What's the best that Detroit can become?

[Strong]

There's a lot of energy in the air. I was wondering what city would people like to see Detroit resemble?. Indianapolis, Cleveland, San Jose, Charlotte, who.

[DetroitPlanner]

How about Detroit?

[Ray1936]

Gary, Indiana, or Camden, New Jersey. Oh, wait....it's already there.......

[Hamtragedy]

Annexed.

[Richard]

Annexed.

So what would it be called then , Detroit or Hamtramck?

[MidTownMs]

I would like to see Detroit resemble what it was before it became what it is now.

[Honky Tonk]

I would like to see it @ least as stable and secure as Kabul.

[illwill]

I would like to see Detroit resemble what it was before it became what it is now.

WOW!!!

I'd move back before you can count to 1! I LOVED the old Detroit and it'll never be the same again.

Twas the greatest city in the world...not too long ago.

[dtowncitylover]

I would like to see Detroit resemble what it was before it became what it is now.

Of course not as racist right?

I'd love to see an integrated Detroit. American cities still to this day [[Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, New York) still have their "white", "black", and "immigrant" neighborhoods. I'd love to see a Detroit where integration is key to our success.

[313WX]

I would like to see Detroit resemble what it was before it became what it is now.

Yeah, but that ain't happening.

[rb336]

I want a stable, safe city with decent schools and a decent job base. Apart from that, I want Detroit to be Detroit - a city with a creative edge that isn't trying to be some other city. Detroit is better by a good deal than Cleveland and Indy in a lot of ways. Never been to Charlotte or San Jose, but San Jose just seems - boring. Ditto Charlotte.

I'd love to see Detroit get some cool things - like a giant salmon, trout and sturgeon farm with artificial rivers with hanging greenhouses above - being fed with the water from the rivers. throw in some walleye and northern, too

[MidTownMs]

Yeah, but that ain't happening.

That's why I left.

[illwill]

it breaks my heart when i think of how the city used to be before everyone moved away. detroit blew every other city out of the water all day long. we made our own music to our very own beat, we drove the cars that we designed and we wore clothes created by local designers that fueled the urban fashion industry [[still to this day).

detroit was such a funky, dynamic and eclectic place and it felt so detroit! it was the hidden secret of the world but once you stepped foot into the city you fell in love. it had it's own romance. there was no other city that felt so powerful, yet among the blight so vibrant. however, cities weren't the popular places of choice in those days so you had to understand and appreciate all that detroit offered. i used to be at the old rhino supper club, a diverse live music joint where whites of grosse pointe and saint clair shores met up with black detroiter's and all other races too. the place was standing room only. it was not unusual to have several people in their 80's in that night club on the dance floor with the 30 somethings. it was the hangout for emmauel steward, the famous ebony/jet models came in from chicago every single weekend to hang out, stevie wonder on the piano, the group kgb was awesome, motown artist just chillin out getting drunk and i even saw a young bill gates there one time.

every time i brought family members and friends in from out of town they never wanted to leave. and every time my friends from nyc came back to visit they'd bring more new friends and they didn't want to leave.

i feel so lucky to have those memories and i love talking about the old detroit with people who experienced it. i can go on and on about all of the things there was to do downtown detroit and throughout the neighborhoods. at the time we were all living for the moment and didn't realize the city was deteriorating as fast as it was. at some point we all looked up and it came to a sudden end. all of the crazy characters moved away to other cities and states, businesses shut down, the players and party people got killed, hooked on drugs or went to prison and people were scrambling for their lives to escape detroit.

what i would give up for all of those unique personalities to return to the city for one solid year and go back to the way things used to be.

i'd die a happy man.

[Islandman]

That's why I left.

As you repeatedly tell us in almost every thread you post in.

[Danny]

If 50 percent of white middle class folks remained in Detroit more regionalization will come. It worked in New York City.

If 50 percent of black middle class folks remained in Detroit regionalization will still come. It worked in Altanta.

If 50 percent of middle class hispanic remained in Detroit still more regionalization will come. It worked in Los Angeles.


Detroit lost its middle class base long time ago. All we see is its ancient fossils dating back to 1910. The best we could do its cope, rebuild and hope.

[michimoby]

Detroit will have started the uphill climb toward sustained growth when it no longer has to use the "revitalization" spin to draw in young, effective talent. When Gilbert's empire can candidly say "look, Detroit is in a really shitty place right now, and while we're doing a lot of great work here, we're not heroes nor are we ignorant to the challenges this city faces", then I'd feel more comfortable coming back to Detroit. I'd imagine a lot of other people in the same position as me would do the same.

The whole PR spin on it all still just seems a little bit artificial to me. Hopefully it converges toward something more realistic and palatable.

[MidTownMs]

As you repeatedly tell us in almost every thread you post in.

