Originally Posted by
oladub
Gates could come down when Detroit gets a handle on crime to the point that anyone can safely take a midnight stroll. Until then, the question is what best to do with huge amounts of vacant land with in place infrastructure. There is no money in farming except for tax benefits and subsidies set up for the rich.Greenhouses left Michigan when it became cheaper to truck in veggies and flowers than to heat a greenhouse. Developers, on the other hand, could offer the rebuilding of large sections of city without subsidies but no one will pay good money to live with crime. If a developer could guarantee good schools and safety to prospective buyers, purchasers would be lined up. Construction jobs would be replaced by the teachers, mechanics, restaurant workers and other new jobs. Taxes would flow from gated communities to help Detroit with the rest of it's needs.
I realize that there is the patina of exclusiveness that might be resented but apartment and condo buildings have indoor garages and keys to get in, Each and every one is a gated community. When the David Whitney building is refurbished, the residential floors with their meeting rooms, laundries, and exercise rooms won't be open to the unwashed masses either unless they buy a condo. The unwashed masses though would have more to gain from jobs and taxes gated communities could provide. It sure beats apple pickers getting assaulted on the back 40. Apple picking doesn't pay as good either.