Detroit: The Post-Apocalyptic Future of American Cities?

[seanx]

OK, my brothers asked some of their fellow DPD. Not a single one knew anything of it. And all laughed at the idea. But they said that several people thought it was a great idea. So that is interesting.

[Tinfoilhatmann]

Large blocks of private armies. . . is Pure B.S.

I work in Detroit and drive there every day.

However you do have to realize that there are large amounts of vacant buildings.  1/2 the commercial space is vacant, something I heard the other day and I believe it.

Here's some photos. . . I took a while back.

http://studyingdecay.blogspot.com/

Nice pics Atomicat... love to see more.

[Hope@ZeroKelvin]

Where there is no business, there are no jobs.  Where there are no jobs, there is no money.  Where there is no money, there is this.

So sad.  I remember visiting relatives there in the late 1960s and I remember trips to the zoo, the theatre, etc...

The Detroit government killed the golden goose and all that is left is pate foi gras.

[feelingweird]

Though bad.....  Detroit isn't THAT bad, at least not yet.

You have to understand the complexity of the Detroit Metropolis. The actual city of Detroit is not really all that big, but it is surrounded on all sides by more affluent suburbs that are in all actuality CITIES onto themselves.

To the east you have lake Erie and the Canadian border(Windsor is within eyesight of Detroit and the last time I was there was the polar opposite of Detroit, very nice place). The west you have the affluent areas of Southfield and Dearborn(which is the LARGEST concentration of Arab speaking people in the entire world outside the middle east). South you have the county of Monroe and the City of Monroe and even further south you have Toledo Ohio(my home), which became a jumping off point for everything that was made in Detroit. We have TONS of automotive related industries, but more importantly we became a central shipping hub for this part of the country.

So when you think about Detroit, you have to think about the REGION, not just the city proper. A FULL 2/3'RDS OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN is forested and full of lakes and game. Draw a line across the city of Grayling and everything below(south) is industrial. And pretty much everything above that line is BEAUTIFUL forests and lakes and streams. And since the rich Detroit elite and their well paid Union workers are no longer around, they aren't going up North anymore. The deer population up there is spiking WIDLY out of control. Land costs are plummeting as people abandon their summer(and winter skiing) vacation homes.

Without nearly the number of sport hunters coming up north, the deer population is becoming down right dangerous. The number of car versus deer accidents are spiking. The state of Michigan spent decades administering food to the female deer population that would make them more fertile and have more offspring. That decision is back firing as far as I can tell. I have heard stories of full herds of deer in the upper mainland and into the U.P.(upper peninsula).

So the collapse of Detroit is just one small part of the puzzle. Most people don't understand the layered affect this is going to have across the whole region. As the well paid Union workers and their even better paid bosses leave the state in search of work elsewhere, land costs plummet making it even harder on those that stayed. Many of them bought millions and millions of dollars in vacation properties to service the millions of people that would flee the industrial south in search of "nature" up north. Those 1/2 million dollar condo's are collapsing in price. IN some cases more the 50% or worse.

So if you are a COUNTER cyclical thinker, MICHIGAN is the place to be in the very near future. Because not only is Detroit clearing out, but along with it are the weekend nature lovers who would descend upon the Upper parts of Michigan every single weekend in search of fishing/hunter/golf/ or skiing.... Without well paid union workers and their well paid bosses, the upper part of the state will soon start to collapse too...

Domino's hitting one another... just a matter of time before one falls into your life... My domino got hit about 5 months ago....

Robert

[heretic]

Get Heretic, the Black Knight or seanx in here and they'll probably have a lttle better insight. Heretic has done a really awesome thread on the collapse of Detroit. -James

  Speaking of the Black Knight, has anyone heard from him lately?  He seemed to drop of the map a while ago.

here is some of what is REALLY going on for anyone who's interested.  Although I'm WAY behind on posting the rest of the pics.
http://www.doomers.us/forum2/index.php/topic,43340.0.html

[Hope@ZeroKelvin]

Though bad.....  Detroit isn't THAT bad, at least not yet.

