Ekdog

Archaeology on the front end. https://bit.ly/halVzM

Fizzaly

Creepy pictures especially the one of the police station

Robert Foster

Check out Camden New Jersey and Philidelphia. This is not all that new. But there seems to be some effort towards urban renewal but one has to wonder if it is too little too late.
https://www.angelfire.com/nv2/philadelphia/c1.html

Roody

As a Detroit native, the pictures are beautiful, haunting and disturbing. Detroit epitomized the 20th century rise of middle class prosperity, and now it represents the impending demise of the middle class.

(But do bear in mind that the photos are picked to represent a point of view, and the real truth of Detroit is much more complex. The motto of Detroit since it was destroyed by fire in the early 19th century has been, "It shall rise again from the ashes.")

gerv 

Above photo of Camden makes me wonder why there is so little activity to rebuild or maintain some of these structures... I would think that other cultures would see these are opportunities to get cheap, fixer-upper housing. However, in the US these type homes seem destined for the bull-dozer.

Robert Foster

I honestly don't know. There was a part of central LA that was much like that and in fact it was an area I thought they were going to bull doze down but they rebuilt it and now business is coming back. I will admit I was surprised it happened but if the community can get the funding it can be done. The problem is so many places like Camden and Philadelphia do not have the funds and no real tax base to get the funds. If LA hadn’t already rebuilt the area I was referring to I don’t think today they would have been able to do it either.

Dahon.Steve

There is actually a good part of Camden! New Jersey Transit built the last stop of the RiverLine in Camden right by the aquarium. I kid you not, that light rail line created a lot of investment which included luxury housing right in Camden! Unfortunately, they have no intention of extending the line through the bad section.

It goes to show you that a costly light rail line can revitalize even a town like Camden. It is my understanding they intend to build a light rail line in the heart of Detroit.

Dahon.Steve

I believe Detroit is spending tens of millions tearing down hundreds of homes and factories. About a third of the city has been abandoned.

Once the city destroyed their public transportation system of trolleys and commuter rail, the end was near. All it took were the race riots of the 60's to finish the job.

rm -rf

The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit

Detroit Lives video

bragi

Detroit Lives video[/QUOTE]

I watched the "Detroit Lives" videos, and liked what I saw, but had to wonder: where are all the black people? Is Detroit now nothing more than a playground for young, adventurous, white hipsters? I also wondered: is there anyone left in this country who has a vision that involves something larger than coffee shops, bars, and artists' lofts? Where are the people who want to manufacture solar panels, wind turbines, or domestic steel bike frames?

poormanbiking

Like Roody, I'm a Detroit native. I was born just after the race riots. My parents has 2 cafes and one got shoot up the the ordeal. When my parents could afford to get out of Detroit we moved to Allen Park. For years my father said Detroit was going to hell because of the mayors office, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing I was too young to care.

The library picture had me wondering why the books were left behind.

The manufacturing of solar panels is a big deal around Toledo,Ohio, where I currently reside. Toledo is fighting the same issues but on a smaller scale with many auto jobs leaving the area including my own.

Fizzaly

I thought the same thing, almost like it was abandoned in an emergency

fishtoes2000

That's an important point. These images are ruin porn. Vice ran an excellent article on it. It was even mentioned in this week's episode of Detroit 1-8-7.

Detroit is still 80-some percent black, but you couldn't tell from many of these videos. There's starting to be some push back on the media for rehashing the same success stories.

Roody

That's a good point. The emphasis on young white hipsters comes from a good place of wanting to keep our talented and well educated young people here in Michigan when there are so many reasons for them to move elsewhere. But I think it's a shortsighted plan also. I would rather see Detroit become once again the world center of African-American culture and arts. At the same time, i'd love to see more Detroit natives (mostly black) in the vanguard of establishing new industries and technologies. While I'm in dreaming mode, I'd also like to see Highland Park (my hometown and site of the world's first mass production auto plant) become the first carfree city in the nation.

Obviously the economy is the problem. Detroit lost most of its middle-class tax base 20 years ago. The rest of Michigan is struggling right now also, having lost more than 800,000 jobs in the last 10 years.

no motor?

I find the Detroit stories pretty interesting. I was the new white boy from the suburbs when I started working in the near south side of Chicago in the early 80's, working in an area that used to be the gold coast and the site of the first car dealers in the early 20th century. It was mostly abandoned industrial buildings then, and the opening scenes from Hill Street Blues were shot about a mile from there. Now there has been enough urban renewal/gentrification in that area that it's now considered a place for the hipsters, and the area has become more popular again. I hope Detroit can rise again like that part of Chicago has.

Jim from Boston

100+ from another Detroit native.

The full motto of Detroit is "Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus" ("We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes") written by Fr. Gabriel Richard.

Malloric

Camden really doesn't move me. It's a bunch of pictures of cookie-cutter utility construction that has fallen out of use and is now derelict. No real loss and such blight can be found across the entire country. Detroit is different. Those buildings were and are special.

Dahon.Steve

Agreed.

Camden was never really much a city at all. There were some manufacturing but it was mostly a subdivision of residents who lived there and worked in Philadelphia. Detroit was one of the greatest cities in the United States and the world.

cyclezealot

No not all of Detroit. Just some of Detroit..
.
.
Corktown remains one of city's most popular neighborhoods
..
Quaint and colorful, Corktown is not only Detroit's oldest neighborhood, it's also a leader in population growth, housing value, household income and racial and ethnic balance, according to census data and population analysis.
.While Detroit's population dropped an estimated 5% since 2000, Corktown is part of a southwestern swath of the city that has gr.........The neighborhoods could be a seedbed for a Detroit rebound if their residents look to neighborhoods like the University District, Sherwood Forest, Indian Village and West Village -- rather than moving to the suburbs -own an estimated 19%.....
snip
.https://www.freep.com/article/2011013...-neighborhoods

cyclezealot

Want some great Polish food . Head to CorkTown.^..

fishtoes2000

Perrhaps you meant Hamtramck? There are a good number of excellent restaurants in Corktown but I'm not aware of any Polish ones.

Speaking of Corktown, it's getting 20-some miles of bike lanes this spring along with many miles of bike routes. Corktown residents have already embraced bikes, so this should really take it up a few notches. It's also the starting/ending point for the Tour de Troit, which had 3,500 cyclists last year.

I also believe that Corktown was home to Detroit's first bike builder in 1877. One of his bikes is in the Smithsonian.

Roody

Cycling in Detroit is exciting. I'm going to have to get down there soon.

cyclezealot

Its been years, but my last visit to CorkTown they offered Irish and Polish near the old Tiger Stadium.. Actually, one of my favorite stops for Polish is downriver in Wyandotte.. How about a great bike path project.. One continuous ride all the way from Toledo to the Blue Water Bridge.. Michigan would become a world famous site for a bike holiday.

fishtoes2000

Maybe the old Baile Corcaigh served Polish? Dunno.

There are bike paths planned from Monroe (almost Toledo!) to the Blue Water Bridge. They are the I-275 bike path (being restored and expanded), the West Bloomfield Trail (currently being expanded), Clinton River Trail, Macomb Orchard Trail, and Bridge to Bay Trail.We are working on some on-road routes as well. One of the US Bicycle Routes will make the connection from Toledo to the Blue Water Bridge. These aren't all completed, but work is underway.

Roody

Michigan already has extensive trails, and will connect most parts of the state within 20 years.