NY Times - Last Stop on the L Train: Detroit

[Bham1982]

I guess if you're going to bring truth into the discussion I would truly say Detroit has very little in common with Brooklyn and it's quite a leap to suggest large amounts of artists who found inspiration in Brooklyn will find it here.

Yeah, that's basically my point. Brooklyn may have artists, Detroit may have artists, but the overlap would probably be minimized by the fact that they're such radically different built environments. Someone who likes Brooklyn's current environment isn't likely to be drawn to Detroit current environment, and vice-versa.

And I don't see the "cheaper real estate costs" argument, because there are tons and tons of places with similar costs as Detroit, many within relative proximity to NYC. There are lots of depressed towns like Newburgh and Camden and Bridgeport and areas around Philly that offer dirt-cheap prices, but with urbanity, proximity to NYC, and some resemblance to Brooklyn.

If you're in a Bushwick loft, and prices are skyrocketing, why would you move to a suburban-style neighborhood in Detroit that looks like a bombed out version of every older suburb in the Eastern U.S.? Why not move to the South Bronx, which has tons of lofts and is as urban as it gets, or go cheaper and head to Newark, or really go Detroit-cheap and head to Camden or depressed parts of Philly?

Detroit is single family homes with yards, back alleys, strip malls, huge industrial zones, massive freeways, quiet, etc. It's a very different type of environment. You'll be playing the suburban homeowner game, with lawnmower in tow. Not exactly a six floor Bushwick loft, overlooking a tenement/tower landscape.