You have to understand the complexity of the Detroit Metropolis. The actual city of Detroit is not really all that big, but it is surrounded on all sides by more affluent suburbs that are in all actuality CITIES onto themselves.

To the east you have lake Erie and the Canadian border(Windsor is within eyesight of Detroit and the last time I was there was the polar opposite of Detroit, very nice place). The west you have the affluent areas of Southfield and Dearborn(which is the LARGEST concentration of Arab speaking people in the entire world outside the middle east). South you have the county of Monroe and the City of Monroe and even further south you have Toledo Ohio(my home), which became a jumping off point for everything that was made in Detroit. We have TONS of automotive related industries, but more importantly we became a central shipping hub for this part of the country.

So when you think about Detroit, you have to think about the REGION, not just the city proper. A FULL 2/3'RDS OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN is forested and full of lakes and game. Draw a line across the city of Grayling and everything below(south) is industrial. And pretty much everything above that line is BEAUTIFUL forests and lakes and streams. And since the rich Detroit elite and their well paid Union workers are no longer around, they aren't going up North anymore. The deer population up there is spiking WIDLY out of control. Land costs are plummeting as people abandon their summer(and winter skiing) vacation homes.

Without nearly the number of sport hunters coming up north, the deer population is becoming down right dangerous. The number of car versus deer accidents are spiking. The state of Michigan spent decades administering food to the female deer population that would make them more fertile and have more offspring. That decision is back firing as far as I can tell. I have heard stories of full herds of deer in the upper mainland and into the U.P.(upper peninsula).

So the collapse of Detroit is just one small part of the puzzle. Most people don't understand the layered affect this is going to have across the whole region. As the well paid Union workers and their even better paid bosses leave the state in search of work elsewhere, land costs plummet making it even harder on those that stayed. Many of them bought millions and millions of dollars in vacation properties to service the millions of people that would flee the industrial south in search of "nature" up north. Those 1/2 million dollar condo's are collapsing in price. IN some cases more the 50% or worse.

So if you are a COUNTER cyclical thinker, MICHIGAN is the place to be in the very near future. Because not only is Detroit clearing out, but along with it are the weekend nature lovers who would descend upon the Upper parts of Michigan every single weekend in search of fishing/hunter/golf/ or skiing.... Without well paid union workers and their well paid bosses, the upper part of the state will soon start to collapse too...

Domino's hitting one another... just a matter of time before one falls into your life... My domino got hit about 5 months ago....

Robert

Great to hear from somebody with real boots on the ground.  Thanks for the background information.

Agreed that Michigan is mostly rural, visited some family in Shelby this summer.  Lots of lakeside vacation homes for sale even in that fairly wealthy vacation spot.

Just about everything grows in Michigan.  That Michigan Berry pie is to die for.  But those winters are brutul for the unprepared.  The Native Americans that lived there made a pretty good living though.

Sorry to hear about your domino, Robert, have faith, you'll be okay.

[guitarbuddy]

Detroit's present and future = Robocop. How remarkably prophetic the movie was in 1987.

Exactly! My favorite line is "I say, good business is where you find it."

[SueKPA]

Sorry to disappoint, but this is only part of the story, and exaggerated as well. I was born and raised in Detroit, and although I live now in PA, we drive to the Detroit metro area every 6 weeks or so to stay with family. My family lives in the western suburb of Livonia, which is about 2 miles from Detroit. I have never yet seen anything remotely resembling barbed wire, anywhere. I recently visited the area of Detroit that I grew up in, and again could see no signs of such things happening. Nothing any more dark and furtive than what you might see in the city after dark. That hasn't changed in 50 years.

There have been plenty of articles regarding the demolishing of abandoned neighborhoods, however this is a relatively new development. In Flint and near Cleveland the same things are happening. But there seems to be a mix up. In Flint there are nearly empty neighborhoods that are being closed down, and services curtailed, but the residents that remain are moving closer to the center of town, where services remain plentiful. The city can stay in the business of municipal service without going bankrupt, and people can continue to benefit from these ongoing services: water, sewer, garbage removal, police patrol, etc. So far, although an avant-gard approach to city business, it seems to be working, and smartly.

