The Real Detroit

[Nadia Castle]

Okay, so Detroit has made international news by trying to declare bankruptcy. But as a Brit, literally my only knowledge of the place comes from Robocop and other jokes about it being some kind of post apocalypse. I'm wondering though, what is it really like? Has anyone been there or lives there? Something tells me it isn't really what it's made out to be.

Here in Britain the big post industrial cities are places like Bradford or Hull which yes have high unemployment, aren't really all that different from anywhere else. They have their problems but compared to some areas of prosperous cities like London or Manchester their fairly peaceful (no-one went out looting in the two mentioned cities whilst Londoners helped themselves to a free shopping spree last year).

So what is the real Detroit, does it have any notably nice parts that aren't shown when people roll out footage of abandoned car factories?

 

[purf]

You might want to check this out:

"Detroit Lives", a documentary with Johnny Knoxville

Spoiler: Part 1

Spoiler: Part 2

Spoiler: Part 3

 

[Angie7F]

You might want to check this out:

"Detroit Lives", a documentary with Johnny Knoxville

Great videos! Thanks for posting them.

I have family who lives in Detroit and because they seem to be doing well, it never occurred to me that the economy was this bad.

 

[Nadia Castle]

Yeah thanks for those videos, a much more interesting insight than anything I've seen on the news.

 

[SckizoBoy]

My question, and sorry if I seem ignorant on the American economics front, is how a city (not even a state), but how can a city go bankrupt? Sure, I get that it's local economy is basically fucked (bye-bye manufacturing industry and all that), but wouldn't state expenditure sort of be included in keeping the city functioning. I would've thought that such a major city as Detroit, Michigan's government/whatever its federal ruling institution is, would do its level best to stop this, especially because Detroit is the largest city in the state. Now, if they were trying to prevent it, why isn't the whole state declaring bankruptcy, or is there some hidden benefit of having just the major city do so.

Now, I don't get how fiscal policy works in the states except on a broad level, so I wouldn't mind the enlightenment.

*the theatrical shrug of an idiot*

 

[Hero of Lime]

Never been to Detroit, but I can honestly say with everything I know about it, abandoned car factories are the least of its problems. Detroit has an interesting history, especially with the huge car companies, but today it's more like a war zone than anything else.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

(no-one went out looting in the two mentioned cities whilst Londoners helped themselves to a free shopping spree last year).

Well of course, London actually has things worth stealing.

OT: How can this happen? You guys have a bronze statue of Robocop for fucks sake. That should bring plenty of tourists in for you to mug.

 

[an annoyed writer]

Detroit is interesting, if kinda sad to see today. Ever since the auto industry crashed that city's been dying, and today if you went over there you'd find entire city blocks devoid of habitation. It's sort of like that one house Tyler Durden has in Fight Club, except that is what entire swaths of city sprawl are like. They actually did a big relocation program to bring people closer to the city center, so the city could save money on power and emergency services. There are nicer parts yeah, but unfortunately they're poorly maintained due to there being a lack of funds to go around. Deus Ex actually handled the setting quite well, especially considering I've been there and I've seen what there is to see. It's pretty depressing to see it like that.

 

[Zantos]

In fairness, Bradford did have the guy that killed prostitutes with a crossbow.

As another Brit, it is interesting to see how Detroit is portrayed. I always assumed the whole "Post apocalyptic hellhole" was more some inside joke thing, rather than actually being true. Somewhat similar to how we joke about Hull.

 

[saintdane05]

Its a hub of crime and disease wrapped in darkness and silence. I plan on moving there later on.

 

[purf]

Having spent some time in StreetView, it is fairly easy to come across a 28 Days Later vibe That said,

I do believe however that Detroit - with a little luck and a smart and maybe adventurous administration - might just have a fantastic, exciting future. Wouldn't be surprised if it turns into The Place To Be in a dozen years or so.

captcha: falling pianos. Yes, captcha. Appropriate, somehow

edit: an interesting photo series, by the way. If you are into that kind of thing: link

 

[Nadia Castle]

"In fairness, Bradford did have the guy that killed prostitutes with a crossbow."- Having a Serial killer is more a sign of having large groups of humans living in close proximity than anything to do with poverty or unemployment. Bradford is a lousy place to live but it's mostly just boring rather than city on a knife edge everyone portrayed it as. That's why I assumed Detroit may not be half as bad as we see on TV. Then again even the worst British city is only a few minuets drive away from a prosperous one.

"Somewhat similar to how we joke about Hull."- There are no jokes about Hull, by all rights the Huber bridge should have an army checkpoint on to warn visitors that they may never escape......

 

[xDarc]

I live 4 miles outside the city limits and I rarely go down there except to see a ball game or go to the museum. I watched the videos above and I do know a few hipsters that are all about Detroit and the scene down there, but I really doubt the ability of "the scene" to bring back the city... like they said it's a HUGE city. They covered the downtown area pretty well, but there are around 140 square miles in Detroit. Roughly 40 square miles of abandoned property dots the city.

Lately there have been a lot of foreign investors buying up property in the city. We hear about it on the news from time to time. I think most of them are just long term speculative real estate investors. I have half a mind to buy some property down there, but who knows how long you will be paying the taxes on it before it's worth something. And god forbid you try to build something; any new plumbing, pipes, fixtures you put in, some crack head will break in and go sell it for scrap. I remember one guy in the local not too long ago, they were taking up a collection for him for that very reason, sunk all his money into rehabbing a house and crack heads gutted it.

I guess I don't go down there because at 31 years old, I'm old enough to remember Malice Green, riots, and lots of racial tension. I'd rather stay out here in the burbs where it's nice and quiet.

P.S.
I did live a block north of the city limits once for about six months. I was working the night shift and I left for work around 11, had to park my car in the street. One night I was going out to my car and I just hear this engine growling up the street, someone tearing ass. So I stopped, and decided I better wait for them to go by. The guy on the passenger side shot off 3 rounds at me as they drove by.

My house is 960 sq. ft. and I paid 77,000. When I was looking for a house, I found this beautiful 1800 sq. ft. home just south of 8 mile on the edge of Detroit; they only wanted 60,000 and I could have taken it for less... but it's not just me now, it's my gf too, and someday, children. So I said, hell no.

I wonder how many of the scene kids in the Johnny Knoxville vid would raise their children in Detroit... It's easy to say how awesome it is when you don't have to worry about stuff like that.