Excellent Common Sense Blog about Detroit Bankruptcy in NY Times

[nain rouge]

What's interesting, however, is that in America the most prosperous metros tend to be the most sprawled out. All of the hot cities of the '90s and '00s were sprawl monsters. Where we failed is that we sprawled despite decades of relative economic stagnation.

Cities like Novi and Macomb Township probably should've never happened, but they did because our current laws allow people with enough money to avoid the long-term costs of infrastructure by moving to newer municipalities on the outskirts of the urban area. The combo of more real estate and less taxes is too much to resist, plus you get the benefit of less crime because most newer housing units are too expensive for those with lower incomes to afford. As long as you don't mind longer commutes, it's a win-win, and the commutes are often kept just within reason because many employers move to the fringes for the same benefits.

[Hermod]

One big problem in metro Detroit is the number of municipal governments, which creates a costly and overly parochial approach to government. For instance, let's look at Detroit and its northern suburbs compared to DC and its Virginia suburbs. I looked at two Google maps, one centered in downtown Royal Oak, Michigan and one centered in Fairfax County, Virginia, at the same "zoom level". This is what I found.

Google Map at 2 Mile zoom level, centered on downtown Royal Oak
3 Counties:
Wayne County
Oakland County
Macomb County

27 Municipalities:
Detroit
Ferndale
Pleasant Ridge
Hazel Park
Oak Park
Madison Heights
Berkley
Royal Oak
Clawson
Franklin
Beverly Hills
Birmingham
Troy
Bloomfield Township
West Bloomfield Township
Farmington
Sterling Heights
Harper Woods
Eastpointe
Royal Oak Township
Highland Park
Roseville
Fraser
Warren
Center Line
Redford
Livonia

Google map at 2 mile zoom level, centered at US 50 and VA 28 in Fairfax County, VA
4 Counties:
Arlington County
Fairfax County
Loudoun County
Prince William County

5 Municipalities:
Alexandria
Manassas
Manassas Park
Falls Church
Fairfax

Fairfax is not a municipality, it is just a location in Fairfax County. In Virginia, when you become a "first class city" like Alexandria, you cease to be a part of the county. This has led to the situation where counties [[to avoid piecemeal annexation by cities) have incorporated as cities themselves which leads to a small number of large suburban and rural "cities". In Michigan we see theis at the township level where former rural townships have become cities to avoid annexation by neighboring cities. Avon Township incorporated as Rochester Hills when the city of Rochester tried to annex some "jewels" [[i.e. revenue positive areas of the township).

[rb336]

Another interesting take, this one of the long view

http://tinyurl.com/ma5w2dk

[Hermod]

Another interesting take, this one of the long view

http://tinyurl.com/ma5w2dk

Given her background, no wonder she blames everything on the PTB and "the man".

[rb336]

Given her background, no wonder she blames everything on the PTB and "the man".

Show me one thing that was factually wrong with her analysis.

[marshamusic]

Another interesting take, this one of the long view

http://tinyurl.com/ma5w2dk

Great article! [[given my background).

[Wesley Mouch]

Show me one thing that was factually wrong with her analysis.

Applaud taking the long view, but I don't agree with her conclusions.

Detroit was beyond rescue and they were left to deal with up the mess created by a perfect storm of federal transportation policy [[driven by the auto industry and its allies in Congress) and federal housing initiatives, both of which combined to seal the city’s fate.

Does anyone believe that these two factors that weren't unique to Detroit 'made Detroit 'beyond rescue'? That they alone 'caused' our problems.

One could argue that Detroit was hit harder by transportation and housing policy -- I agree. But to ignore globalization, bad industrial policy, poor culture of landuse, racism, school bussing, and so much more does us a disservice.

That said, there's no doubt that housing policies were a significant contributor to our decline in particular. I remember hearing that HUD spent more in Detroit than anywhere else. So I agree that federal housing policy was a major factor. And transportation policies didn't do us many favors either. But those two things created a 'perfect storm'? Not buying it. Too simplistic.

Biggest problem? I don't accept the absolution of Detroit's actions. To avoid accepting that our actions were a contributor to our problems is to condemn us to continuing failure.

[corktownyuppie]

Biggest problem? I don't accept the absolution of Detroit's actions. To avoid accepting that our actions were a contributor to our problems is to condemn us to continuing failure.

I don't accept the absolution of Detroit's actions, either. I also am tiring of everyone blaming the state...Wall Street...deindustrialization...capitalism...etc.

We need to get to a point where everyone realizes that no one is blameless and that everyone had a pivotal -- even if inadvertant -- role.

[Hermod]

Show me one thing that was factually wrong with her analysis.

She wrote: "If there are fingers to be pointed, they need to arc back farther to the reigns of Mayors Cavanagh and Miriani, Gov. Romney and big oil. If there are lessons to be learned they are ones that should makes us wary of and oppose racial discrimination, demand corporate accountability and responsibility for the social toll their actions take, thoughtfully protect our public assets of which public transportation is one of the greatest and always question those who would build highways to escape rather than mend the mess they’ve made."

It could just as well have said:

If there are fingers to be pointed, they need to arc back farther to the reigns of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and the overwhelming Democratic majorities in both house of congress. If there are lessons to be learned they are ones that should makes us wary of and oppose social engineering, demand government accountability and responsibility for the social toll their actions take, etc."

Something does not have to be factually wrong to be slanted and biased.

[rb336]

Something does not have to be factually wrong to be slanted and biased.

It's a minor thing that - compared to the media coverage that virtually ignores the roots of the problem and blames nothing but the unions and black politicians

[jbd441]

Given the regional ejaculation over the opening of the smallest Whole Foods in the country in the most affluent area of Detroit proper.... the answer to your question should be self evident.

Opps, Smallest Whole Foods Market is in Brookline Mass opened in April 2013 at a whopping 6,000 square feet. Detroit's WF is 26,000 square feet.

[Wesley Mouch]

It was well-written, for sure.

Here's what I'm wondering: you have this influx of affluent white suburbanites moving into the city center. Has their perspective on the outlying neighborhoods really changed? Are they driving up Livernois to shop at Mike's, or is their lifestyle entirely confined to Midtown/Downtown?

If it's the latter, then a decent case that there's really not been any progress made toward creating a functional, livable city could be made.

Drifting a little off topic here, but I don't see that the influx is 'white'. It seems rather diverse to me.

Sure, compared to Detroit's population, its probably 'whiter'. But compared with the metro area, I suspect it probably is more 'diverse'.

I also don't know that its safe to say they're suburbanites either. Nor does it really matter.

And closer to the point... As a group, I think they are much more likely to venture to all areas of the city than you think. This 'influx' isn't so simple.