Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2008 » Generation gap... « Previous Next »
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Youngprofessionaldetroiter
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Username: Youngprofessionaldetroiter

Post Number: 97
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 4:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's kinda funny. If you're born in the 1940's, Detroit (the city) is a once-glorious city that's been on a steady decline moving closer to death with every morning of opening up the Free Press.
If you were born in the 1980's, Detroit (the city) is a trash city that seems to get better every decade.

And who ever thought this would happen: just met a girl who from Bloomfield Hills. She and her two friends just moved into the Millender Center. Now she doesn't (and I don't) know who thie Millender cat was. But we both like that it's walking distance to Greektown, the CoPa, and Campus Martius. And she loves that there's DPM station in her building. Yes, the DPM that everyone here makes fun of.

Her parents want to kill her haha.

I dunno...but I'm sure glad I'm a child of the 80's. Helps me enjoy this place a lot more. :-)

YPD

(Message edited by Youngprofessionaldetroiter on July 31, 2008)
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Detroitrise
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Username: Detroitrise

Post Number: 3197
Registered: 09-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 4:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, too bad the children of the 90s (2nd generation boomers) must deal with Kwhyme & the worst of the worst in Detroit.
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Detroitnerd
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Username: Detroitnerd

Post Number: 2817
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 4:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's not just Detroit, YPD. Across the country, people younger than 40 are more likely to take a kind view of cities.

Think about it: Depending on when you grew up, New York was either the place where Kojak solved murders, or a bunch of quirky white people shared a huge apartment. :-)
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Youngprofessionaldetroiter
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Username: Youngprofessionaldetroiter

Post Number: 98
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 4:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

DNerd...you're right. I just read for the first time about NYC's brief flirtations with bankruptcy in the 70s. What?!

And who's Kojak? ;)

YPD
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Gannon
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Username: Gannon

Post Number: 13635
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 5:15 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I daresay that you overspeak, D'rise.

I love the premise of this thread, and feel where YPD is coming from...luckily I was born halfway between the two and feel both ways.

Seeing the death and decay being replaced with the newfound enthusiasm and life and vibrancy of the next generation is quite encouraging.


I don't think we're as bad as it was during the late-twenties/early-thirties with the Purple Gang running the show...we're not FAR from it, but since population density is lower there seems to be an amplification from history.

Perhaps it is just hindsight, but this corruption thing was not invented by Kwhyme, he's just the worst at hiding it, or keeping it under control.


Cheers
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Detroitrise
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Username: Detroitrise

Post Number: 3200
Registered: 09-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 5:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

How so Gannon?

They must expierence all of Detroit's city services at their worse, horrible classrooms, the lack of neighborhood or a downtown family shopping experience, poor leadership, slummy neighborhoods, etc...

Worse part, if the city were to recover, it may not be 'til after they die.

and that's not even thinking about the stuff happening internationally (influences, world relations, etc.)
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Gannon
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Username: Gannon

Post Number: 13638
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 6:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ah-h-h, but they (we) are still surviving despite those issues.

You said it was the worst time in Detroit, I say it is merely a continuum over generations of decline...and that in retrospect of the booming twenties and subsequent economic crash, the corruption was worse then...you merely said Kwhyme, and I simply wanted to remind you that the corruption existed LONG before he was born.


I do not think it will take long for a cleansing of the city, but also know that it will never, ever recover...it will heal but in a decidedly different fashion.

We're seeing that with the return to the land, and the gelling of the creatives, and other entrepreneurial adventures that will be clearly Detroit endeavors that might not have been born anywhere else on the earth.


It is a very exciting time to be in Detroit, but unfortunately I think we're going to see another big unrest before the healing really takes place. It is more gut feeling than anything...but THEN you can say they've seen the worst of this city.


Those who remain will be over-energized to complete the change to whatever will become our City of the Straight...there is resiliency, toughness, and determination in our town that I've never witnessed anywhere else...although I've been studying our situation much more closely than other ones.


I could give a rat's behind about international stuff, they have both simultaneously given up on us as an economic powerhouse while relying on us for musical entertainment...they will be drawn to our resurgence in the right time, then we'll bitch about the lack of parking and increased traffic!


