Transit related question

[rhythmc]

Check out this article:

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/20...back-downtown/

I just came across it and it got me to thinking that given the small footprint of the most desirable areas of Detroit, is transit a necessity at this point for the city's to become more of the "It" place for the region?

[professorscott]

Transit is absolutely necessary for a big-city downtown to thrive. People need to get around, and if everybody has to have a car everywhere they go, you need to put in so much parking that it tears up the urban vibe and makes it less downtown-ish.

Find me one big-city downtown, without decent transit, that is thriving. Anywhere in the world.

[rhythmc]

Honestly, it's easier to point to the ones that are not thriving without a transit system. I guess my question is more of the chicken-egg variety. Honestly, I can see that transit is a very important aspect of urban life and vital to most major cities throughout the world. However, many of metro Detroit's jobs are still located outside of the city limits. I have the feeling that many large cities developed mass transit systems as a result of a need to move many of their people within it. As a result of metro Detroit's current orientation, any mass transit system would need to get people outside. With that, I fully believe that Detroit needs an effective transit system that will one day move the large amounts of people that will call the city home one day. But should transit be priority one, or should it be secondary to things like expanding the area that current non-city residents would want to live?

[DetroitPlanner]

with the aging population transit will become one of the bigger issues in rural america. If by transit you are not counting busses or vans then you may be correct though its still too early to tell what kind of shape Detroit will be in.