Detroit's Agony

[Russix]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbsgLcV4o1k

Nov 8th will be the 20th anniversary of Detroit’s Agony which aired on Primetime.

[Pcm]

Wow. I was 5 years old, and living in Concord, MI when this was broadcast. What's sad is that this is the same story here in 2010.

[DetroitPole]

Wow. I was 5 years old, and living in Concord, MI when this was broadcast. What's sad is that this is the same story here in 2010.

The key word is "here." Things have only gotten worse here, despite Coleman's crude defiance. However the theme of that piece was as a warning to other cities. Apparently other cities heeded that warning, because DC, NYC, and Chicago are vastly better places than they were in 1990, while Detroit - and Metro Detroit - is vastly worse. Great job everyone.

[rhythmc]

The key word is "here." Things have only gotten worse here, despite Coleman's crude defiance. However the theme of that piece was as a warning to other cities. Apparently other cities heeded that warning, because DC, NYC, and Chicago are vastly better places than they were in 1990, while Detroit - and Metro Detroit - is vastly worse. Great job everyone.

I don't think other cities have heeded these warnings at all. I don't think they had to. If you go to Chicago, vast areas of the southside [[further south than Hyde Park) are very similar to Detroit with respect to decay and crime. The same can be said for DC and NYC. The difference between these cities and Detroit is that business did not fly the coupe for the 'burbs in any of these towns. Many of these other cities suffered in much the same way as Detroit historically with racial turmoil and whatnot. I would venture to say the thing that kept many of these other cities afloat and served to relieve much of the despair during down economies of the past was the diversification of their economies. Wallstreet would give way to Madison Ave and such. Businesses would always need elevator operators, high end apartments would have doormen, commuter trains and subways would need operators, etc. However, each city's top industry did not suffer the same extreme lows as Detroit. This turmoil put people out of work leaving some with few options other than criminality.

Metro Detroit would be better served to having downtown Detroit return to its place as the center of the regions commerce. The current arrangement in the US is that suburbs house much of our wealth whereas cities are home to higher rates of poverty. In many European cities, it is nearly the complete opposite. Neither way works. Detroit can improve, but the city must be remade in a way that allows everyone to survive in a way fitting their abilities. I'm not talking about giving anything to anyone. I simply believe a city can be affordable according to everyone's tastes.

[GOAT]

Rythmc, the difference being that in many areas of the cities cited are quite livable and are places where others wish they could live. The vast amount of Detroit is the exact opposite. Even the nicer areas of Detroit still have many issues that many would not and don't want to contend with.

The comparison isn't even close.

[rhythmc]

Rythmc, the difference being that in many areas of the cities cited are quite livable and are places where others wish they could live. The vast amount of Detroit is the exact opposite. Even the nicer areas of Detroit still have many issues that many would not and don't want to contend with.

The comparison isn't even close.

While I agree that many of the cities are very livable and desirable, the only point I was making is that the lack of proximity between Detroit's poor, black majority and the more well-off, mostly white suburbs has negatively impacted the city. The other cities you mentioned have both the poor and more well off in the central city occupying jobs in fairly similar locations. In DC [[Anacostia to Woodley Park), Chicago [[Kenwood to Lincoln Park), and NYC [[Harlem to Upper East Side), all rely on downtown DC [[and Capitol Hill), the Loop, and Lower Manhattan for most of their respective employment opportunities. Bankers and janitors; security guards and CEOs. However, Detroit [[of then and now) has a highly dispersed business presence which leaves the poorer urbanites with fewer choices of jobs and makes the city less desirable for suburbanites with respect to proximity to work [[suburbs had and still have the clear advantage).

If you look at Chicago, a poorer resident will not be expected to get to Aurora to work at a minimum wage job. However, a poorer Detroiter is expected to go to Clarkston for similar work. Spending every dime to get to work defeats the purpose of working. This is why Detroit has remained the way it is. Just my thought...

[DetroitDad]

I agree! I would like to note that Detroit city council has identified that problem, and appears to be working towards a similar goal. They are dealing with the vendor issues right now, which are somewhat related.

While I agree that many of the cities are very livable and desirable, the only point I was making is that the lack of proximity between Detroit's poor, black majority and the more well-off, mostly white suburbs has negatively impacted the city. The other cities you mentioned have both the poor and more well off in the central city occupying jobs in fairly similar locations. In DC [[Anacostia to Woodley Park), Chicago [[Kenwood to Lincoln Park), and NYC [[Harlem to Upper East Side), all rely on downtown DC [[and Capitol Hill), the Loop, and Lower Manhattan for most of their respective employment opportunities. Bankers and janitors; security guards and CEOs. However, Detroit [[of then and now) has a highly dispersed business presence which leaves the poorer urbanites with fewer choices of jobs and makes the city less desirable for suburbanites with respect to proximity to work [[suburbs had and still have the clear advantage).

If you look at Chicago, a poorer resident will not be expected to get to Aurora to work at a minimum wage job. However, a poorer Detroiter is expected to go to Clarkston for similar work. Spending every dime to get to work defeats the purpose of working. This is why Detroit has remained the way it is. Just my thought...

[woodwardboy]

Fast forward to 2010.. has Detroit gotten any better?
70% black to maybe 85% black today?
Entire neighborhoods gone. No longer isolated blocks but hundreds of square miles obliterated. Land so cheap it goes unsold for decades at public auctions. If even the Chinese or Indians refuse to invest in Detroit, is there a future?

[DetroitDad]

Fast forward to 2010.. has Detroit gotten any better?
70% black to maybe 85% black today?
Entire neighborhoods gone. No longer isolated blocks but hundreds of square miles obliterated. Land so cheap it goes unsold for decades at public auctions. If even the Chinese or Indians refuse to invest in Detroit, is there a future?

Yes?

[woodwardboy]

I do not see how the future for Detroit can be positive. The neighborhoods have been abandoned to crime. Only pockets of the downtown have signs of life. Even in the suburbs there are ominous signs of worse to come. Property values are still dropping. Banks will not lend money when they know real estate prices are still falling.

[JJD]

How nice it is to make blanket stetements about the city based on perception.
Fact - A BANK loaned a young couple $143,000 to buy a house in DETROIT down the street from me. appraised at $149,000. Imagine that poeple moving into the city, that never happens right? Except that it has happened on my block 3 times this year. Only 1 vacancy left and that one was ruined due to a burst pipe. Everything in not bleak eveywhere in Detroit.

[woodwardboy]

Positive signs are good and need to be encouraged. Does that mean a trend is occuring? Probably not. There were many houses in Detroit during the 1970s selling for large sums of money. However, that trend was unsustanable. Generally house prices/real estate prices in the city of Detroit are going down. The city of Detroit no longer has homes selling for $1million+dollars. That was not the case in the 1970s. All of the homes in Boston Edison/Palmer park have sold for under $1million dollars in recent years.

[DetroitDad]

It depends on the view. Are you looking at the doors closing, or the doors opening?

I do not see how the future for Detroit can be positive. The neighborhoods have been abandoned to crime. Only pockets of the downtown have signs of life. Even in the suburbs there are ominous signs of worse to come. Property values are still dropping. Banks will not lend money when they know real estate prices are still falling.

[woodwardboy]

Population of Detroit 1980: 1,203,368 1990: 1,027,974 2000: 951,270
Population of Metro Detroit 1980: 4,387,783 1990: 4,266,654 2000: 4,441,551

2010?