Talking heads commentary on Detroit's BK impact

[poobert]

these people have never been here:

1. Perception getting worse? Honestly, is that even possible?
2. The residents will suffer and services will get worse, really? We have transit that is horrific and likely can't get worse, streetlights can't really get worse, PD response and closure rates are non-existent, etc.

I agree with you about #2, living here. It wouldn't matter if Detroit wasn't bankrupt, the mismanagement and corruption alone makes service delivery nearly non-existent at this point.

Number one though, I think we need to step out of our normal living-nightmare Metro-Detroit bubble.

As for perception, Detroit has long been the poster child for crime, and then for blight. Detroit is blighted and crime-ridden on an unprecedented scale. However most Americans [[and American entities) seem to understand, at least those with an urban-bend, that American cities will have crime and blight.

However no major American city has filed for Chapter 9. I think this uncertainty and this unknown could scare away the potential investment and residents that Detroit needs to become functioning. We don't need Detroit boosters, we don't need Detroit t-shirts or marketing campaigns, we need more people IN DETROIT.

I think if you're searching for a place to live, on a national scale, or a place to relocate your corporation, a bankrupt Detroit sounds infinitely more horrible than a regular Detroit.

So, uh, I'm not super hopeful.

[bailey]

I think if you're searching for a place to live, on a national scale, or a place to relocate your corporation, a bankrupt Detroit sounds infinitely more horrible than a regular Detroit.

So, uh, I'm not super hopeful.

IDK, I tend to think it's the opposite. Totally anecdotal, but I was just out of town and talking with non-locals that come here often. BK Detroit seems to mean, to a lot of folks .. that the "grown -ups" are in charge now. long term issues are going to be addressed and things will improve. I think a lot expect some "darkest before dawn" moments, but it seems most expect a "dawn".

[corktownyuppie]

IDK, I tend to think it's the opposite. Totally anecdotal, but I was just out of town and talking with non-locals that come here often. BK Detroit seems to mean, to a lot of folks .. that the "grown -ups" are in charge now. long term issues are going to be addressed and things will improve.

Yup. That's how I see it, too.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

As usual, we can look to Dan Gilbert for a ray of sunshine http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...hp_ref=detroit "Detroit will thrive again as well and sooner than most think."

[illwill]

IDK, I tend to think it's the opposite. Totally anecdotal, but I was just out of town and talking with non-locals that come here often. BK Detroit seems to mean, to a lot of folks .. that the "grown -ups" are in charge now. long term issues are going to be addressed and things will improve. I think a lot expect some "darkest before dawn" moments, but it seems most expect a "dawn".

I certainly agree, but only time will tell. I think most large investors will hold off on being bullish on Detroit until the dust settles. No one knows what the other side of BK will look like for Detroit.

Only time will tell...