Indeed what an article. At the risk of sounding corny I was nearly at tears reading it. My father sold life insurance door to door in that area in the 60's and 70's and if you lived there you'd made the big time re. real estate and community... this was right at the time of the heroin introduction. What it was - was beautiful. I recall driving thru the Boston Edison area as a treat as a kid.
Now look at this! I mean the woman TRIED to do and bring something to that community and was basically kicked in the butt and burn down for her efforts. Like I have said I don't care "what" folks stand behind which podium, wearing what and saying what, or promising "what"! UNTIL CRIME IS FULLY ADDRESSED PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO LEAVE! And the people who are leaving for the most part are the people we need to stay. Tax payers.
I'm not too, too far from that area and thankfully live in a shared dwelling with lots of folks/ family coming and going -- someone always home with the required requisite number of pit bulls, security measures etc.
This article points out that a fact I've long known and as you state: single homes are "exquisitely vulnerable" and watched [[by that special neighborhood "watch"). So, as the working stiff [[or stiffs) goes off to work, their home is summarily broken into as a default action by those who choose to take the un-earned from the productive.
Thus, I would absolutely NOT live in a single home in Detroit. Not at this time.
Home invasions are really bad in that area. Those with the big homes are considered "fair game 'chumps'" perceived to have something to steal so the justification goes. And there is no buffer. That area drops off to "beyond thunderdom" really bad like the end of a steep cliff like parts of EEV does.
From New Center we used to joke that Euclid was the Berlin wall between ok living and the forbidden zone and Clairmont has been a problem of some time. Now it's all zigg-gazzed bad, in and out one street to another. Thus why those silly cheap condos on Woodward and Lothrop with those extra-low poor security windows are not doing well.
Community policing would be my first response as a solution. But as more people leave who would be inclined to engage and invest in such I am wondering if it is feasible. And once an area starts to have every other house abandoned the crime problem is made worse.
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