Cheers
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Pffft
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Username: Pffft

Post Number: 1612
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I agree with Gannon...YPD, you seem to always want to depict people as utterly divided by generations, when the reality is much more complex.

I know young people who will never set foot in the city because they have no vision of it as a beautiful place, they just think it's a joke.

On the other hand, a lot of older people will always see Detroit through a haze of affection because of their personal ties to specific streets and neighborhoods.

Sometimes nostalgia can be a powerful thing; many of these folks are drawn back to their old neighborhoods to try to help the city heal.
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Ray
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Username: Ray

Post Number: 1137
Registered: 06-2004
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I enjoy fostering inter-generational strife, so this thread appeals to me.

I really do blame the baby boomers and the preceding generation -- at least the white ones -- for the debacle that is Detroit. They have this annoying mindset of racism and suburbanism. They think they're too good to ride the bus. The think malls and wide setbacks are really great. They have this fetish with SUVs. They are the executives and managers at the Big 3 who did such a retarded job of running those companies into the ground. They gave us AIDs and Disco. I basically hate them.
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Cedargrove
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Username: Cedargrove

Post Number: 54
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There ya go, laying blame on other people. Blame yourself for once and do something about it.
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Ray
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Username: Ray

Post Number: 1139
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Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:31 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

But how would that foster inter-generational strife?
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Detroitrise
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Username: Detroitrise

Post Number: 3206
Registered: 09-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Pfft & Ray, I agree.

Except Ray, I actually praise the Baby Boomers for Disco. It's the best music ever (IMO).

BTW, Bush & Granholm are baby boomers, so need we say more?
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Cedargrove
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Username: Cedargrove

Post Number: 55
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

lol... true.
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Whittier70
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Username: Whittier70

Post Number: 158
Registered: 02-2008
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Detroitrise, i thought i was the only person who likes disco. lol
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Mschievous
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Username: Mschievous

Post Number: 131
Registered: 04-2008
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

YPD, you asked who was Kojak (a TV show with Telly Savalas. I know, I know, who was Telly Savalas)and it made me feel so old! And I remember the NY financial crisis like it was yesterday.

I think I need a glass of warm milk now...
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Charlottepaul
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Username: Charlottepaul

Post Number: 2632
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The baby boomer lifestyle vs. the urban lifestyle...

There's a reason why people in their 20s don't want to live in subdivisions...
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Whithorn11446
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Username: Whithorn11446

Post Number: 261
Registered: 03-2007
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 7:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =vzlL9dkFUR0


"Who loves ya baby ?"

NYC on the verge of bankruptcy. The "good old days" of John Lindsay and Nelson Rockefeller spending. Except when the crisis finally hit they had both left office.
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Pffft
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Username: Pffft

Post Number: 1613
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 9:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Nobody in their '20s wants to live in subdivisions, that's not generational either.

About wide setbacks -- what always struck me about Detroit (not being a native) was the wide, suburban-like lawns in so many neighborhoods. You look at a photo of Westsiiide's street that he posted, it looks like a vintage '40s or '50s suburb (in a good way).

Check out Boston, Philly, Baltimore...
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Youngprofessionaldetroiter
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Username: Youngprofessionaldetroiter

Post Number: 100
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 10:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I know young people who will never set foot in the city because they have no vision of it as a beautiful place, they just think it's a joke."

- That's accurate. And that's a long way from, "I know people who will never set foot in the city because of the riots, Mayor Young, and house fires on Devil's Night" If young people don't want to come because it's not beautiful, that's a very easy fix. Make parts beautiful, have them come enjoy those parts. That's the easy sale.

The hard sale is the "Since xxxx did xxxx back in xxxxx", I refuse to support anything going on in that damned place. I know a couple in their 60s who moved out in the 1980s. They drive by their old neighborhoods and are upset because of the way their old homes look. Never mind that they chose to leave. Never mind that they haven't lived in their in 20 years. And worst of all, if me and some investors said we were going to redevelop and make the neighborhoods nicer, they would hate on us for helping "those people".

WTF?

They don't want the place to be nicer. They want to go back to 1965. They want someone to be angry at. These are also the same people who refuse to support regional mass transit because they don't want "those people" to be able to get into their city.

