tough. In fact, behind blacks and Latinos, Poles are still a distant third ethnicity in the city of Detroit. When good people don't leave, everybody gets the benefit of their stewardship, and bad guys get watched by grandmas from behind their curtains. Neighborhood cohesion is easier. Frankly, all this makes it easier for the police to do their job.

Also, Hamtramck has been a great place to go through the immigrant experience because the Poles paved the way for new immigrants. Hamtramck has Bangladeshi people, Yemeni people, Catholic Albanian people, Bosnian people, etc. And more arrive all the time, replacing the ones who move out to Warren and Sterling Heights when they gather enough capital.

And it doesn't just end at the city line. The areas around Hamtramck in Detroit tend to be more populated, more diverse and denser. And I would say it has a lot to do with how the Poles, unlike the rest of Detroit, didn't pull up stakes and leave Hamtramck to the poor and uneducated.

[townonenorth]

Well, Thomas Sugrue was born in Detroit in 1962. He grew up in Detroit, just as all these changes were happening. So I think he knows a thing or two first-hand about Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s. Then he spent years studying Detroit, researching Detroit, looking at actual facts and trying to get past the mythology that is built up about "we left Detroit because of the riots" or "we left Detroit because of the crime." It turns out that it's a lot more complicated than the stories people who moved out tell.

Really? So where in Detroit did he live? Lots of people were born in Detroit, and lived elsewhere in the region. Clarify his experience?

Would you like to read it? Expand your mind a bit? Learn what people other than your parents have to say? Shouldn't be a problem if you really are an intelligent and open-minded person. Sounds like he's one of your peers.

TL;WR.
Bottom line is, Detroit, was born, grew, got fat, and died from lack of attention. Oh yeah, and racism too. Sugrue sure was a genius, huh?

I didn't deny that, by the late 1970s, there was a great deal of crime in Detroit. But you claim crime was the only thing driving people out of the city, from the core outward. You know, that's really not borne out by the facts -- and facts are not some mythical pied piper. [[I'm not even sure what that means.) People moved out of Detroit because of a variety of factors, many of them inducements: automobiles freeing up people to live away from transit lines, GI Bill-subsidized home loans, freeways to carry them farther away, lower taxes. And when people of means leave a city, they leave the people who cannot leave: the poor, the uneducated, the poorly socialized.

Once again, the freeways? I expected that.

Then there's also the matter of white-black relations, and how conservative white Detroiters' faith in the city collapsed with the reform of the Detroit Police Department.

See, there's a lot of history there, if you would only examine it. It might force you to re-examine what you think you know already, though. In which case I imagine you'll likely want to stick to your simple, almost mythological view of what happened rather than look more closely at the history.

Already have examined it, close up. No need to go back there and endlessly piss about what has been done by others, as you do daily. Set about to fixing what is wrong? Nah, you can't complain about yourself, can you?

Traditionally, Polish people have been an outlier in Detroit. Unlike a lot of the Southerners who moved north for work, or the later immigrants who showed up to make money in the plants, Poles were super-invested in their communities. When you pour money into building a cathedral, community centers, social halls, parochial schools, veterans' halls, fraternal organizations, etc., you are less likely to pull up stakes and go when times get tough. In fact, behind blacks and Latinos, Poles are still a distant third ethnicity in the city of Detroit. When good people don't leave, everybody gets the benefit of their stewardship, and bad guys get watched by grandmas from behind their curtains. Neighborhood cohesion is easier. Frankly, all this makes it easier for the police to do their job.

They have some great neighborhoods in Sterling Heights and Warren from what I heard.

Also, Hamtramck has been a great place to go through the immigrant experience because the Poles paved the way for new immigrants. Hamtramck has Bangladeshi people, Yemeni people, Catholic Albanian people, Bosnian people, etc. And more arrive all the time, replacing the ones who move out to Warren and Sterling Heights when they gather enough capital.

And follow the ones that left out Joseph Campau and I-75 when they get enough money and sense to leave.

