Will the Eight Mile Divide between inner and suburban Detroit end?

**night-timer** · February-28-20, 01:07 AM

Real estate prices have risen noticeably anywhere with a stone's throw of Downtown. It isn't as cheap to buy/invest as it once was, but gentrification is a trend we cannot now change.

8 Mile Rd is still the great divider. Do you see that invisible barrier ever being removed?

A bad reputation is hard to lose from the perspective of an outsider, but the rest of us can see what has already happened in the center of town.

Am I too optimistic to envision a Detroit that is not separated into inner and outer areas? I mean, anyone who takes a simplistic view and says "Beyond 8 Mile is better" is saying the further you are from Detroit, the better. When does the turning point come?

**313WX** · February-28-20, 08:00 AM

You're about 30 years too late with this thread.

**One Shot** · February-28-20, 04:50 PM

No
It's been generations of a lifestyle that most sane people want nothing to do with.

**Lowell** · February-28-20, 05:27 PM

Eight Mile is no longer the divider / barrier for which it was known. In the past two decades the burbs north of if have been increasingly integrated. The first of these, Southfield, is now majority minority and Warren, East Pointe [Detroit] and even "Hazeltucky" have large minority populations. Of course, the forgotten enclave of Royal Oak Township always was. Time heals all wounds and the heated former meaning of Eight Mile can thankfully be consigned to the dustbin of history.

**313WX** · February-28-20, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Eight Mile is no longer the divider / barrier for which it was known. In the past two decades the burbs north of if have been increasingly integrated. The first of these, Southfield, is now majority minority and Warren, East Pointe [Detroit] and even "Hazeltucky" have large minority populations. Of course, the forgotten enclave of Royal Township always was. Time heals all wounds and heated former meaning of Eight Mile can thankfully be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Some would argue that I-696 has become the new racial / economic divide.

**dtowncitylover** · February-29-20, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by 313WX

Some would argue that I-696 has become the new racial / economic divide.

I would go one step further and say Big Beaver/Metro Parkway.

**casscorridor** · February-29-20, 07:08 AM

The entire municipal organization of metropolitan Detroit is idiotic even on a surface level, much less a practical one. Unfortunately, it will never change unless the State of Michigan makes constitutional changes to insist upon regional governance. Until then, every one of the hundred plus municipalities-- or should we call them principalities-- will continue as their own little fiefdoms fighting for the scraps of what is left of Detroit's economic and cultural relevance.

**Wheels** · February-29-20, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by casscorridor

The entire municipal organization of metropolitan Detroit is idiotic even on a surface level, much less a practical one. Unfortunately, it will never change unless the State of Michigan makes constitutional changes to insist upon regional governance. Until then, every one of the hundred plus municipalities-- or should we call them principalities-- will continue as their own little fiefdoms fighting for the scraps of what is left of Detroit's economic and cultural relevance.

Make that two people that are 30 years behind.

**EGrant** · February-29-20, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by Wheels

Make that two people that are 30 years behind.

I'm not so sure about state-wide constitutional changes, but does tiny Huntington Woods need it's own police, fire and schools? Do we want to continue wasting taxpayer dollars with redundant layers of bureaucracy in each city and township?

**Towne Cluber** · February-29-20, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by EGrant

I'm not so sure about state-wide constitutional changes, but does tiny Huntington Woods need it's own police, fire and schools? Do we want to continue wasting taxpayer dollars with redundant layers of bureaucracy in each city and township?

Huntington Woods doesn’t have its own schools. [[Berkley School District)

**renf** · February-29-20, 01:39 PM

I think there are 125 or so municipal governments in the three county Detroit suburban ring and about 85 school districts. What is the ideal number? A major change is how the state finances local government is needed.
I believe that 10 percent of all sales taxes revenue collected in the state is returned to local governments on the basis of their total population size as counted by the decennial census. I think that works out to be about $85 per person per year for local governments. That sure gives local governments an incentive to make sure every resident is counted. Please
correct me if I am wrong about those numbers.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · February-29-20, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

I would go one step further and say Big Beaver/Metro Parkway.

I think 313WX hit it on the head. Don't know if it has expanded that far out yet.

**SammyS** · February-29-20, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by Towne Cluber

Huntington Woods doesn’t have its own schools. [[Berkley School District)

No district but it does have the AAA rated Burton Elementary which is exclusive to HW residents.
As for its own police force, it’s well worth it. It adds to the value and desirability of the city. The last time I needed them, they were there in <1 minute.