Maybe you're right, maybe I'm overgeneralizing about the generational gap. So let me retract and restate. The problem is the gap in attitude. Some people say, Detroit sucks, but if it were a nicer place, I'd love to be a part of it. Maybe, maybe not, I might even be willing to help in its reconstruction.

Others say, Detroit is a hellhole that's been dying a long death. It'll never be better. And even if it were, I'm so angry about the lost 30 years, that I wouldn't care anymore. Screw them. They can do whatever they want. I'll never set foot in that city if I never have to.

That's the gap.

YPD


p.s. re: Kojak...wow. You're a long way from Phoebe and Rachel :-)
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Pffft
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Username: Pffft

Post Number: 1614
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 10:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I know a lot of older, former Detroiters and I haven't heard that bitterness, that they don't want it nicer for the current inhabitants.

They want their old house to look like it did when they lived there. So yes, they want it to be like 1965. But, except for the lack of diversity in residents, would having the neighborhoods like that be such a bad thing?
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Pffft
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Username: Pffft

Post Number: 1615
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 10:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

p.s. Excuse my awkward phrasing, what I mean is, with the exception of segregation, wouldn't the way the old neighborhoods were in '65 be something everyone would want?
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Youngprofessionaldetroiter
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Username: Youngprofessionaldetroiter

Post Number: 102
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 10:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I agree with you...minus the lack of diversity and racial issues, I'd love for Detroit to look like it did in 1965.

I'm glad to hear that there is not the bitterness in everyone. I want you to be right, Pffft. The only thing stopping us from turning this ship around is the bitterness and anger causing the dysfunction in this region. Let's celebrate the common vision and do everything we can to make that a reality.

And I guess if you're old enough to remember Mayor Young or before, that probably means a lot of forgiveness needed on all sides. I believe it can happen. Do you think people are willing to do that?

YPD
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Youngprofessionaldetroiter
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Username: Youngprofessionaldetroiter

Post Number: 103
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 10:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

p.s. This Kojak guy was a baller hahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =G-PIOoHEV2Y
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Pffft
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Post Number: 1617
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 11:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I do think you're right that it's younger folk mostly who will populate the "new" Detroit. But former residents need to be encouraged to visit often and spend their money.

Speaking of former mayors and forgiveness, I was shocked to hear a radio ad blasting the Cavanagh family...it was by supporters of the current treasurer, against Philip Cavanagh, who's running for treasurer. The ad slammed his father, Mayor Jerry Cavanagh, for calling the National Guard in during the '67 troubles. Now, that's a reach, just to incite some racial hatred in hopes of taking votes away from him. And the current treasurer is a white guy, Raymond Wojtowicz. Good grief!
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Pffft
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Username: Pffft

Post Number: 1618
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Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 11:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

p.s. I believe forgiveness is needed on all sides, agreed...
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Eastsidedame
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Username: Eastsidedame

Post Number: 499
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 11:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Forget forgiveness...that's just too much to ask for some. Maybe we should just start with acceptance, first.

BTW Cavanaugh was a great mayor with a nightmare on his hands and no help from anyone. Junior needs to call Wojo out on that.
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Track75
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Post Number: 2742
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Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 11:51 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

I agree with you...minus the lack of diversity and racial issues, I'd love for Detroit to look like it did in 1965.

What's your definition of diversity? In 1970 Detroit was roughly 50/50 white/black. In 2000 Detroit was roughly 18/82 white(incl. Hispanic & Asian)/black. Which is more diverse?

Maybe there's more interracial interaction today. Then again, few Detroit neighborhoods are racially mixed to any significant degree today so is Detroit really any more diverse today to the average resident than it was 40 years ago? I don't think you can assume it is. Is it even fair to say it's less segregated?
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Reddog289
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Post Number: 498
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Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 11:52 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I,m young enuff to have missed the 'glory days' of Detroit, yet old enuff to see a cycle. Some people want Detroit to fail, but for the most part i belive that most would like to see the city become a thriving part of the nation, not a blurb about fires on the 30th of Oct or FBI investigations of city government. That is what i think of the generation thing.
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Whithorn11446
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Post Number: 262
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 12:36 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"In 1970 Detroit was roughly 50/50 white/black"

In 1970 Detroit was about 56% white. The city government still had white leadership. If Detroit had been 50/50 in 1970, then Austin probably would have won in 1969 against Gribbs.

