Why should I stay in Detroit?

[Bearinabox]

Next time someone calls transit "frivolous" or "a waste of money," I'm linking them to this thread.

[epiphany]

I know how you feel. I have been relying on my bike and the terrible public transportation system here for too long. Any of the jobs that have been available to me have been too difficult to get to because public transportation is only reliable sometimes. I want to buy a car [[because mine was stolen and wrecked) but the insurance rates would prevent me from being able to afford driving it. I too, am considering moving to Portland or some other equally progressive city when I am finished with college courses. I stayed for as long as I did with hopes that it would get better, but instead of getting better it got worse and now I am in a terrible financial predicament. I came here able to support myself and now I have to rely on others for a place to live... and I only see it getting worse. I think that anyone with the ability to leave should. I know that I plan on it... If I can even afford to do so. Portland's public transportation system ranks as one of the best in the country. The cost of living is also reasonable compared to other places on the West coast. If only Detroit could focus on these things...

Also, if you do leave be sure to write about your experiences.

[canuck]

Next time someone calls transit "frivolous" or "a waste of money," I'm linking them to this thread.

So un-untrue!

I'm sure if we looked at a list of things that turned Detroit into a ghetto, and I mean ghetto as an area that looks inward instead of outward; the major disabler of mobility and opportunity would be lack of proper transit vs overabundance of highway infrastructure. I think Los Angeles and DC and other major cities copped on to the importance of transit structures to offset the danger of further ghettoization. Places like East LA were surrounded by freeways and cut off from neigborhoods the way Detroit has for a long time. Those cities now benefit from more not less interaction because segregation starts and ends in physical spaces. When I first looked at Wayne State through the filter of Google maps street view, I noticed how little street action there was. When I read the latest threads on Wayne State's use of space after annexing property to its campus; the demolition of commercial buildings and eventual disintegration into convenient green spaces, I was appalled at the lack of judgement. But I guess these folks know what they are doing, dismantling potential commerce and street activity seems like a goal; not an unfortunate outcome. There is a reluctance and resistance to street activity and pedestrian traffic in Detroit planning that defies all logic. So, I understand Tig3rzhark's ideal of moving to Portland and enjoying an environment that has done a lot to correct the errors of its past. Also, remember that property values in Portland are very high, a lot of speculation followed some very expensive restructuring of the city. But it certainly shows that investing in the right infrastructure attracts investment not waiting for the other way around...