“You have to identify those neighborhoods where you want to concentrate your population,” said Chris Brown, Detroit’s chief operating officer. “We’re not going to light distressed areas like we light other areas.”
May 24, 2012
"Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living space..."
"... by eliminating almost half its streetlights. As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city.... can’t afford to fix them."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
67 comments:
Soon we'll see images like this
More iron from northern Wisconsin would bring more steel to Detroit and more industry, more jobs, and more people.
Maybe some rubes will finally self-identify. But they'll probably just "blame Bush."
As an amatuer astronomer, I hate street lights.
Democrat governance.
We visited Detroit several times in the late 1990s. It was mostl abandoned then.
The resurrgence of Ford in Dearborn may slow the slide, but the middle class is not going to stay there long without a good job at Fords.
There was a good wealth level in the rest of Michigan, but Detroit was mostly abandoned 15 years ago except for sports events the richer folks drove in to attend.
They just need the Bloomberg Solution.
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday suggested that the federal government “deliberately force” large municipalities to take in immigrants as the only hope for salvaging their battered economies.
It used to be that the left wanted to force people out of the cities. Now they want to force people into them. The one constant is that "force" bit.
I think that years ago, this was known as "herding."
Who is going to pay for these people to move into the "upscale" areas?
Fortunately, Detroit has unionized teachers, so at least they have top-notch schools.
If it were given tools of the kind that Governor Walker's reforms have provided to Wisconsin municipalities, Detroit might be able to solve some of its budgetary problems without the need of an emergency financial manager. (Or, as recently cobbled together, a management committee to take over financial affairs via a "consent agreement.")
Newsflash for my friends in Wisconsin: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has tried quite hard to take the 'collaborative approach' that Scott Walker is accused of having blown off in Wisconsin. And guess what; there is now an effort to recall Snyder, just the same:
https://michiganrising.org/
The unions simply will not tolerate any reform without nuclear-level political attacks.
The Blue Model; all over the world, it's failing.
Does this mean MI moves into the Red column this Fall?
I'd move. To the Detroit of the South!
The end state of Lefty politics is seen clearly in Detroit, Washington,Chicago, Illinois, and Calif. Ever growing public employee rolls handing out benefits to moochers.
Perhaps this is really what Marx meant by the "withering away of the state."
Stateless utopia is right around the corner.
> Mayor Bloomberg yesterday suggested that the federal government “deliberately force” large municipalities to take in immigrants as the only hope for salvaging their battered economies.
Doesn't his plan require forcing people to stay in the municipalities? (AFAIK, large muinicipalities do not try to keep people out.)
Sort of like "Escape from New York".
I assume that the people in the unlit areas, whose low resale values will just collapse will have the property taxes lowered to zero, since they are being triaged into the morphine and Chaplain tent?
"the middle class is not going to stay there long without a good job at Fords."
The middle class is doing quite well in Bloomfield and Bloomington Hills. Detroit is irrelevant, no matter what Clint Eastwood says. My daughter lived there 10 years. The only bad part of her day was her commute into Detroit. She is a federal employee and had to go to the federal building.
"I assume that the people in the unlit areas, whose low resale values will just collapse will have the property taxes lowered to zero, since they are being triaged into the morphine and Chaplain tent?"
No, those are the urban farms.
I'd read a few weeks ago that i the 1950's Detroit was the richest city, per capita, in the U.S. But then again, California used to be a place to which other Americans migrated. High rates of unionization and rule by Democrats is a lethal combination. (See also Cleveland, Philadelphia, etc.)
A while back, there was a proposal to abandon much of Deeeetriot. No utilities. No street repair. No police or fire. Basically shrink the footprint of the city.
Detroit discovers the Denial of Service method of herding the population into is ghetto! Only in a solid-blue Democrat constituency...
What I remember most about detroit was that the Interstate Freeways were still the original equiptment 1950s designs and had little maintenance since then.
In Atlanta those roads are rebuilt every 15 years or so and add merge lanes, exit lanes and long multilevel ramps. The Olympics thanks you for the Federal money.
In Detroit the entrance ramps were one lane and short with no merge lane and came in on a near blind curve. That no one had spent a dime fixing that for 40+ years startled me. It was the main traffic artery through town.
My last contact with Detroit was a layover, and the initial landing was aborted due to coyotes on the runway.
"But then again, California used to be a place to which other Americans migrated."
California has the benefit of amazing weather, varied geography, lots of land, world class agriculture (even still) and just about everything else that makes life lovely if one is able to afford it. People live here because they actually like living here, even as the government here is batty.
Detroit has what besides industry? People would rather be elsewhere and now there's no reason to stay.
"Detroit has what besides industry? People would rather be elsewhere and now there's no reason to stay.
Detroit was actually a beautiful city until Coleman Young got hold of it. It has lakes and had a vibrant economy. GM and the UAW took care of one. See Clint Eastwood for the other.
This is the future of Chicago unless the ballerina works miracles.
The weather is a problem but go to the Canadian side and see what it could look like. Or Wisconsin, for that matter.
Obama is in the hallowed tradition of Adam Clayton Powell.