"BTW Cavanaugh was a great mayor with a nightmare on his hands and no help from anyone. Junior needs to call Wojo out on that."

Cavanagh after the riots had grown to become unpopular by both whites and blacks. Many whites especially on the northeast side had become tired of Cavanagh and had felt that he only cared about appeasing the black community. Basically, Cavanagh was thought by many as too soft on black crime.

The black community wanted to have more influence and even run city government by 1969. Since the black community didn't have the ideological split to the extent whites did, Dick Austin was almost elected in 1969 because of white liberals.

Cavanagh as a great mayor is debatable for a number of reasons. The situations of white flight, taxes, business leaving, etc.
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 6172
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 1:00 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I'm not sure I'd call Cavanagh a "great mayor", either, but one thing that should not be confused is that he was certainly no more responsible for the riots than those before him. In fact, I think without him, the riot would have been much worse/intense. Detroit had long since been on the economic downturn by the time Cavanagh was elected.

Cavanagh was elected in 62', right? Well, Detroit had loss 134,000 jobs between 1947 and 1963, straining an already stretched African American community. Cavanagh didn't have anything to do with the fact that as jobs migrated away from the city that left everyone black, white, and otherwise competing for an shrinking pie. The catalyst for 67' were in place well before 63'.
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Paczki
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Post Number: 65
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 8:18 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I grew up in on the east side of Detroit in the 60's and 70's and loved my neighborhood. We walked everywhere from Chene Ferry Market to Arlans on the Blvd. We rode the Chene bus downtown and to Hamtramck. For school projects I studied at the Butzel Branch Library which I thought was the most elegant building. On sunny days I'd lay on the grass outside the library reading books I'd checked out. In the early 70's our hood started to change; drug deals, hookers, hearing gun shots at night. My friend and I gut mugged walking home from school after getting off the bus at Chene and the Blvd. Then our car was stolen. Not once but three times.

As soon as I graduated from high school my Mom decided it was time to move to the burbs because one night our house was surrounded by cops who banged on the doors till we let them in. They ran through our house with guns drawn and went into the basement because they had heard there was some kind of problem. When they realized they had the wrong house they left without a word.

Even after all this I was so upset with my Mom; I loved the city and did not want to live in the burbs. As soon as I could I moved back to city living but not to Detroit. I couldn't find a roommate who wanted to live in Detroit so a friend and I rented a flat in Hamtramck. Which to me was as close to being in the old neighborhood as I could come.

Then I got married and we moved to an apartment in the suburbs (my husband was from the burbs and he was really green when it came to anything about the city) While we were dating I exposed him to many things Detroit that a lot of us take for granted such as the boat races, fireworks, swimming and picnicing at Belle Island, Lafayette Coney Island, Eastern Market etc.

After seeing Detroit wasnt so bad after all we moved back to the Kelly Moross area and even though it wasnt my old hood I felt at home. We lived in the area for many years and belonged to DARE. Our bungalow was small and we started to have children. We knew we had to move for more space and after talking about it decided we couldnt afford catholic school and we knew we didnt want our kids to attend Detroit schools we moved to the suburbs.

To this day I miss the sights, sounds and smells of my old neighborhood. I often ride down my old street when I take my children to our old church for holiday mass and other services. Of course its not the same as most of the hood is urban prairie. My house is still standing but boarded up. I'd love to stop and get in and wander around but being a 50 year old woman I don't really have the guts to do it.

I hope that when all the young folks who are moving back to the city get married and have children they will have strong neighborhoods to move into with grocery stores, banks, dry cleaners and mostly good schools to send their children too. Without the families moving back I don't see how the city can have a future.
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Pam
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Post Number: 4340
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 8:34 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

I really do blame the baby boomers and the preceding generation -- at least the white ones -- for the debacle that is Detroit. They have this annoying mindset of racism and suburbanism. They think they're too good to ride the bus. The think malls and wide setbacks are really great. They have this fetish with SUVs. They are the executives and managers at the Big 3 who did such a retarded job of running those companies into the ground. They gave us AIDs and Disco. I basically hate them.