And it doesn't just end at the city line. The areas around Hamtramck in Detroit tend to be more populated, more diverse and denser. And I would say it has a lot to do with how the Poles, unlike the rest of Detroit, didn't pull up stakes and leave Hamtramck to the poor and uneducated.

Right. Like Chene street?

[Detroitnerd]

Really? So where in Detroit did he live? Lots of people were born in Detroit, and lived elsewhere in the region. Clarify his experience?

He was born in the city and grew up in the city. Why don't you read his book?

TL;WR.

I must say, I don't understand. You have no desire to read up on the history of the city, yet you categorically seem to believe you understand the history of the city. This is willful ignorance, isn't it? Why should anybody take you seriously?

Bottom line is, Detroit, was born, grew, got fat, and died from lack of attention. Oh yeah, and racism too. Sugrue sure was a genius, huh?

This is your analysis of a book you haven't read. A book you have said you will not read. That's a fail, friend.

Once again, the freeways? I expected that.

That's just one factor. Are you not reading? After all, I've gone to the trouble to respond to your questions. The least you could do is read and make intelligent comments ...

Already have examined it, close up. No need to go back there and endlessly piss about what has been done by others, as you do daily. Set about to fixing what is wrong? Nah, you can't complain about yourself, can you?

This is not about blaming anybody. This is about understanding what has happened and why. Because if you don't understand the complex forces that created what we have today, you will overly simplify what happened, or arrive at conclusions that are wrong. Unless you're unconcerned with that, and are willing to repeat the mistakes of the past. I won't blame ignorance, but willful ignorance is a crime.

They have some great neighborhoods in Sterling Heights and Warren from what I heard.

I take the time to answer your questions, and this is the kind of glib response you offer? That's not dialogue, friend. That's trolling. Pure and simple.

And follow the ones that left out Joseph Campau and I-75 when they get enough money and sense to leave.

First of all, Joseph Campau doesn't intersect I-75. And, even though Hamtramck was more than 80 percent Polish in the 1980s, yes, quite a few of them have died off and some have even migrated north. It's interesting how new ethnic groups are following the same path of Poles who have left. That friendliness to immigration has helped Hamtramck a lot, making it the most diverse city in the state, if not the country.

As for having enough money or sense to leave, I think you miss the point. The reason Hamtramck has done so well is that so many Poles stayed, enriching local institutions, not splitting and taking their resources with them. You can either stay and defend your investment or you can take your marbles and leave. Luckily, Hamtramckans decided for the most part to stay and protect their considerable investments.

Right. Like Chene street?

Poles in Detroit had their own "northern migration" starting around 1900. In 1903, the Packard Plant opened on East Grand Boulevard, which was then the outskirts of town. Poles started moving northward, to live closer to the factory. When Dodge Main opened in 1914, the movement was in full swing and what is now Hamtramck started filling in. By the 1970s, the neighborhood around Dodge Main was more integrated than Hamtramck. Thanks to General Motors, which could have located its plant elsewhere but chose to have Poletown demolished by the city, a barrier was erected between the old neighborhood and Hamtramck. And Poles did live down around there south of the freeway. Several lived there until they died. I had the pleasure of seeing a photo documentary of the residents of that neighborhood, and it was a good mix until even 20 years ago. Unfortunately, those old folks don't live forever.

There is a block of really cool people that live on Farnsworth Street down there, just west of Moran.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=chene,...307.88,,0,1.31

Take a look. These are people who've bought up the whole street, more or less, and know each other, watch the street, behave like a cohesive neighborhood, much like the Poles of the neighborhood's heyday. They're not leaving. They're not taking their resources and splitting. And, as a result, the street looks great. And that's with crime, spotty police service, etc.

That's my point, really. What makes a neighborhood good? When good people stay there and defend it. What makes a neighborhood bad? When good people leave and take away their resources. It's a rule of thumb, and there are some variables at play, but that's why Hamtramck and that block of Farnsworth Street survive.

[townonenorth]

He was born in the city and grew up in the city. Why don't you read his book?

Anybody that you worship as devotedly as that must be not worth the read.

I must say, I don't understand. You have no desire to read up on the history of the city, yet you categorically seem to believe you understand the history of the city. This is willful ignorance, isn't it? Why should anybody take you seriously?

