Even the dead are fleeing Detroit

[danwxman]

Actually, the suburbs of Detroit are horrible as well.

[danwxman]

Actually, the suburbs of Detroit are horrible as well.

Location:     Harrisburg, PA

Thanks for the input

Selfishness of the suburbanites has destroyed Detroit...anybody can see that.

[danwxman]

Actually, the suburbs of Detroit are horrible as well.

Location:     Harrisburg, PA

Thanks for the input

Selfishness of the suburbanites has destroyed Detroit...anybody can see that.

I really don't agree.  The social dysfunction of a large segment of Detroit's population, coupled with the liberal notion that others in the city should suffer the consequences of that dysfunction even if they did not share it, drove the functional population out of Detroit.

It is not selfishness but self-preservation.  It is no more selfish than removing a part of your body that has cancer so that the rest of the body can survive.  There's no way anybody with a choice should stay in such a living hell.  The people who engage in the type of behavior that make Detroit a living hell are squarely to blame for the problems, not "selfish" suburbanites who only want to live a decent life, and aren't doing any harm to anybody.

What drove out the functional part of Detroit? Well, they quite literally drove out. The car destroyed Detroit, much worse so then many other cities. A lot of the blame lies with the FEDERAL highway system. Look at some pictures of cities before and after the highways were built. The middle class didn't have to leave Detroit in the 50's and 60's...but the culture of the time taught them that they did.

I disagree that suburbanites aren't doing any harm...they are. I view it with a sense of responsibility. Is it really responsible to drive an SUV around a plush suburb where you will never need to go off-road and drive 50 miles to work (as many now do)? Is it really responsible to relocate your business out of downtown and into a sprawly office park on top of some wetland?

The worst traffic in this country isn't in the cities anymore...it's in the suburbs. They are ruining our country and our environment.

But I understand we have freedom in this country. I just wish people, and politicans, would have more responsibility. I don't know how to fix Detroit, but the first thing I would do is create a functional public transportation system, possibly with light or heavy rail. But the damage has already been done to Southeast Michigan and I don't know if it can be repaired.

Dazzleman, I don't know if you live in an area that is seeing an explosion in suburban growth...but if you did...you would see how many problems it creates. You blamed liberal policies...but I blame conservative "pro-growth" policies for destroying much of the beautiful countryside in my area.

[danwxman]

I hope you're right that the cities will come back at some point, but I'm not sure why you believe that. Living conditions in almost every American city have been worsening for decades. Detroit peaked at nearly 2 million... in 1950?

Not true. I would say the majority of American cities are becoming more liveable. Look at Philadelphia and Baltimore as prime examples. Both cities have a long way to go, but the residential market is booming.

[danwxman]

I hope you're right that the cities will come back at some point, but I'm not sure why you believe that. Living conditions in almost every American city have been worsening for decades. Detroit peaked at nearly 2 million... in 1950?

Not true. I would say the majority of American cities are becoming more liveable. Look at Philadelphia and Baltimore as prime examples. Both cities have a long way to go, but the residential market is booming.

Then explain "white flight."

I already did. White flight doesn't exist in the cities anymore, it's black flight.

[danwxman]

I hope you're right that the cities will come back at some point, but I'm not sure why you believe that. Living conditions in almost every American city have been worsening for decades. Detroit peaked at nearly 2 million... in 1950?

Not true. I would say the majority of American cities are becoming more liveable. Look at Philadelphia and Baltimore as prime examples. Both cities have a long way to go, but the residential market is booming.

Then explain "white flight."

I already did. White flight doesn't exist in the cities anymore, it's black flight.

Whites are going back in and gentrifying certain neighborhoods.  As a result, the neighborhoods become more expensive, driving out longer-term residents of limited economic means who didn't own their homes, and can't afford the increased rents.

Is that what you mean by black flight?

It can be that, but I am more referring to blacks leaving their city neighborhoods for the suburbs, leaving behind abondoned houses, buildings and businesses. For the most part, the whites have already left these neighborhoods...now the blacks are leaving. Of course in many cases as you point out, whites are moving back in.

[danwxman]

I hope you're right that the cities will come back at some point, but I'm not sure why you believe that. Living conditions in almost every American city have been worsening for decades. Detroit peaked at nearly 2 million... in 1950?

Not true. I would say the majority of American cities are becoming more liveable. Look at Philadelphia and Baltimore as prime examples. Both cities have a long way to go, but the residential market is booming.

Then explain "white flight."

I already did. White flight doesn't exist in the cities anymore, it's black flight.

Umm...?

It's mostly an east coast thing.