You're 100% right.

You also answered some of your own questions, I think. Detroit is an auto-oriented city and will continue to be for some time to come. And Michigan has never been a leader when it comes to public transit or pedestrian-oriented development. None of our major cities have a viable inter-city rail network. And all of our major cities have sprawling suburbs, freeway megaprojects, and big-box developments on their peripheries.

That seems to be changing, incrementally, but unfortunately the rest of the country is way, way ahead of us in regards to this. Even Gary, Indiana is spearheading efforts to restore its abandoned train station and put in a light-rail system.

Until we elect a more competent leadership, and find people who are committed to investing in solid public transit and smart developments, we will continue to see neighborhoods decimated for enormous casinos, historic structures demolished to make way for parking, and more and more enhancements and to our massive freeway systems.

But it's also not that easy. Transit-oriented and pedestrian-oriented development takes a change in the way we, the people, want to and like to live. We have been so ingrained in the automobile culture because of its convenience and speed that we have forgotten about the convenience and speed of walking down the street to your local market, hopping on the streetcar to visit your friends in another neighborhood, or enjoying the sense of community and excitement that pervades denser neighborhoods.

Before Michigan and Detroit "own up" to their planning mistakes, we the people have to make it clear we want the opposite of what we've been getting. Unfortunately, this may very well be the hardest part.