The world's most dangerous cities?

[donpablo]

I have never felt safer walking down the street in my neighborhood. My children play happily in the back yard. We walk to the corner [[liquor) store on warm days. We haven't had to dodge any bombs, or even gunfire. Sure, I hear gunfire once in a while in the distance. Yep, there is probably a drug house on the next block. And yes, when my alarm goes off by mistake it takes four hours for the police to arrive and get the all clear. But in no way is Detroit as a hole one the most dangerous cities in the world.

Yes, there needs to be ALOT of improvement, things are getting worse before they get better, and mismanagement has alot to do with it. People in many of those cities that have been listed are trying to escape, but have no means to do so. A large part of New Orleans looks similar to a waste land, just like Detroit has its "urban prarie", but people move to New Orleans and Detroit every day for a reason. Yes, people are moving away at the same rate, but its not a one way door.

Lets agree that change is needed and show the outsiders. Maybe then they will stop driving to Detroit to dump their boats, tires, and other trash. Then maybe the unfortunate few in every community will get a little more pride about their city and stop trashing it themselves. When I see a child throw trash on any neighboring lawn, I tell them where are trash can is so that they can pick it up and throw it away. People from foreign countries are buying Detroit's land for a reason. Maybe it will be turned into farmland, maybe a huge energy production plant, but maybe it will return to some sort of glory. Whatever happens, I will be around to get that fat check, or enjoy that same quiet community.

I understand that some folks have to leave. Its not worth it to pay a mortgage, and private school tuition, and spend thousands on security shutters and glass block windows to secure a property. But for those who can afford the hassle, something great is coming.

For all the runners who ran just past the border, and now have to run even further because those neighborhoods have turned to crap and the schools suck just as bad as Detroit's, just keep running. As your property values continue to drop and you find yourself at a loss, join the Detroiters. Times will get better for all of us. Just as things get better for Detroit a wave will follow and the sun will shine again in your neighborhood.

Sorry to be sooo winded, I just love my city waaaaay too much. I'm a teacher and double as a realtor in my spare time. I have been watching the MEAP scores as my predictor of the next neighborhood to fall. The wave of falling scores [[and home values) has skipped over a few choice places but is coming to a neighborhood near you [[runners). Well, I'm probably going to be the last one alive in Detroit...

Great post! We need more like you to stand up for Detroit. The media and a majority of people on this site dont even live in the city. Maybe they have had a bad experience, maybe they know someone who has had a bad experience or they are simply familiar with the stats. Detroit's reputation has CNN making lists likes this and suburbanites/former Detroiters making all kinds of claims. Truth is, white people left Detroit for mostly racial reasons and/or a single bad experience. Now we live in a city half empty and crime is high. I could go on and on about how we got here and you can look at ruin pics on this site but the fact is most suburbanites are afraid to "cross 8 mile" and don't even know what the its like to live in Detroit.

Mine is similiar to your story PeterhuntPrincess. I will also add that my kids attend great DPS schools and my son walks to his bus [[and in past years, his school) that is 7 blocks away. Yes, even in the dark during winter.

Haters love to jump on that bandwagon and dog Detroit, I just wish more Detroiters/media would defend it.

[DC48080]

So? Michigan is a state, so what?

You completely miss the point here. The list detailed the most dangerous cities, not states or countries.

[iheartthed]

You completely miss the point here. The list detailed the most dangerous cities, not states or countries.

He is trolling.

[mwilbert]

Suppose I made a list of the tallest mountains in the world and I included Mt. Whitney.

On the one hand, Mt Whitney is a pretty tall mountain; highest in the continental US. On the other hand, it is only half as tall as Mount Everest, and there are many, many mountains taller than it is.

I think it would be legitimate for people to say that I had made an error including Mt Whitney, and that to include it was misleading.

[LL Cool D]

There's a simple way to resolve this, check the stats for second-degree murder. Second-degree is the typical "lose your temper" type of killing that poses no threat to anyone conducting legitimate business in Detroit. Hundreds of Canadians come to Detroit each day, when was the last time any of them was killed? The kind of rough-justice inherent in most Detroit homicides threatens them not in the least.

Would these Canadians feel as safe going to any of the other foreign cities, where they could be kidnapped, tortured, etc.? Doubt it, Canadians come here because they know they're safe, the same reason suburban hipsters do. Get into a personal beef in the neighborhoods, then you're playing by different rules, and you probably had no good business being there in the first place.

[Nicodeme]

This list would be pretty boring without any American cities on it to an American audience. Whoever came up with this list was just making sure a few American cities made the list so people would click on it. Unfortunately for many outsiders, the first city that usually pops in their head when they think violence and crime in the U.S., is Detroit. Obviously the list is completely ridiculous and lacks the truly most dangerous cities, so we shouldn't even be talking about it.