Ok - this is probably a really stupid question - but why can't Detroit just get smaller? Sell off around the edges to surrounding cities/counties and become a size that can be managed given the current tax base? Detroit is HUGE! And becoming more vacant every day.

Also - what about entirely eliminating empty neighborhoods and allow them to return to the earth? Remove the decaying housing, let it all go wild, and remove the options for arsonists, squatters, drug dealers, and rapists who use these bombed out houses for all sorts of nastiness.

I think that if these two things could be done - and people were more concentrated into a specified area, then the city services could be smaller, police would have less to patrol, fire dept. would have fewer bombed out houses to worry about....etc.

I'm sure there are a million reasons why none of this would work - but I'm thinking that it beats what's going on right now - which is same thing different day.

Don't beat me up too badly - it is an honest question.