Decisions that could have saved Detroit

[Modusvivendi]

The recent "Decline of Detroit" thread has an excellent discussion of some of the factors that led to the decline of Detroit from what it once was - a city with much wealth, thriving neighborhoods, good public education, etc.

What I would like to get is people's thoughts on the flip side to that discussion: What decisions, if any, could the city or state have realistically taken to save Detroit from the decline it faced? This could mean not having taken a decision that was taken, or doing something that wasn't done.

For example, instead of just saying something like "preventing white flight," it would be interesting to know what could have prevented it [[e.g., not building the freeways that made it easy to move out of the city).

Obviously, Detroit faced a lot of forces that were beyond its control, such as the loss of competitiveness of American manufacturing, but there were surely decisions that could have been taken to mitigate the damage. It would be
interesting to know what these decisions were.

[Detroitnerd]

Not enshrining home rule in the state constitution, and allowing cities to annex cities.

[Scottathew]

Here are skyl4rk's possible EFM actions from another thread:

Assuming an EFM takes control of the City of Detroit, what acations do you think he/she will take?

Here is my guess:

Eliminate city council salaries, bodyguards, vehicles

Eliminate city council staff

Layoff 1/3 of employees

Offer Water/Sewer system for sale or create a Water/Sewer Authority with all jurisdictions participating in control of authority

Split off City Airport into a separate entity, sale?

Reduce pensions for existing employees from now on

Reduce current city employees salaries

Reduce current city employees health care benefits

Reduce pension payments to retired employees?

Privatize garbage collection

Eliminate or Reduce Detroit Legal Department

Merge Police and Fire operations?

[Detroitnerd]

This discussion is about steps that could have been taken before the decline, not after the fact.

[Scottathew]

This discussion is about steps that could have been taken before the decline, not after the fact.

Any of the steps could have been done before. Detroit decided to do nothing.

[canuck]

Perhaps the universities could have been more involved in the process of bringing social justice to the black community.

William Bunge, a geographer was cast aside by Wayne State University for his radical approach to geographic exploration in the midst of Detroit's ghetto. His illumination proved to much for the enlightened folks heading the department back then. If they had listened to people who walked the walk, maybe Detroit would be a lot better off today.

[skyl4rk]

"The City has a long standing practice of paying OPEB liabilities as they become due from current revenues. [[Pay-as-you-go or Pay-go)"

City of Detroit, Enterprise Funds Deficit Elimination Plan, July 22, 2011

OPEB = Other Post Employment Benefits

In other words, at some time there was a decision to fund Detroit employee pension benefits in the same way that Social Security is funded, based on current revenues with no cash reserves.

A reserve fund should have been established to hold cash to pay for future pension benefits.

[313WX]

Not enshrining home rule in the state constitution, and allowing cities to annex cities.

One could write a 300 page book on the things Detroit [[regionally) did wrong in comparison to other cities who were in its league.

This is near the top however.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, home rule has its benefits, but in cases such as Detroit, it most certainly should be limited. Michigan probably has the strictest home rule clause in the country, and it was put in place against Detroit actually.

[MrDetroit]

The people's perception of what place is. Detroit's identified as the motor city because of it's cars, arsenal of democracy for it's efficient freeway system and hard working middle class. Basically sounds like a good place to work, and for years that's what people did; they came to work. The idea of a live/ work/ play environment at the time prior to the decline was something that needed much emphasis on. Creating a since of place that would retain peoples interest in staying in Detroit after 5pm. Wasn't until 2005 Detroit had an official welcome center. That in itself speaks volumes. If you don't know what to do, or where to go, usually you'll stick to what it is your use to. Before people would move to find a place to work, now people look for vibrant places to live first then work.

[313WX]

arsenal of democracy for it's efficient freeway system

Ummm, no.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, this country's greatest president ever, aptly named Detroit the GREATEST arsenal of democracy because of how much the auto companies here contributed to the strength of our military, by dedicating nearly all of their production to army tanks.

That will never be the case again of course, since much of our manufacturing base has been outsourced to China [[BTW, I hear the NAVY's newest ships are built with steel made in China, not 100% sure about that).

Most of Detroit's freeways didn't even exist before Eisenhower's Highway Defense Act, and only the Davison and maybe a small portion of the Lodge existed before we won WWII.

[lilpup]

Past AND present: Work the problems instead of being preoccupied with laying blame.

[stasu1213]

Allow the influx of immigrants to become americanized in move into the city. GIVE them the vacant homes that are habitable. Allow them to set up businesses in the communities that they will move into but give no tax breaks. Let them sign a waiver saying that they have to stay in the neighbrhood for so many years.The immigrants could come from all over. Let Detroit have it's arms open wide for those coming from devistation of Japan.

[Detroitnerd]

Any of the steps could have been done before. Detroit decided to do nothing.