I never asked you to take me seriously. I don't take you seriously at all, so we are even, I guess.

This is your analysis of a book you haven't read. A book you have said you will not read. That's a fail, friend.

I read the Cliff Notes.

Once America's "arsenal of democracy," Detroit over the last fifty years has become the symbol of the American urban crisis. In this reappraisal of racial and economic inequality in modern America, Thomas Sugrue explains how Detroit and many other once prosperous industrial cities have become the sites of persistent racialized poverty. He challenges the conventional wisdom that urban decline is the product of the social programs and racial fissures of the 1960s. Probing beneath the veneer of 1950s prosperity and social consensus, Sugrue traces the rise of a new ghetto, solidified by changes in the urban economy and labor market and by racial and class segregation.
In this provocative revision of postwar American history, Sugrue finds cities already fiercely divided by race and devastated by the exodus of industries. He focuses on urban neighborhoods, where white working-class homeowners mobilized to prevent integration as blacks tried to move out of the crumbling and overcrowded inner city. Weaving together the history of workplaces, unions, civil rights groups, political organizations, and real estate agencies, Sugrue finds the roots of today's urban poverty in a hidden history of racial violence, discrimination, and deindustrialization that reshaped the American urban landscape after World War II.

In other words, the same blah blah blah you have been running here for years. Your point?

That's just one factor. Are you not reading? After all, I've gone to the trouble to respond to your questions. The least you could do is read and make intelligent comments ...

Don't be so put off. You could be actually working, instead of trolling a message board.

This is not about blaming anybody. This is about understanding what has happened and why. Because if you don't understand the complex forces that created what we have today, you will overly simplify what happened, or arrive at conclusions that are wrong. Unless you're unconcerned with that, and are willing to repeat the mistakes of the past. I won't blame ignorance, but willful ignorance is a crime.

Why aren't you in jail then? Like I said, the past is done. Move on?

I take the time to answer your questions, and this is the kind of glib response you offer? That's not dialogue, friend. That's trolling. Pure and simple.

Thank you!

First of all, Joseph Campau doesn't intersect I-75. And, even though Hamtramck was more than 80 percent Polish in the 1980s, yes, quite a few of them have died off and some have even migrated north. It's interesting how new ethnic groups are following the same path of Poles who have left. That friendliness to immigration has helped Hamtramck a lot, making it the most diverse city in the state, if not the country.

I never said I did say they intersected. Exit routes. One surface street, just to make you happy.

As for having enough money or sense to leave, I think you miss the point. The reason Hamtramck has done so well is that so many Poles stayed, enriching local institutions, not splitting and taking their resources with them. You can either stay and defend your investment or you can take your marbles and leave. Luckily, Hamtramckans decided for the most part to stay and protect their considerable investments.

Good thing they had a police force to back them up.
Sonn enough that will change though, unfortunately.

Poles in Detroit had their own "northern migration" starting around 1900. In 1903, the Packard Plant opened on East Grand Boulevard, which was then the outskirts of town. Poles started moving northward, to live closer to the factory. When Dodge Main opened in 1914, the movement was in full swing and what is now Hamtramck started filling in. By the 1970s, the neighborhood around Dodge Main was more integrated than Hamtramck. Thanks to General Motors, which could have located its plant elsewhere but chose to have Poletown demolished by the city, a barrier was erected between the old neighborhood and Hamtramck. And Poles did live down around there south of the freeway. Several lived there until they died. I had the pleasure of seeing a photo documentary of the residents of that neighborhood, and it was a good mix until even 20 years ago. Unfortunately, those old folks don't live forever.

Their kids had choices. They chose not to live next to the oncinerator, or the stockyards, or the rendering plant, or the hulk of the Packard.

There is a block of really cool people that live on Farnsworth Street down there, just west of Moran.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=chene,...307.88,,0,1.31

Take a look. These are people who've bought up the whole street, more or less, and know each other, watch the street, behave like a cohesive neighborhood, much like the Poles of the neighborhood's heyday. They're not leaving. They're not taking their resources and splitting. And, as a result, the street looks great. And that's with crime, spotty police service, etc.