Why don't you judge people by their actions and not the year they were born? There are white "boomers" who live in the city and are involved in preservation and working to improve it. On the other hand there are younger people who never leave the burbs. Sweeping generalizations are pointless.
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Youngprofessionaldetroiter
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Post Number: 110
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 8:43 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I believe that families will eventually move back, but they will likely be the last demographic to come. A strong tax-base must be created of affluent residents. Those residents will bring capital to invest in job-producing businesses as well as a reason for retail to invest back into the city. The affluent residences also are not as reliant on city services because they can afford to provide their own. When they move back, the banks will gladly move back in order to cater to an good-credit affluent client base. Dry cleaners, tailors, and other "luxury service" providers will move back with a customer base to support them. With the combination of the affluent population's capital, a higher-educated, higher-skilled labor force, there will be more opportunities for middle and lower-income families to have jobs.

And then that's when the families and schools get better.

As someone else eloquently stated on another post, this process will likely take a long time. Perhaps, decades. And while we're re-building the upper income tax base, families and neighborhoods must be provided with stop-gap measures to prevent population loss. The city must make the best out of the resources we DO have instead of wasting through inefficiency.

This, of course, is easier said then done.

But all that said, I agree that Detroit can't have a future until families move back. I just think that the existing infrastructure won't support those families until we bring back a more affluent tax base which is less dependent on it to bolster the system.

I'm somewhat of a skeptic in trickle-down economics, especially when left to its own devices and on a national scale. However, in the situation Detroit is in, I can promise you that trickle-up economics will be a catastrophic failure. It's gonna be slow, it's probably going to be painful...especially for the lower and middle income families in the city. But I think it's the only way Detroit comes back. I, of course, am open to hearing other strategies that might be of better effectiveness.

YPD
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Jjw
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Username: Jjw

Post Number: 540
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 9:36 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yikes. More generalizations about people in Detroit and the area as if there weren't enough already. Some folks can have such small narrow-minded opinions.
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Detroitrise
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Username: Detroitrise

Post Number: 3216
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 10:15 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So the city of Detroit must completely bomb out before it can turn around is the best solution we can come up with?

I personally don't think Detroit can take anymore hits to the shin. Majority of Detroit's current population will pass on in the next few decades (baby boomers). Will there be anyone to fill those shoes either? That's over half of the current population we'll be losing.

Also, Detroit must keep its current tax base (if anything. If we're giving these corporation all sorts of tax relief just to move downtown, how are we benefiting from this (other than a few workers & a shiny building)? The blood for the heart of this city lies with the people in the neighborhoods. That's why I personally feel it needs as much attention as downtown is getting (maybe more). The first thing companies look at when moving here is what type of environment will my employees have to deal with? Are there any good schools? Good police department? Clean parks? Well if not, I'll just take my business elsewhere.
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Retroit
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Username: Retroit

Post Number: 349
Registered: 04-2008
Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 10:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

YPD, I don't think it's a generational thing; I think it depends on what part of Detroit you're talking about. Downtown is getting better; the neighborhoods are getting worse.
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Detroitrise
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Username: Detroitrise

Post Number: 3230
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Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 10:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

^Out of 143 sq. mi., downtown only makes up 1 sq. mi. (approximately).
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Rid0617
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Username: Rid0617

Post Number: 241
Registered: 03-2008
Posted on Saturday, August 02, 2008 - 1:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My mother who was born in Detroit 1933 and left in 1966 said Detroit has always had corrupt politicians. Wonder if she's correct?
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Reddog289
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Username: Reddog289

Post Number: 504
Registered: 08-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 02, 2008 - 3:05 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rid, listen to your MAMA.
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Diane12163
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Post Number: 71
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Friday, August 08, 2008 - 9:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

We as humans have no right to judge each other. That is up to a much higher power, God. No one person, group of people or generation is at fault solely. It is something that all walks of people have had a hand in. It is the person who tosses a burger wrapper on the street or a cigarette out the window too lazy to dispose of these things properly. It is those who choose to hate others and break windows on cars, houses and businesses. It is those who build too expensive living downtown costing in upwards of $300,000+ and don't build homes for those on the same streets as those palaces are built who choose to be ignorant of them. It is children who are taught by parents to hate others who are different than them and make their lives hell in schools and neighbourhoods. It is the apathetic, unsympathetic people who turn a cold heart to others in dire need. It is all this and much more.