Well, at least the last person out of Detroit won't have to remember to turn out the lights...
Sounds like the recreation of the Warsaw Ghetto!
They ought to plant those vacant lots with vegetable gardens and turn Detroit into a sustainable living community. It would be a such a joyous experience, everyone bonding with Gaia as they grow their own food.
Whatever you do don't go into the light.
Now its dark
And yet, even with all of its natural advantages, more Americans are migrating out of California than into California. Even those advantages cannot overcome the unstainable liberal model of governing.
A while back, there was a proposal to abandon much of Deeeetriot. No utilities. No street repair. No police or fire. Basically shrink the footprint of the city.
It's a reasonable proposal. I agree the symbolism isn't exactly uplifting, but to have any hope of making the city a nice place to live they have to live within a budget. The areas of the city that have become ruins should be bulldozed and turned into farmland.
Amazing that Detroit isn't doing better with all that vibrant diversity.
My wife and I discussed the possibility of buying a couple of square blocks of "distressed" Detroit Real Estate and walling it off for a retirement villa. She decided I couldn't reload enough to make it a going concern.
Several years ago, I posited to a friend that at some point a foreign government would sweep into Detroit and buy up the land. Let's say you're in charge of a movement that's trying to spread its influence - why wouldn't you just legally buy large swaths of land and resettle it? Then make electoral trouble.
It's what, in effect, the Mexican government indirectly did. They "bought" influence in America through their tacit (and sometimes explicit) calls for migration to El Norte.
I, of course, am not talking about the Mexican government making a push into Eastern Michigan.
What I am talking about is an ethnic group that is already well ensconced in the Greater Detroit metro area. One that is very interested in spreading its message far and wide. One that has very well-funded backing from abroad.
And I'm not talking about the Lutheran Church.
Paddy O:
We live in California only because our kids and grandkids live here. We live in a beautiful place and have magnificent weather, but the liberal government is ruining the place. If it weren't for the family we would be out of here.
North Korea governance = Democrat governance, at least if Pelosi, Reid, and Obama had their way.
I guess Detroit is going the way Rome did. Crumbling slowly but surely.
Well done Unions!
Meanwhile, Texas, a Right-To-Work State, is becoming an economic powerhouse, best in the nation.
Let's say you're in charge of a movement that's trying to spread its influence - why wouldn't you just legally buy large swaths of land and resettle it?
Oh, I don't know--maybe things like housing discrimination laws would effectively block those sorts of moves? They'd have to effectively become a sovereign nation to create such a reservation--or make it so unattractive that only immigrants would even want to live there.
Progressive wasteland.
You mean like blasting a call to prayer over loudspeakers 5x a day? See: Hamtramck
Also, see Islamberg, NY
The Great Society.
I'm pretty sure that the problem with Detroit is very similar to the problem with Baltimore. Don't read this link if you are susceptible to depression.
http://lagriffedulion.f2s.com/city.htm
Let's say you're in charge of a movement that's trying to spread its influence - why wouldn't you just legally buy large swaths of land and resettle it? Then make electoral trouble.
Because every level of government in that area would view you as a cow to be milked, and the unions would keep you from doing anything yourself. You'd be better off buying land in Somalia.
As I was saying...
You are not going to see an opportunity like this again.
They should systematically land bank corridors for future transportation use. If the atomized clusters of former Detroit never take off, you have the land (for parks, to farm, to sell, etc.) If they do take off you have the contiguous right of way for roads, rail, or whatever.
The biggest impediment to the development of transportation systems in urban areas is often the cost of right of way. Here it is handed to you on a silver platter.
Back in 2002 Georgia attempted to get referendum support for a plan to link I-75 to I-85 in what was to be a toll road known as the Northern Arc. At the time it was voted on in Fall of 2002 one of the most effective emotional arguments against it were the pleas of the folks who would have been removed by eminent domain from the path of the road (a handful of subdivisions, newly built – high-end homes with politically connected and well-organized owners.) The incumbent Governor (“King” Roy Barnes) was defeated in his bid for a 2nd term in significant part due to his support for this plan. Newly elected Governor Sonny Perdue put a stake through the heart of the concept in his first days in office in early 2003. Recently there have been proposals floated for the development of a Northern Arc 2.0, which would span the same roads (I-75, I-85) on the northern end – but further north into the foothills of the Appalachians. This would bump into fewer subdivisions along the route, but would be considerably more expensive to build due to the more varied elevations as you go north. In the housing boom, post 2002, subdivisions grew like wildfire in the northern Atlanta Metro area, making road design that didn't conflict with residences almost impossible. This is a textbook example of how not to plan.
Now, regarding Detroit, one of the true world class hellholes in the developed world, I'm not saying you can revive the separated communities, I'm just saying you should cover the contingency of future success, however unlikely.
Third world.
Q said:
They just need the Bloomberg Solution.
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday suggested that the federal government “deliberately force” large municipalities to take in immigrants as the only hope for salvaging their battered economies.
Heh . . . Actually, he has solved the illegal immigrant problem. All we have to do is send Mexicans without papers to Detroit instead of sending them back across the Rio Grande. Then they can have the State of Michigan declare that the Motor City's 139 square miles to no longer be part of the state.