Perhaps. But who's counting...

[m b v]

The whole PR spin on it all still just seems a little bit artificial to me.

Bingo. At least he/they're trying but the spin is 100% grade A bologna. It's akin to CNBC constantly reporting on all of these positive economic indicators... as we were very clearly entering and even in a recession.

[m b v]

I want a stable, safe city with decent schools and a decent job base. Apart from that, I want Detroit to be Detroit - a city with a creative edge that isn't trying to be some other city. Detroit is better by a good deal than Cleveland and Indy in a lot of ways. Never been to Charlotte or San Jose, but San Jose just seems - boring. Ditto Charlotte.

I'd love to see Detroit get some cool things - like a giant salmon, trout and sturgeon farm with artificial rivers with hanging greenhouses above - being fed with the water from the rivers. throw in some walleye and northern, too

Detroit is in much better shape than Cleveland? You're delusional. We're CURRENTLY bankrupt and the most dangerous city in the country, with a 18% unemployment rate! Not better in any regard accept historical name recognition and hockey. We should be very jealous of a lot of what Cleveland has, including a world class hospital and university located right downtown with Cleveland Clinic & Case Western.

[canuck]

Detroit will have started the uphill climb toward sustained growth when it no longer has to use the "revitalization" spin to draw in young, effective talent. When Gilbert's empire can candidly say "look, Detroit is in a really shitty place right now, and while we're doing a lot of great work here, we're not heroes nor are we ignorant to the challenges this city faces", then I'd feel more comfortable coming back to Detroit. I'd imagine a lot of other people in the same position as me would do the same.

The whole PR spin on it all still just seems a little bit artificial to me. Hopefully it converges toward something more realistic and palatable.

The thing is you know, that there are hundreds of towns and cities using some kind of P.R. for their respective places. Revitalization is not so much a spin when you witness actual change in certain quarters of course, but my point is that it is incremental and that you cant expect everything to fall in Detroit's lap all at once.

There are a lot of points about my city that are negative like the awful state of infrastructure. If I move closer to downtown, I can expect major demolition and reconstruction of a massive interchange that may last 7 or 8 years. The streets in older neighborhoods are like a moonscape. The crime is nothing to worry about much though, and so people are moving from the suburbs to the city core in droves. I guess the city of Detroit requires an act or a leap of faith on the part of its would be citizens...

[michimoby]

I guess the city of Detroit requires an act or a leap of faith on the part of its would be citizens...

I don't think it needs to be that drastic, Canuck. Really, all it takes is for the hardcore Detroit naysayers and the overtly excited enthusiasts to find some degree of common ground, recognize that there's both good and bad, and identify how both entities can work together to resolve commercial and public needs simultaneously.

...hmm, with that said, maybe it DOES require a leap of faith...

[stasu1213]

a mixture of residential, retail, business, and parks. The city does not need more highrises but continue to restore old buildings, build new low rise buildings for office space and build or restore old neighborhoods with tasteful boutiques mom and pops grocery stores

[corktownyuppie]

Bingo. At least he/they're trying but the spin is 100% grade A bologna. It's akin to CNBC constantly reporting on all of these positive economic indicators... as we were very clearly entering and even in a recession.

I'm gonna have to push back on you a little bit here. I agree that CNBC is bologna, mostly because the entire format is designed to evoke intense emotional response and drama. But as for "clearly entering and even in a recession", I'd have to ask you how you've arrived at that conclusion.

The mainstream consensus is that a recession has occurred when two consecutive quarters of negative growth in aggregate economic production have taken place. We haven't seen that yet.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/unit...tes/gdp-growth

At the risk of making a straw man argument, even if you and everyone around you have lost their jobs and their homes, that doesn't mean the country is in a recession. It just means that you and everyone you know have lost their jobs and their homes.

National average incomes in pockets of the US population, specific levels of education, and certain segments of the US economy are down. And sometimes irreparably so. This deserves our attention if not our action. But let's not confuse one ailment with another.

All of those things are bad. But let's not call it a recession if it isn't one.

[mwilbert]

I'm gonna have to push back on you a little bit here. I agree that CNBC is bologna, mostly because the entire format is designed to evoke intense emotional response and drama. But as for "clearly entering and even in a recession", I'd have to ask you how you've arrived at that conclusion.

I had assumed he was talking about 2008, not 2013, but if he meant 2013 I agree with you.

[hortonz]

Detroit will never be the city it was a generation ago when it became a magnet for the best and brightest as well as thousands of unskilled and semi-skilled workers looking for a shot at the American dream. Even Windsor will never be what it once was back when the auto industry was booming and folks were flocking here in droves for a chance to work in the car factories. However, both cities face the same problems and together they can help each other rebuild and diversify their economies for a more sustainable future. Maybe Pittsburgh should be Detroit's model.