Detroit has Died, but it hasn't fallen over yet

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

I find it hard to believe this could happen to a city like Detroit.
To me this is really sad. How long before the older people die off and the whole area is virtually abandoned? Then what?

What about cities like Chicago or Philadelphia? Could the same thing happen there?
Were did these people move to?

I just can't get my head around such a big problem.

I've never been there but it was always "the" car city...

What wrong with your car industry over there? (Maybe a title for a new thread)

A lot of people immigrated to the south, less regulation, more job opportunity. Also less job security here, but its better to have jobs you can move into if yours disappears.

Many of the union rules stood in the way of automation, automation can increase quality in addition to reducing work force to make the same amount, so its hard for a company to stay in business when their competitors make better quality products for less.

I've been with the company I work for since my early teens, and any time a process got automated, no one got canned, they just found something else for them to do and steadily grew the business. There are more employees than when I started despite increasing automation. In a hard ball union land they wouldn't of been able to use the new machines, would of lost the competitive edge in the market, and eventually faded away.

In the Auto industry, if the market shrinks, the big three have a choice of closing plants in foreign countries, that are more recently built, and with more advanced equipment(better quality, lower production cost), or closing plants in the US with older lower quality machinery, and employees that are harder to deal with. That is a no brainer right there.

The US steel industry is doing quite well in areas without unions, we get our steel from South Carolina. The quality is excellent, and for that quality its not worth the price difference to get it else ware.

[1967 R50/2]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

Great place to live? Where the cops perform 100,000 "stop and searches" a year, where you need a special permit just to own a firearm for defense, where it's almost impossible to drive around, and where the cost of living is so freakin' crazy that a 3 br apt in Harlem costs $1000+ a month?

Seriously...

1. Seriously...one of the greatest cities in the world. As for not being able to drive around...that applies to DC, Houston, Seattle, SF, many other US cities but especially LA... in spades. But at least NYC has a real functioning mass transit system and a plan to expand it even more. Many cities have no plan...period.

2. $1000 a month for a 3 bedroom apt in Harlem?

I guess you don't know NY real estate. Most of Harlem is seriously gentrified and you'll never touch a 3 bedroom, 2, bedroom, or one bedroom for that price. If you can find it...I'm sure it will come with some other "price" attached.

Like anything else, if you want something nice, you're going to have to pay for it, and that includes the city where you live.

4. Fortunately if you live in NYC you are probably making the gravy to pay for it all.

[Hugh R]

$1,000/month generally won't get you a one bedroom in most of Los Angeles. My MIL's one bedroom condo, in a nice complex in a nice part of town is $1,200 plus utilities.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by 1967 R50/2

1But at least NYC has a real functioning mass transit system and a plan to expand it even more. Many cities have no plan...period.

And the stench of urine comes at no extra charge

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Detroit would be a GREAT backlot for a studiio. Little traffic, plenty of old houses to burn down. Car wrecks, no problem. Lots of empty city streets that could be made to "look" inhabited. We're filming there pretty much for the tax credits on labor and materials, including the tax credits for the 90% of the crew we brought in from Los Angeles. Detroit, and other cities way of thinking is that if they offer tax credits for Season One of a TV series, we'll stay there for season two. Wrong. we can pretty much make any city look like another. NCIS which is supposed to be Virginia is shot in LA, ditto for CSI which is supposed to be Las Vegas. Ever notice when they're out in the woods how many Live California Coastal Oaks there are in Virginia? They shoot it in my backyard, so to speak.

This would be good for some sort of movie/TV show ... the old velodrome on Mound and Outer Drive. They cleared the brush and are running some outlaw motorcycles on it

Dorais Velodrome, Detroit, MI

[GLASEM]

What's also sad is that in the same park was once the 2nd best hill to the one in Akron, Ohio for the Soap Box Derby.

When I race in the Derby back in the late 60's Detroit was the only city that had two derbies......one for Detroit and one for the suburbs drawing 600 cars for the two.

During those years Mitt Romney's father George was Governor and he came every year I raced to visit and mingle with the crowd.

What great memories and a shame what has happened to my hometown!!!

[wcc]

It's going down in flames...

High winds fuel fires across Detroit - U.S. news - Life - msnbc.com

[Hugh R]

How odd this thread came up today. I'm back here in Detroit as of last night for the same TV show. I'll report back on the fires and stuff later today. I'm a SoCal boy, its about 50 degrees out right now and very windy. I'm used to warmer weather.

[wcc]

Hugh you go from one fire to the next. You sure you aren't a fire fighter?

50s that's nothing. Wait around for winter to set in... lol

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

I'll be there from 15 - 17 October. Actually looking forward to the trip. But I do NOT like that city...

[daepp]

I was in Dearborn the other day - that is a surprisingly nice city. I plan to visit the Ford museum on my next visit - according to my FIL it is the history of mechanization of America, and even includes Edison's laboratories.

[GLASEM]

Let me know when you plan your trip to the Henry Ford
I live only 20 minutes from there.

[daepp]

Will do. I am due in Hillsdale on 10-15 so maybe the 14th.

[johnsjmc]

Even Dearborn with it,s great museum and the Ford world headquarters is not immune to urban blight. I was there a few of years ago and while driving back home (Canada) I somehow ended up on Gratiot Ave and drove through an area which looked like bombed out Iraq. The American side approach to the bridge is also really awful looking. Even though it is being rebuilt now.How was it allowed to become so bad?

[tabs]

Originally Posted by GLASEM

Let me know when you plan your trip to the Henry Ford
I live only 20 minutes from there.

My Grandfather was a Speciality Mold Maker with Ford for 43 years starting in 1916. So every car that Ford produced from 1916 to 1959 has a part or two in it that my Grandfather helped to make. Further as a Speciality Mold Maker, he helped restore a great many of the items found in the Henry Ford Museum as he made the mold to cast the reproduction part. His comment was, "Why do I want to go to the Ford museum to see the parts I made."

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by johnsjmc

How was it allowed to become so bad?

The rest of the country is just a bunch of pussies compared to us, that's all.

[tabs]

The cynical Tabs says. "Burning Detroit down can only be an improvement,"

[GLASEM]

Even Dearborn with it,s great museum and the Ford world headquarters is not immune to urban blight. I was there a few of years ago and while driving back home (Canada) I somehow ended up on Gratiot Ave and drove through an area which looked like bombed out Iraq. The American side approach to the bridge is also really awful looking. Even though it is being rebuilt now.How was it allowed to become so bad?


If you were on Gratiot you were NO where near Dearborn. That's Detroit's east side and yes that area looks like war zone. Dearborn still looks fine.

Can't make 10-14 at work but the Saturday 10-16 maybe

[Hugh R]

I don't think its the city of Detroit, but we filmed at a house in Grosse Pointe Park at the house next to this one which is for sale. I called the realtor and they're asking $995,000, look really nice, and on a street with lots of similar nice homes.

But six blocks away a lot of more burned out homes/storefronts.

[daepp]

Sold for $35K - very sad. Some say it could now be worth $7K



In a (formerly) very nice historic part of Detroit known as Indian Village

HISTORIC INDIAN VILLAGE - Detroit, Michigan

Indian Village Historic District (Detroit, Michigan) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia