Lots of people have heard of Ann Arbor thanks to the University of Michigan, however, not everyone has so sometimes I just say I’m from the “Detroit area”, which is accurate enough. People sometimes ask me if Detroit is as bad as it’s portrayed in movies, TV, news, etc. To which I normally say “worse.” As of now there are over 12,000 abandoned homes in Detroit. The city is hemorrhaging money. Here are some sad facts about a once great city.
- It’s the only city in the history of the United States to hit a population of over 1,000,000 residents and then subsequently fall back under that number.
- The city has lost more than half of its population since the 1950’s.
- Over 30% of the city’s population lives below the poverty line.
- Over 36 square miles (58 square kilometers) of land sits vacant, which is roughly the size of the city of San Francisco.
- The city tears down between 1,500 and 2,000 homes a year, which only keeps pace with the problem and doesn’t cut into the backlog of the 12,000 abandoned homes.
Things are getting so bad that people are moving their deceased loved ones’ bodies out of the city into other cemeteries.
“Suburbanites are taking the bodies of their relatives out of cemeteries because they’re afraid to come to the city,” Vogel said. “There are about 400 to 500 hundred (being moved) a year which shows you the depth of racism and fear.”
You know your city sucks when even the dead people are leaving.
I will wave to the city for you when I go there tonight for Tigers vs. Red Sox 🙂 — as I dodge bullets and prostitues.
Well a lot of the vacant homes and such has to do with pollitics and cost of living. It is damn exspensive to live in the city to begin with, but on top of that there is a 3% city tax. Not to mention the cost of auto insurance alone sky rockets if you live in the city.
A few months ago Mayor Killpatrick was proposing a fast food tax within the city to help increase revenue. I am not sure what happened to this as it seemed to just fade away. However I do remember, when asked, the Mayor had stated that “noone would notice” the tax.
So then to furhter help “balance” the budget, he cuts police and fire workers. That didn’t make sense to me.
I don’t know if you have been following the news back her either, but there was also a huge scandal about his [Mayor] spending of money? The vehicle incident?
On top of this we have city council members who are reportedly making upwards of $80,000 a year. For what? As far as i can tell there not doing much.
As far as the population decline goes, yeah people are leaving, but that is occuring every where. We are all looking for a cheaper place to live and a better quality neighborhood to raise our families. We have to remember too, though, that a lot of the population left after the riots in the sixties.
With the major sporting events coming into the city and our own local teams bringing themselves back into the city, i think we will slowly see an increas in the amount of revenue coming back to Detroit. As such perhaps they can start making the improvements that need to be made. I am in no way trying to defent Detriot, hell, I am not even a native. Honestly, I don’t go down there all that much, and when I do, its not after dark!
Ever place has its issues, and always will. There are a lot of changes that need to be made, and I truly think they need to start with getting a new Mayor in office who is there for the city and not for his wallet or privliges. Then we ned to start taking a good hard look at city council members and determine why they need all the money they are getting paid. Once we get that taken care of, we will miraculously have enough founds to re-instate the police officers and fire fighters, and start making a real change down there.
But like I said a lot of things need to change, and I really truly beleave that it begins with getting Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick out of office.
It would be nice to bring Detroit back to its former glory, but that is a long road and a lot of work.
where the hell is robocop?
I lived in HellTroit for 3.5 years. I grew up in a ‘burb of LA. I just assumed the world was full of decent, upscale black neighborhoods. Then I moved to Detroit, where I figured there would be a ton of great black neighborhoods. I am still waiting to find them!! Okay, Grandmont Rosedale was okay, but it was surrounded by Hooker-filled Grand River Avenue.
I am glad to be back in my childhood home, in my nice, quiet, safe ‘hood where the average home costs $650k and most of the black people are working, married couples. Not to be racist (against my own kind), but Detroit made Watts (where I volunteered for 5 years) look like the suburbs. I must admit I was really shocked at how crappy the city is.
I was hurt by how the funds are obviously misappropriated.
I was embarrased to go to work, and be expected to explain All Things Black and Bad in Detroit (hell, I was an import. I don’t know!!) to my all-white coworkers.
Mainly, though, I was sad. I volunteered in the city, teaching math and helping kids get into college. These beautiful kids could only see life as a factory job. So, so sad. The ones that did go to college couldn’t afford it after 2 semesters, wound up with a lot of student loans, and are now in a factory trying to work and pay them back. No path for success, and no change from the future generation.
So sad!
Detroit isn’t 100% terrible, you just have to know where to go. Although I don’t live in the city, the times where I travel downtown, I am usually glad to take in the feel of an actual city. Just remember that there are two sides to Woodward: The good one, and the bad one.
Things are changing, and there are developments all over the place, but things will never be like they were back in the day (the population was close to 2 million in between a census) until we stop outsourcing jobs overseas. You can’t expect a city built on the automotive industry to continue to thrive as the USA promotes the process of removing US jobs for “cost saving.” In fact, when no one in this country has a job, who will have the money to buy these products? Detroit was built on manufacturing, and the corporate fat cats are rewarding their ties to Michigan by abandoning us. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the country begins to see just how bad things are going to get.
Detroit is a great city and great neighborhoods do exist there. Victoria Park and indian Village are some, just to name a few. As we speak, there are many projects under development that are making the city better, including violence prevention programs.
Here are more facts about my great city:
Detroit:
–has the largest fireworks display in the United States–the International Freedom Fireworks
–is home of legendary Motown music
–is home to the world’s only floating post office, the J.W. Westcott II, can be found on the Detroit River
— has country’s largest island park within a city – Belle Isle Park
— boasts the second tallest hotel in North America – the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center, at 73 stories
–is home to the oldest state fair in the nation, first held in 1849
–boasts the largest African american history museum in the country
It seems that the city is singled out and targeted for problems that are occuring all over the country which is ridiculous.
dude, a floating Post Office!!! wow, i had it all wrong! it musn’t be such a s***hole afterall!
oh ps-
the detroit river isnt much to brag about anyway, nasty.
Detroit sucks… for sure. The only places that suck more are the stupid suburbs around Detroit. That includes all those supposed wonderful places like Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Troy, Farmington Hills, etc.
Content and cluture free, they are filled with blue collar losers who have no concept of what a nice city can be. They are really the reason Detroit is what it is. They are the leftovers of the great exodus of the 60s. Anyone with a clue left Southeast Michgan. The leftovers without a clue went to the burbs – those of Detroit.
I moved to the Detroit subs in 2002, from Baltimore of all places, which certainly has its problems.
But Detroit doesn’t only have problems–Detroit is a problem! Michigan is the worst place there has ever been. Congress should consider revoking its statehood and then placing an embargo on trade and travel, somewhat like what we do with Cuba. And Michiganders who try to visit any of the other 49 states should be shot on sight and their bodies immediately burned.
If Mitt Romney is elected president, I will leave this country for good.
I absolutely hate this place and can’t get out of it soon enough. In the time I’ve been here, I have dealt with some of the worst human beings I’ve ever met. People here are mostly too stupid to know what a fetid hell they are living in.
The giant middle finger rises.
I am glad to be back in my childhood home, in my nice, quiet, safe ‘hood where the average home costs $650k and most of the black people are working, married couples.
Yeah right retard, like any of them can paid or can afford a 650k house in the ghetto. They just bought a long time ago and stayed there until their home became an overpriced shack.
“I absolutely hate this place and can’t get out of it soon enough. In the time I’ve been here, I have dealt with some of the worst human beings I’ve ever met. People here are mostly too stupid to know what a fetid hell they are living in.”
Just kill yourself and make it easier on everyone you miserable prick.
muning444, I am an appraiser and I can tell you that houses sell all the time in South L.A. for more than $400k fartknocker.
Did I say that they didn’t sell for that much? Maybe you better work on your reading comprehension skills.
Who asked you anyways?