So, essentially, your argument is that, if Detroit, in 1951, at the height of its population, during the largest economic expansion in U.S. History, had eliminated city council salaries, bodyguards, vehicles,eliminated city council staff, laid off 1/3 of employees, offered DW&S for sale, sold off City Airport, reduced pensions for existing employees, reduced current city employees salariies, reduced current city employees health care benefits, reduced pension payments to retired employees, privatized garbage collections, eliminated the Detroit Legal Department, and merged police and fire depatments, everything would be hunky-dory? You must be joking.

[Scottathew]

So, essentially, your argument is that, if Detroit, in 1951, at the height of its population, during the largest economic expansion in U.S. History, had eliminated city council salaries, bodyguards, vehicles,eliminated city council staff, laid off 1/3 of employees, offered DW&S for sale, sold off City Airport, reduced pensions for existing employees, reduced current city employees salariies, reduced current city employees health care benefits, reduced pension payments to retired employees, privatized garbage collections, eliminated the Detroit Legal Department, and merged police and fire depatments, everything would be hunky-dory? You must be joking.

Either that, or my argument is that they should have never of let it happen in the first place.

I'll let you decide.

[Detroitnerd]

Heck, maybe we should have kept Woodward's plan. The rampant use of property for private profit with no provisions for public enjoyment or public life.Also, being a boom town hurt Detroit in the long run. It was overrun with people interested almost only in making money, and with little affection for or interest in local institutions.

[Richard]

Learned from the past and stop repeating it even today?

[Detroitnerd]

Either that, or my argument is that they should have never of let it happen in the first place.I'll let you decide.

What I'd give to know what, in your heart of hearts, "they" and "it" mean.

[SlipperyPencil]

Johnson's model city program should have never been adopted - http://www.thedailycrux.com/content/...ment_Stupidity

Bill Bonner makes some good suggestions to get out of the mess - http://dailyreckoning.com/a-depressi...tal-d/#detroit

[Dexlin]

What I would like to get is people's thoughts on the flip side to that discussion: What decisions, if any, could the city or state have realistically taken to save Detroit from the decline it faced? This could mean not having taken a decision that was taken, or doing something that wasn't done.

Honest questions, does it even matter? Does it make sense to go over would could have been? This seems like beating a dead horse, even more so than what could be done now that never ends up getting done, anyway. But this mental exercize seems particularly useless.

[EastsideAl]

I predict that this thread will eventually end up as a discussion over the election and legacy of Coleman A. Young, as pretty much all discussions of Detroit's post 1967 history do. And that's a discussion that really leads nowhere good, or, more likely, just nowhere at all. All it really serves to reveal are the disparate perceptions of history [[both pre- and post-Young) that have kept us divided and wrapped up in resentments and enmity all these years. That divide is an enormous part of what went wrong here, but it wasn't really a decision. Other cities and regions in this country have had nasty racial histories and racial divides, but most of those other areas have gotten around, through, and over that enough to operate and advance. Here we seem permanently stuck in a time warp.

[Modusvivendi]

I don't think the discussion necessarily needs to focus on Coleman Young. Certainly there are things that could have been done way before him that might have helped Detroit in the long run. For example, what if Michigan had invested in an anchor university in the city so that it would have a more diversified economy. Was that ever considered? And how could the effects of white flight been mitigated? I'm not an expert but think that if the entire region had been annexed into a single unit for tax purposes you wouldn't have seen Detroit's tax base collapse and people in the suburbs would have had more of an invest,met in the city. Just a thought.

My basic point though is that instead of explaining why Detroit is the way it is, it's interesting to consider what could have happened, but did not, to prevent that outcome.

[Dexlin]

I just noticed that you're brand new [[I'm pretty new, too, but a long-time worker), so I'll forgive you for beating this dead horse, but now you know. There has to be dozens of threads in the archives that deal with "what ifs." You must understand, though, that at a time when the city is on the verge of finally being taken over, the last thing most of us would like to discuss is "what ifs". Most of us finally see a way to move on from that, a painful way to move on, but to move on, nonetheless.

[DetroitPlanner]

Wasn't until 2005 Detroit had an official welcome center. That in itself speaks volumes. If you don't know what to do, or where to go, usually you'll stick to what it is your use to. Before people would move to find a place to work, now people look for vibrant places to live first then work.

There was one a lot earlier than that. I can recall a Welcome Center being located near the Ford Auditorium in the 1970's.

I suppose thats why there are so many people moving to North Dakota? For the nightlife?

[Hermod]

eliminated city council salaries, bodyguards, vehicles,eliminated city council staff

I would submit that in 1951, the city council did not have massive staffs, bodyguards, or expensive vehicles. They might have a secretary and a free parking spot for council meetings.

l

[jolla]

1. Not slipping on code enforcement.

2. Being more aggressive toward collecting property taxes.

3. Actually selling abandoned buildings before they get too expensive to fix or knocking them down.

4. Keeping the residency requirement.