The decline of Detroit...in pics

[OBLAMA2009]

in the bay area we used to have a department store chain called mervyns that went out of business. a couple years later, all of their old huge stores are still vacant. someone is using tons of money on that real estate

 

[Zebo]

NAFTA killed Detroit just like "free trade" will eventually kill most manufacturing centers in the US.

25 to 30 years ago, General Motors was the largest employer in the US with over 500,000 employees. Now, it's Walmart with 1 million +. From making stuff to selling foreign made stuff.

Yup and it's not just Detroit either one can add Cleveland, Baltimore, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and many others and probably coming to a city near you. Even out west, the land of opportunity, stores are boarded up and malls empty.

 

[Train]

NAFTA killed Detroit just like "free trade" will eventually kill most manufacturing centers in the US.

25 to 30 years ago, General Motors was the largest employer in the US with over 500,000 employees. Now, it's Walmart with 1 million +. From making stuff to selling foreign made stuff.

Detroit was lost long before NAFTA was passed.

And it wasnt just manufacturing that bailed on the city. Financial (Comerica) and bio-med (Phizer) both gave a big middle finger to Michigan after they were tired of getting taxed to death to run whatever "save Detroit" scam the city/state legislators came up with next.

High Taxes killed both the city and state. Lax public school regulations for a few decades had entire generations thinking they could just skate through HS and have an upper middle class lifestyle.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Can someone explain to me what 7 mile and 8 mile exactly is and why it was significant for eminent to someone who knows nothing of Detroit?

 

[0roo0roo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_Mile_Road

 

[Engineer]

Detroit was lost long before NAFTA was passed.

And it wasnt just manufacturing that bailed on the city. Financial (Comerica) and bio-med (Phizer) both gave a big middle finger to Michigan after they were tired of getting taxed to death to run whatever "save Detroit" scam the city/state legislators came up with next.

High Taxes killed both the city and state. Lax public school regulations for a few decades had entire generations thinking they could just skate through HS and have an upper middle class lifestyle.

I don't disagree that Detroit didn't help the process the the free trade fiasco that's been going on for 20 years (or longer) has pushed what's left of Detroit into the ground (I watched as the company I worked for 17.5 years closed factory after factory and shipped it to Mexico - company HQ'ed in Detroit). Unless we get this cheap labor situation under control, it will hit the entire US more and more...and it won't be just the price of your DVD player going down at Walmart...it will be your wages as you move from the assembly line to "Welcome to Walmart...may I help you?".

 

[AznAnarchy99]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_Mile_Road

Wow that racial distribution map is crazy although if someone drew one like that of orange county it'd be similar.

 

[Train]

I don't disagree that Detroit didn't help the process the the free trade fiasco that's been going on for 20 years (or longer) has pushed what's left of Detroit into the ground (I watched as the company I worked for 17.5 years closed factory after factory and shipped it to Mexico - company HQ'ed in Detroit). Unless we get this cheap labor situation under control, it will hit the entire US more and more...and it won't be just the price of your DVD player going down at Walmart...it will be your wages as you move from the assembly line to "Welcome to Walmart...may I help you?".

Yet today there are new auto factories opening in the US, and others that are growing. If a particular factory got shipped to mexico, its probably the labor running itself into the ground.

Honda/Toyota/Hyundai/BMW/others have opened factories here and done quite well.

And even the old guard GM and Ford, have started to turn around, making the factories more advanced, requiring smarter workers, but overall more efficient, and profitable enough to compete.

 

[Engineer]

Yet today there are new auto factories opening in the US, and others that are growing. If a particular factory got shipped to mexico, its probably the labor running itself into the ground.

Honda/Toyota/Hyundai/BMW/others have opened factories here and done quite well.

And even the old guard GM and Ford, have started to turn around, making the factories more advanced, requiring smarter workers, but overall more efficient, and profitable enough to compete.

The foreigns are moving here because it's cheaper to build them here than their home country and ship them here. The domesitics are moving to Mexico and/or shipping more content from Mexico to build them here (Fusion for example). I do agree that the factories are becoming more automated though and that will keep them here for some time longer.

And as I said, Detroit didn't do itself any favors and I'm agreeing with you on that.

 

[Wordplay]

The hard working people of the suburbs have little to no say as to what goes on in the city. Between Coleman Young and Kwame.. they did little to help the city. The superbowl and all star games were there.. big deal. They both helped to fuel the differences between city and suburbs.

And not even half the shit they promised the NFL and MLB was done in time for each event. They had big drapes over some buildings to cover up how ugly they were.

The old train station is fun to explore. Just make sure you take someone with you if you do go. It's not the sturdiest place to go exploring around. The stairs are a bitch. I never did go back in their after they filmed Transformers, I wonder if they messed or fixed things in it? :hmm:


Go visit Hart Plaza right now if you want a real adventure, just bring a flashlight and a gun.

High Taxes killed both the city and state. Lax public school regulations for a few decades had entire generations thinking they could just skate through HS and have an upper middle class lifestyle.

I agree with this. It was expected you would get a job in a stamping plant and work your way up to a decent amount of money after years of work. The lucky ones got into one of the big three.

 

[mcmilljb]

NAFTA killed Detroit just like "free trade" will eventually kill most manufacturing centers in the US.

25 to 30 years ago, General Motors was the largest employer in the US with over 500,000 employees. Now, it's Walmart with 1 million +. From making stuff to selling foreign made stuff.