That's my point, really. What makes a neighborhood good? When good people stay there and defend it. What makes a neighborhood bad? When good people leave and take away their resources. It's a rule of thumb, and there are some variables at play, but that's why Hamtramck and that block of Farnsworth Street survive

.


Been there. Wait till the church closes.

[Detroitnerd]

Anybody that you worship as devotedly as that must be not worth the read.

Haha. Worship? No, I think it's good scholarship. So do a lot of people studying cities. You know, the serious ones willing to look at something instead of rattle off a bunch of inherited prejudices...

I never asked you to take me seriously. I don't take you seriously at all, so we are even, I guess.

Well, it seems to me that deciding to participate in a discussion and ask questions implies a willingness to offer intelligent commentary and take replies seriously. Otherwise, you're just trolling, right? And you wouldn't happen to be a troll. We all know that.

I read the Cliff Notes.

How glib.

In other words, the same blah blah blah you have been running here for years. Your point?

No, the book is much more nuanced. I think you'd really benefit from reading it. Unfortunately, since it's pretty obvious you're neither interested in intelligent discussion nor expanding your mind, I believe you will not.

Don't be so put off. You could be actually working, instead of trolling a message board.

Projection is a sophisticated psychological concept, so I won't get into it. But it fits that remark perfectly.

Why aren't you in jail then? Like I said, the past is done. Move on?

As you charge forward repeating the mistakes of your ancestors, I wish you well.

On being a troll:

Thank you!

You're welcome.

I never said I did say they intersected. Exit routes. One surface street, just to make you happy.

I am happy.

Good thing they had a police force to back them up.
Sonn enough that will change though, unfortunately.

Well, Hamtramck marks 100 years in 2022. So far, so good. All my friends who live in Hamtramck seem pretty happy. Sorry if that frustrates you.

Their kids had choices. They chose not to live next to the oncinerator, or the stockyards, or the rendering plant, or the hulk of the Packard.

Yes, those choices. Stay and contribute to a neighborhood that's diverse and interesting, defending your investment against blight and crime. Or running away and taking your money with you, and then blaming the crime for what your neighborhood becomes.

Frankly, I begin to understand your rationalization of the choices your family made.

Been there. Wait till the church closes.

They don't go to church, so I don't know what that means.

Thank you for being a persistent troll. That was fun and rewarding! I got to make a lot of good points, clarify what I think and feel, and you got to ignore all of them.

And you even had the courage to admit that you're trolling! I'm proud of you!

Have a nice day, Townone!

[Hermod]

The flight from the city accelerated in the postwar period, 1945-1965. This was when Detroit was considered a model city. Was "crime" the major reason for people moving out of Detroit to the suburbs during this time? Not really. There were lots of inducements for people, mostly white people, to move out: GI Bill, freeway construction, etc. This is a compelling story well told in Thomas Sugrue's book The Origins of the Urban Crisis.

There was also the fact that by 1952, there was very little vacant land in the city. From 1946 to 1952, there was a building boom on any vacant lots in the city as intense as that going on in Warren.

[Detroitnerd]

There was also the fact that by 1952, there was very little vacant land in the city. From 1946 to 1952, there was a building boom on any vacant lots in the city as intense as that going on in Warren.

Yes, but when you go through a city directory of the time, you really notice vacancies in the back of the book, where you look through the addresses, in the older parts of the city. Starting in 1946, you start to see "vacant" ... "vacant" ... "card not returned" ... "vacant" ... "vacant" ... "vacant" ...

Just because Detroit was built out doesn't mean people of means at the time wanted to live in a rooming house in Brush Park that had been abused by the Depression and four years of housing war workers ...

Warren really expanded in the 1960s, once Detroit was all built out. And I'd argue that a lot of the movement in or out of the city after 1952 had to do with political battles, federal rulings, blockbusting real estate agents, bussing schemes, etc., right up to the early 1970s. According to my latest research, when the police department was reformed in 1974, that was the last straw for a lot of conservative white Detroiters.