Dead Metro Detroit Malls *Universal, Livonia and Summit Place Mall pictures included*

[Downtown diva]

Most of suburban Detroit, just like most areas of suburban America, is unsustainable.

please enlighten us. because most of suburban detroit is unsustainable, which communities are you referring to?

[iheartthed]

please enlighten us. because most of suburban detroit is unsustainable, which communities are you referring to?

It would be easier for me to name the suburbs that I'm not referring to...

But as a for instance, let's compare Dearborn and Westland. These two cities have many similarities: they have a similar number of residents, a similar population density, they are situated fairly close to each other. But a fundamental difference between the two cities is that Westland is only accessible by either car or bus, while Dearborn is accessible by bus, car and train.

So when it becomes prohibitively expensive for most people to fund a 45 minute car ride to work, would people be more likely to choose to live in Westland or Dearborn? Dearborn would be the most logical choice simply because you have an alternative transportation option to connect you to other points in the region and/or nation. By being on the rail line, Dearborn has a non-automotive transportation connection to Detroit, Ann Arbor and the airport. Westland currently does not [[to my knowledge).

Dearborn being accessible by train also allows them to build a much denser environment, should they choose to do so, that Westland could never support, since it doesn't have the transportation infrastructure... This despite that at this point in time these are two very similar cities in terms of population and density.

And more suburbs in Metro Detroit are in Westland's situation rather than Dearborn's.

[jcole]

It would be easier for me to name the suburbs that I'm not referring to...

But as a for instance, let's compare Dearborn and Westland. These two cities have many similarities: they have a similar number of residents, a similar population density, they are situated fairly close to each other. But a fundamental difference between the two cities is that Westland is only accessible by either car or bus, while Dearborn is accessible by bus, car and train.

So when it becomes prohibitively expensive for most people to fund a 45 minute car ride to work, would people be more likely to choose to live in Westland or Dearborn? Dearborn would be the most logical choice simply because you have an alternative transportation option to connect you to other points in the region and/or nation. By being on the rail line, Dearborn has a non-automotive transportation connection to Detroit, Ann Arbor and the airport. Westland currently does not [[to my knowledge).

Dearborn being accessible by train also allows them to build a much denser environment, should they choose to do so, that Westland could never support, since it doesn't have the transportation infrastructure... This despite that at this point in time these are two very similar cities in terms of population and density.

And more suburbs in Metro Detroit are in Westland's situation rather than Dearborn's.

You say that Dearborn is accessible by train, but take into consideration where that train stops. The stops are Pontiac, Birmingham, Detroit, Dearborn then Ann Arbor. The next stop is Jackson. This isn't designed to get people to work and back. Unless you work within a 6 block radius of one of those stops, you still need transport to get to your job. Besides if you live in Westland, it's not a very long drive to park your car at the Dearborn station. Also consider cost. A round trip ticket from Dearborn to Pontiac is $22. I think it would be considerably cheaper to drive.

[iheartthed]

You say that Dearborn is accessible by train, but take into consideration where that train stops. The stops are Pontiac, Birmingham, Detroit, Dearborn then Ann Arbor. The next stop is Jackson. This isn't designed to get people to work and back. Unless you work within a 6 block radius of one of those stops, you still need transport to get to your job. Besides if you live in Westland, it's not a very long drive to park your car at the Dearborn station. Also consider cost. A round trip ticket from Dearborn to Pontiac is $22. I think it would be considerably cheaper to drive.

It is cheaper to drive now. That may or may not be true in the future.

Even if it's not a very long drive to the Dearborn station, it will require people who live in Westland to 1) own a car, and 2) use [[expensive) gas to drive to Dearborn. This will potentially make the cost of living in Westland outweigh whatever benefit it may have over Dearborn [[and off the top of my head, I can't think of anything in Westland that you couldn't get from Dearborn).

Now, I'm not saying that personal automobile usage will completely disappear, because that is not gonna happen. But more people are gonna prefer an environment where they have alternative transportation options than one where they don't [[especially so if the cost of driving is not dirt cheap). So those areas with alternative options will benefit from higher housing demand, thus higher property values, more tax revenue, being more attractive for commercial development, etc.