I've often wondered what Detroit was like from the early '70s on to the late '80s. The basic story is the the riots happened in 67, Young was elected mayor, and the city declined. Not enough attention is given to describing or documenting what the different neighborhoods were like during the transitional period from the 1960s to 1990s. Where all the photos and stories? It's like the city was just written off at the time.

In 1970, Detroit still had 1.5 million people. In 1980, 1.2 million continued to call it home. Detroit was a major American city at this time, no matter how you sliced. But then again, a lot of the city's old, time-honored institutions were being forsaken - the future was bleak. At the same time, though, more of those institutions were still around then we're ever likely to see again. It must have been a fascinating time.

To try and give my imagination a frame of reference, I've found myself trying to compare the different stages of Detroit to other Michigan industrial cities.

Flint, I'd guess, is what Detroit might've been like in the late '80s. Downtown is relatively intact but eerily devoid of pedestrians, and the immediate neighborhoods are old and in rough shape overall. Most industry has skipped town. However, if you drive a little further out, you'll find a bunch of middle class and working class neighborhoods that are in pretty good shape. The artistic institutions are in relatively good shape, too: the Flint Institute of Arts and Flint Symphony Orchestra are going strong. The disinvestment is not quite complete.

Kalamazoo, on the other hand, gives me a very early '70s Detroit vibe. The entire city is basically still together, and while a lot of industry has left, there's just as much industry that has stayed. Violent crime is a problem, but not enough to stop quite a few people from living close to the "inner city" or visiting downtown. There are still some new investments going on, too, and if you go to the outskirts of town, you'll find suburban-style developments that are doing pretty well.

I'd imagine that cities like Saginaw or Battle Creek fall somewhere in-between the early '70s and late '80s periods. Pontiac must be closer to what Detroit was like in the early '90s.

I don't know, I may be way off, and we all know that everything happened on a much larger scale in Detroit, changing the dynamics. Actual pictures and stories from the time period in question would help, of course.