Killing the Civic Inferiority Complex

This blog post is from Greensboro, N.C., and it's about ways to avoid feeling that your city is the pits compared to top-drawer Alpha-Plus-Plus cities. Don't get me wrong, we can't ignore our problems, but I thought it was a good way to balance out some of the mornings when the city looks especially bleak.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/94371557/K...ok-Edition-1-1

Detroit has a lot in common with Greensboro in many ways. In the 1950s, urban historian Lewis Mumford dubbed Greenboro "Parking Lot City."

My advice is to move away for a few years with the possibility of plans to return. Some people do return and some people don't.But the grass is always greener on the other side and you'll never know what you have until it's gone. By reading this forum, many of us enjoy living in other cities around the world but there's no place like home. I'm sure Greensboro has a lot to appreciate. And I know the media makes certain places as though they're places in a fairytale. So living in another city for several years should be experienced and encouraged. Detroit will always be here waiting for us. And it's good to bring back some of the ideas that you've seen taken place in other cities and implement them in Detroit.

I am sure there are those whose who have a 'civic inferiority complex' about our city but I'm not one them. Our great international metropolis speaks for itself so Henry Ford's 'never complain, never explain' applies. My way of thinking is:

Detroit: what is happening while everybody else is trying to figure it out.

Hey, illwill, that's a good point. I left and returned, and brought 11 years of experience on how to do things differently [[in Detroit, read "wrong") in other places. We need people to go -- enough will come back, with fresh perspectives.

As for your point of view, Lowell, I understand it. You've been showcasing the things that make us unique among cities for years. Bravo!

When I saw the thread title, my first thought was, oh no, not another Onion parody...?

Detroit Kills Civic Inferiority Complex
Mayor Dave Bing confirmed today the cancelation of the long-touted Detroit Civic Inferiority Complex, a stimulus project intended to revive a neglected corner of the city. The complex, which would have included a barely functional hospital, an underfunded high school, and a totally forgettable Thai restaurant, was canceled, sources confirm, because what the city really needs is something that stands out from what's already there.

Don't shoot, folks, I'm just fond of their brand of satire and parody. :-D

Speaking as someone who left Detroit [[2002) and presumed I'd NEVER return...
I am in the final stages of doing just that [[as soon as I can find an apartment downtown!) I couldn't be happier [[I may be tempted to kiss the ground, in fact, when I cross the state/city limits,) nor has my appreciation for the place and the people been held in higher esteem.


BTW, I returning from the land of milk and honey...known by many as the "Sunny South." Go figure :confused:

Paulie G

It's great some many people have that sort of attitude about returning here. I grew up in booming Dallas, and I hated it. I hate it now, after being in Mich for 10 years. I would never move back.