When is life going to be all about growing together, working as one and learning from each other? When does it stop being all about self interest and the money that one has but the other doesn't and about sharing the wealth so all can have a quality of life? When are people going to stop hating others because of when they were born, what sexual orientation they are(God made us all the way we are)or/and the amount of pigment in their skin? What does it have to take for everyone to wake up finally and work according to God's will and plan? We need to push people up instead of grinding them down. We need to help others that help is there for us. We are systematically killing this planet with overt technology, garbage, waste and gluttony. We are poisoning the beautiful earth God gave us. You know, back in the Biblical days folks lived to be well into their hundreds because there was no technology, no pollution, no waste, nothing of artificial, no preservatives. What God made lives forever but, what man has made will surely die. And what legacy do we leave our children and their children? We can leave money and riches and things but, you cannot take them with you when you die. But, you can have a healthy, safe, free world to enjoy living on that you can explore to your heart's content without being searched, prodded, questioned and berated. Such a pity.
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Sean_of_detroit
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Username: Sean_of_detroit

Post Number: 1408
Registered: 03-2008
Posted on Friday, August 08, 2008 - 9:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Beautiful post Diane.
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Diane12163
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Username: Diane12163

Post Number: 75
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2008 - 12:32 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thank you Sean Of Detroit and God bless you. Have a blessed beautiful weekend. :-)
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Fareastsider
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Username: Fareastsider

Post Number: 952
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 11:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I to was born in the 80s but its going to take a whole lot more that a generational awareness to fix Detroit and have it turn around. First of all the city was built from open farmland and spread out which is A LOT cheaper and easier than redeveloping in polluted areas often with endless legal hassles over land ownership with thousands of 40x120 lots. That alone is WAY over simplifying that ONE problem. My point is that Detroit grew into itself like any other city. Many redeveloping cities today like New York or Chicago also did not have the massive loss of tax base and social decline nearly as severe as Detroit's. So sure some large cities have turned around or got out of slumps.
Detroit has gone through a decline which many our age are not even close to being aware of even in our own lifetime the decline has continued to be quite severe. Just compare aerials from CULMA from 1949 or even 1981 to modern aerial images. Pick an area like 6 and John R. It is unbelievable to say the least.
Sure its great that downtown has improved slightly in the last couple of years but it is NOTHING like it was just 40 years ago not even close. Downtown wont get far with the rest of its city in continued decline socially, politically, economically, environmentally, and more. I find it embarrassing myself as a child of the 1980s that so many take this simple view of " Oh my generation is going to re make Detroit because we have a different view of the city than generations before!"
It is going to take a whole hell lot more than enjoying being able to walk where we want to go and ride the DPM around a downtown that is greatly devoid of many basics found in even small town downtowns. The views expressed in this thread are WAY over simplified and do not take into account the tremendous work and effort and social change it will take to truly turn this city around. over half of the city is gone and a lot of its skeletons are left behind to be fixed and worked on and most of the things that make a city and region are now in the suburbs like it or not. It is going to take a lot more than a small pocket of mostly vacant buildings, casinos, government buildings and a few entertainment venues with 20 somethings walking around enjoying a very watered down urban lifestyle thinking they are better off to fix the city because of their mindset to turn things around. A new mindset is a small part of a very big job. Now like our grandparents generation lets hunker down and get ready to work our asses off and quit blowing smoke up our very little true life experienced ego filled asses!
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Detroitrise
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Username: Detroitrise

Post Number: 3356
Registered: 09-2007
Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 11:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Fareastsider, that was the best post yet.

My sentiments exactly. :-)
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Lefty2
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Username: Lefty2

Post Number: 1635
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 11:48 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I concur. I don't think that a lot of Detroiter's think they have or want to, take ownership of their neighborhoods and homes, it shows.
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Terryh
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Username: Terryh

Post Number: 893
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 12:37 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A lot of them do take pride and ownership of their homes and it shows lefty. Taking into consideration job loss and landlord slumism many Detroiters do very well in the home upkeep department.

Generally speaking, it seems suburbanites my age and younger have a more tolerant -positive attitude of Detroit and its residents compared to past generations. I have some Detroit Scope magazines from the late sixties that give me a pretty good idea of the tensions that existed between the young anti-establishment types vs. older citizens of Detroit.

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