The problem with "free trade" is that it's not free. Every country (including China and us) has protections, subsides, and other government controls. We face problems with stolen intellectual property and forced partnerships. We face countries with people who will work for lower wages, while our workers are at a disadvantage due to higher living costs, higher education costs, and simply a costlier standard of living.

I believe we should be able to fight back against them, however that usually starts a trade war, and people are not ready for the increase in prices that would result. However we need to do something before we do start to slip down to a level where we can't recover.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

damn... who can we blame for this?

 

[rcpratt]

damn... who can we blame for this?

The Russians.

 

[Squisher]

And not even half the shit they promised the NFL and MLB was done in time for each event. They had big drapes over some buildings to cover up how ugly they were.

The old train station is fun to explore. Just make sure you take someone with you if you do go. It's not the sturdiest place to go exploring around. The stairs are a bitch. I never did go back in their after they filmed Transformers, I wonder if they messed or fixed things in it? :hmm:


Go visit Hart Plaza right now if you want a real adventure, just bring a flashlight and a gun.

You're out of your mind going anywhere near the train station unless you're stopping in Mexican Town for a meal.

You're joking about Hart Plaza, right? I've always felt pretty safe downtown.

 

[EvilYoda]

You're out of your mind going anywhere near the train station unless you're stopping in Mexican Town for a meal.

You're joking about Hart Plaza, right? I've always felt pretty safe downtown.

It's not so bad around there! Slow's BBQ has been the (and for now, only) hotspot for city-dwellers and suburbanites alike. A beautiful view of the depot from their front window. Grab a bite, drink some great beer, go explore...I've done it a few times myself.

 

[Nebor]

Wow that racial distribution map is crazy although if someone drew one like that of orange county it'd be similar.

I studied that map for about 10 minutes, trying to line it up with google maps. That pocket of white people in the middle seems to be the hipsters.

I have to say, this thread has been utterly fascinating. I watched the Johny Knoxville videos (the comments on which are essentially a race war) and I've been doing some other reading online. For ~$1500 I can fly to Detroit, stay at the 73 floor tall Marriott (cool view of post-apocalypse Detroit?) and get a decent (ironically japanese) rental car. Sure, I'd be contributing the waves of hipster douchebags currently flooding downtown, but so what? I want to explore abandoned buildings!

The only hold up is the weather. Currently 12 degrees. Unsatisfactory for tourism.

 

[EvilYoda]

I studied that map for about 10 minutes, trying to line it up with google maps. That pocket of white people in the middle seems to be the hipsters.

I have to say, this thread has been utterly fascinating. I watched the Johny Knoxville videos (the comments on which are essentially a race war) and I've been doing some other reading online. For ~$1500 I can fly to Detroit, stay at the 73 floor tall Marriott (cool view of post-apocalypse Detroit?) and get a decent (ironically japanese) rental car. Sure, I'd be contributing the waves of hipster douchebags currently flooding downtown, but so what? I want to explore abandoned buildings!

The only hold up is the weather. Currently 12 degrees. Unsatisfactory for tourism.

But that makes prices cheaper And I don't know about "waves of hipster douchebags"...it's still Detroit. If there were waves of any sort of people, it'd probably be on the national news, LOL.

 

[Nebor]

But that makes prices cheaper And I don't know about "waves of hipster douchebags"...it's still Detroit. If there were waves of any sort of people, it'd probably be on the national news, LOL.

Hotel prices seem to be in line with any other major metro area. But there are very, very few decent hotels to choose from.

 

[EvilYoda]

Hotel prices seem to be in line with any other major metro area. But there are very, very few decent hotels to choose from.

Well, I meant the weather. And it's immediately after the auto show so there isn't much going on. The Marriott's nice, I've stayed in it a few times and my mom works there...I'd go for the Westin (Book-Cadillac building) or the MGM. Westin's got a good location plus Michael Symon's Roast.

 

[Nebor]

So the Westin is near the "rejuvenated" part of the city?

 

[rcpratt]

I studied that map for about 10 minutes, trying to line it up with google maps. That pocket of white people in the middle seems to be the hipsters.

I have to say, this thread has been utterly fascinating. I watched the Johny Knoxville videos (the comments on which are essentially a race war) and I've been doing some other reading online. For ~$1500 I can fly to Detroit, stay at the 73 floor tall Marriott (cool view of post-apocalypse Detroit?) and get a decent (ironically japanese) rental car. Sure, I'd be contributing the waves of hipster douchebags currently flooding downtown, but so what? I want to explore abandoned buildings!

The only hold up is the weather. Currently 12 degrees. Unsatisfactory for tourism.

The pocket of whites is Hamtramck.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Well after looking at it I realized that most other cities are pretty much segregated by race and affluence whereever your at although the gap might not be as extensive as that map. I can pretty much name the freeway exits off the 405 where it changes from Asian Mexican black and white.

 

[classy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/26/detroit-decline_n_813696.html?ref=fb&src=sp#218521

I really want to go explore some of those places. Anyone up for a road trip?

Also: check out pic 13. That's some acid flashback stuff

Sad, but those pictures are the same story of so many cities. My parenst often talk about how beautiful the city of Camden was. But its just hard to fathom when you ride through it.

 

[TraumaRN]

The pocket of whites is Hamtramck.

And almost all Polish whites to boot.

Pączki Day, aka Fat Tuesday ETA one month.

They should advertise that as a tourist selling point.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Those resemble Chernobyl pictures a lot.