In the city of Detroit, it is not whole neighborhoods that are being razed. It is houses, and the land is being allowed to go back to nature. There is a returning regard for the environment, which in Detroit has been severely exhausted. So, IMHO, this is a good step.

I agree with another poster that pictures would be helpful. While this is the first Ive heard of military type corporations taking 'governmental' control of an area already within a government's control, I suppose there may be some truth to it. But then find out the truth and post that, not something 'a friend' said was true.

Why does everyone want Detroit to go 'Mad Max' so desperately? Life there remains the same, albeit the roads are a little less clogged and there are fewer people shopping at Walmart and at the malls. Some years ago Detroit was considered the most beautiful city in America! Perhaps the current changes are a the whiff of fresh air that can restore Detroit to her former beauty, or bring on an even greater beauty.

[TLR1138]

Why does everyone want Detroit to go 'Mad Max' so desperately? Life there remains the same, albeit the roads are a little less clogged and there are fewer people shopping at Walmart and at the malls. Some years ago Detroit was considered the most beautiful city in America! Perhaps the current changes are a the whiff of fresh air that can restore Detroit to her former beauty, or bring on an even greater beauty.

Sounds like it could actually be a good thing, if Detroit moves in the direction of a smaller town with more farming. I wish we in California could get about 2/3rds of our population to leave. 

Welcome to the forum, by the way.

[forager]

I live in Monroe, just south of Detroit. I've spent the better part of the last three weeks playing poker at the casinos in Detroit. I've heard nothing to substantiate this story from the people who live in the City of Detroit. Just another robocop fantasy someone is peddling IMO. I'm curious as to why?

Rdenner makes some good points about dominoes falling above. Michigan is the place for people serious about growing food. The price is right. Localisation is a common term around here.

I'm looking forward to getting back Up North to float a river in peace.

Hope everything is OK with BK.

[Six Gun Jim]

Get Heretic, the Black Knight or seanx in here and they'll probably have a lttle better insight. Heretic has done a really awesome thread on the collapse of Detroit. -James

  Speaking of the Black Knight, has anyone heard from him lately?  He seemed to drop of the map a while ago.

here is some of what is REALLY going on for anyone who's interested.  Although I'm WAY behind on posting the rest of the pics.
http://www.doomers.us/forum2/index.php/topic,43340.0.html

Yeah, jeez, now that I think of it I haven't noticed him. He was "duck farming" last I knew. I hadn't seen forager in a while either, hi forager! People have been dropping off quite a bit since about June it seems like, a lot of familiar faces just seem to have gone. Maybe it's just me? -James

[forager]

Hi Jim. I've been plugging away in meatspace. All is well.

I'm just keeping an ear to the ground. Life goes on till it doesn't. Imminent doom seems to have plateaued.

Take care of yourself, friend.

[Six Gun Jim]

Nice to hear from you! Imminent doom has rested a spell, but keep that ear to the ground! I haven't payed as much attention lately either, just kind of hang out for the occasional nugget sifted from the pile. I have been hurt so many times lately I haven't really done much but read. My back and neck seem to be aging, good thing the rest of me is immune to that.  -James 

[forager]

Nice to hear from you! Imminent doom has rested a spell, but keep that ear to the ground! I haven't payed as much attention lately either, just kind of hang out for the occasional nugget sifted from the pile. I have been hurt so many times lately I haven't really done much but read. My back and neck seem to be aging, good thing the rest of me is immune to that.  -James 

Thats funny. I've been reading a lot lately as well. And recovering from a pinched nerve in what seems to be an arthritic neck. Physical labor is a bitch for those on the fast track to the Aged. Neck feels better today though. Should get another productive day in tomorrow. I'm still able to get stronger, and am. Just takes more effort and care. Let the young'ns be reckless.

[Unhappy Cog]

This is pretty fucking scary stuff