Should the city of Detroit have five sides???
The city of Detroit, for practically much of it's existence, has been defined by it's sides, with Woodward Ave being the dividing line between the East and West sides. The East Side has been defined by ethnic neighborhoods such as long forgotten and demolished Poletown, Little Italy from the Eastern Market to Conner Ave all the way to 8 Mile via Gratiot, and other ethnicities such as the Belgians, the Greeks, the Lebanese, the Chaldeans, and the Albanians.
The west side has been considered the more WASPish side of Detroit, and also the home of Corktown, the city's Irish neighborhood, and where much of the city's Arab population had migrated before they went mainly to Dearborn. As for blacks, and in particular, African Americans, much of the black community started in the Lower East Side, especially on Hastings St. Before that, it was the Jews before they migrated into Central Side Detroit and later into Oakland County [[Southfield and the Bloomfields). The Cass Corridor, on the other hand, was inhabited by the Appalachians from Kentucky and West Virginia, but many of them, moved northeast to Warren, and others moved into Downriver.
And while the city has another side called the Southwest, I believe that it should be renamed South Side Detroit [[seriously!!!) and the boundaries should be changed from Michigan Ave as the northern border to Tireman and Grand River Aves and the eastern border should be Route 10 into the Detroit River.
Central or Center Side Detroit should be bounded by I-94, St Aubin, Dequindre, Webb, John Lodge and Highland Park western city limits, Wyoming, and I-96. North Detroit should be bounded by Eight Mile to the north, John Lodge, Highland Park and Hamtramck city limits, Conant, McNichols, and the Grand Trunk Railroad. The new East Side will be defined by the Grand Trunk RR, Hamtramck city limits, I-75, Detroit River, and the eastern Detroit city limits, while the new West Side will be bounded by Eight Mile, John Lodge, Wyoming, I-96, Livernois, Tireman, and the western Detroit city limits.
The only parts of the city which should be defined by and east-west basis IMHO should be Downtown, Midtown, and New Center, since it's where the original city had it's roots. The rest of the city should be defined by these new sides.
I've always seen South Detroit as the most industrial and polluted as well as the most diverse, Center Detroit as the most saddest since it's close to the Boston-Edison and Arden Park districts, and one which could gauge Detroit's comeback as a major city, North Detroit as arguably the most stable due to the Palmer Park, University District, and Palmer Woods areas, and West Side Detroit as the most boring and most suburban looking side of the city.
The East Side Detroit, however is the most interesting, not necessarily because of it's past diverse demographics, but because it too can gauge Detroit's comeback, as well as the fact that it's considered Detroit's Gold Coast from Downtown to Alter Road with many prewar apartment buildings, to many pristine neighborhoods such as Indian Village and Jefferson Chalmers, to many neighborhoods in Eastern Detroit that can make a comeback such as the Gratiot area north of Conner which be use some Italians, some new Polish immigrants as well as the Muslim community in Hamtramck and northeastern Detroit, and maybe newer immigrants can help fill out the East Side such as South Americans [[Venezuelans, Colombians, Brazilians), Southern Europeans such as the Portuguese, Spanish, and Albanians east of the Grand Trunk RR and especially from the Spanish Caribbean [[Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic) along Van Dyke, Mount Elliot, and along portions of Harper, Warren, Forest, and Mack west of Gratiot and east or I-75.
As for the black community, I believe it's very important that the East, Center, North, and West sides that they currently inhabit must be maintained because the worst thing that could happen is if gentrification destroys the fabric of the black community to the point where Detroit starts to look like San Francisco demographically. Since blacks have contributed to the Detroit cultural fabric the most, it's very important that major black leaders maintain and even help attract blacks to Detroit.
Finally, while gentrification is solely needed in Downtown, Midtown, and the New Center, I don't believe gentrification should define the city like it has defined San Francisco and Boston. Detroit is 138 sq mi, and such a huge city needs space for not only it's racial and cultural ethnicities [[I personally hate using the term minority, even though I know it means racial minorities). I believe there should be an Arabtown along West Warren from Dearborn into McGraw, a Chinatown in Midtown where the original one was located, an India Town along Oakland St from Grand Blvd to Holbrook, and even allow Caribbeans such as Trinidadians, and Bahamians to inhabit and rebuild Jefferson Chalmers in the east side, and the 7 Mile Livernois area in the North Side, and make Highland Park Michigan's center for Caribbean and African culture!!!:D
