At some point soon, once M1 rail is built, or even while construction is occurring, Detroit needs to change its way of thinking. I anticipate that there will be developers coming to the table with projects, and the city really needs to have some tempered restraint in how they make decisions. We're entering a period where quality needs to take precedence over quantity when it comes to key development areas. We can't just accept every crap development plan because we've been desperate for anything for so long. I think the next 10 years are going to be pivotal in deciding what kind of a city Detroit is going to be.
Are we going to get back to our roots and be a walkable, transit-friendly urban city, or are we going to be like the newer, sprawl-filled, auto-centric cities with a token downtown? With the way things are trending, I'd bet my farm that urban cities are going to survive the test of time and be in-demand for generations to come. The likes of Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Jose, etc, are not going to dominate forever. They are going to flame out when the cost of driving becomes prohibitive and the generation now coming of age begins to choose cities based on quality-of-life factors. And, even assuming the sunbelt cities continue to thrive, Detroit makes far more sense as an urban core than it does as an office park. There will always be people who appreciate the lifestyle only true urbanity can offer, and Detroit can be one of the select handful of cities that can offer that lifestyle outside of the East Coast.
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