The Detroit Lions can become the Motor City Muchachos and the Red Wings will be renamed the Aztec Birds.
Illegals, by the way didn't need lights to find their way across border at night so no problemo. Perhaps they will find the Detroit River deep enough to swim across.
Thirty years ago I shared a house with an ex-Detroiter. She talked about how Coleman Young had an open agenda of driving the white people out of Detroit. Guess he was successful.
Is that Detroitastan?
Railby
Those damn Mormons!
Actually, the muslims have taken over the neighboring city of Dearborn. As a matter of fact, they've built the largest mosque in North America there.
Maguro, thread winner!
Detroit should hire Kurt Russell to whip the place into shape.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082340/
The reason Rev Wright's preachings really bothered me, and why they made me distrust Obama, is Wright reflected the same kind of thinking as Coleman Young.
He preached, and Obama listened to, the philosophy that helped elect loser and loser and ruin a once vibrant city.
It's interesting that Obama has little interaction with Bing or the city of Detroit.
"Nudge". Now where have I heard that word before...?
Oh, yeah: Cass Sunstein for Mayor!!!
And the Department of Transportation wanted to build a high speed train from Detroit to Chicago.
Talk about doubling down on stupid.
When you read about the catastrophe that is Detroit these days, don’t you ever wonder what might have been had a Rudy Giuliani been elected mayor back when there was still time to have made a difference?
Does anyone know of a good book on the death of Detroit?
By "Good", I mean one that takes an economic view of what happened, as opposed to political talking points.
If only the Democrats running Detroit had been allowed to succeed in raising taxes high enough to create a vibrant middle class. I get the chills when I think of what could have been.
One of the main reasons why Detroit is such a shit hole was the riots of 1967. Sorry to have to say this, but black people gone wild, looting and burning all the stores was the start of a city losing it's reasons for existence.
I was attached to the 82nd Abn. Div. at Fort Bragg during that time and we were being mobilized to go there. Do you know that our racially integrated unit was segregated with the black soldiers standing on the sidelines while everyone else performed riot drills? Not cool.
My Detroit area relatives swear the economy there is starting to boom.
Dante said...
Does anyone know of a good book on the death of Detroit?
By "Good", I mean one that takes an economic view of what happened, as opposed to political talking points.
Unfortunately, Dante, the economic story of Detroit is tied largely to its politics.
Paddy'O said,
"Detroit has what besides industry?
There is no industry in Detroit. Detroit has nothing.
And the Department of Transportation wanted to build a high speed train from Detroit to Chicago.
Talk about doubling down on stupid.
It would have been a great idea if they'd been able to figure out what to put in all the empty trains on the return to Detroit.
The last person to live in Detroit is going to have quite the property tax bill.
Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center writes:
"Imagine a city where all the major economic planks of the statist or 'progressive' platform have been enacted:
•A 'living wage' ordinance, far above the federal minimum wage, for all public employees and private contractors.
•A school system that spends significantly more per pupil than the national average.
•A powerful school employee union that militantly defends the exceptional pay, benefits and job security it has won for its members.
•Other government employee unions that do the same for their members.
•A tax system that aggressively redistributes income from businesses and the wealthy to the poor and to government bureaucracies.
"Would this be a shining city on a hill, exciting the admiration of all? We don't have to guess, because there is such a city right here in our state: Detroit
"Detroit has been dubbed 'the most liberal city in America' and each of these 'progressive' policies is alive and well there. How have they worked out?
"In 1950, Detroit was the wealthiest city in America on a per capita income basis. Today, the Census Bureau reports that it is the nation's 2nd poorest major city, just 'edging out' Cleveland.
"Could it be pure coincidence that the decline occurred over the same period in which union power, the city government bureaucracy, taxes and business regulations all multiplied? While correlation is not causation, it is striking that the decline in per capita income is exactly what classical economists predict would occur when wage controls are imposed and taxes are increased..."
http://www.mackinac.org/12832
Amazing that Detroit isn't doing better with all that vibrant diversity.
As someone who's lived in Metro Detroit all my life, I'll fill you in on something:
There IS no diversity in Detroit.
Detroit is about 90% black, the suburbs are about 90% white. It is the most racially polarized metro area in the United States.
And another thing: you'd never hear this from the media, but two Detroit suburbs are on the list of the lowest crime cities in the United States:
Troy
Canton Twp.
Link
In the late 19th century, Detroit pioneered the use of "moonlight towers", 100 feet high and topped with electric arc lamps:
The lighting infrastructure in Detroit was regarded as the future of street lighting, and stood as an example for the rest of the US. The following excerpts are taken from “Municipal lighting”, a practical guide for city lighting that was published in 1888:
“The press of the country has uniformly conceded Detroit to be the best-lighted city in the world. All its streets, yards, backyards and grounds are illuminated as effectually as by the full moon at the zenith....
And now the same city can't bestir themselves to replace their lightbulbs. The fruits of progressive politics.
(Forgot to include a link:
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/01/moonlight-towers-light-pollution-in-the-1800s.html
It's an interesting read.)
Post a Comment