SpuffMonkey Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Anybody else see this article in the Observer today - about the abandonment of Detroit? Staggering...Latest news, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk 1
localzuk Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) Detroit is one of the hardest hit cities due to financial disaster after financial disaster, due to its reliance on manufacturing and specifically automotive manufacturing. Their current unemployment is ridiculously high at 13.3% (officially), but those figures exclude certain jobless people. Some place the figure closer to 50% jobless Detroit's Unemployment Rate Is Nearly 50%, According to the Detroit News Also, the population of the inner city itself has halved in 60 years, with even the regional population seeing a drop in the last decade too. Edited January 2, 2011 by localzuk
tech_guy Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Yves Marchand is one of my favorite photographers. His collaboration site with Meffre is here: Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre Photography Marchand's site is amazing - some pictures may be nsfw though. 2
kernewek-sam Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Yes I read it it's staggering how bad things are there, can't believe the Police station was just abandoned with all the files left there. It's eerie looking at all the books left in the library, and everything left inside these buildings. Thanks for the link to their site!
john Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Woha thats scary, so, probably a stupid question, is there anything much left in Detroit?
Little-Miss Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 What stunning photographs of a really sad subject.
sted Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 arnt most American city centres dying as a result of the huge mega malls they all use anyway? pretty shocking though but looks like a great place for some urbex
Dos_Box Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 There was a great BBC documentary entitled something like 'Detroit. Death of a city' shown last year. It was quite scary. Basically, the US motor industry got it wrong. they continued to build large gas guzzling SUVs whilst oil prices were sky rocketing and consumers were actually after smaller more economical (and safer) european and Japanese cars. Combine this with the credit crunch and bingo. Instant bust. Of course, things had been going downhill for a long time before this, but that was the final nail in the coffin for the city. Ah, here we go. It was actually called 'Requiem for Detroit?' and it's page can be found here: Browser: BBC documentary 'Requiem for Detroit?' tracks city's fall, future | freep.com | Detroit Free Press 2
localzuk Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Detroit has crime rates only second to St. Louis, Missouri - another city that has dropped population dramatically (60%+ drop in population in 70 years!). 20 violent crimes per 1000 population per year in Detroit. So, that's about 18000 violent crimes a year.
mattx Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 I suggest you watch Roger and Me: Roger und ich (1989) - IMDb Which shows another state suffering and then read 'Have A Little faith' Have A Little Faith eBook: Mitch Albom: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store Which also highlights the other problems of Detroit but concentrates on the elements of people who go out of their way to help.
SpuffMonkey Posted January 3, 2011 Author Posted January 3, 2011 Woha thats scary, so, probably a stupid question, is there anything much left in Detroit? I think one of the documentaries mentioned above shows people digging up the gardens & parks and turning back to growing their own food - ahead of the curve for the post-industrial age, I reckon.
Dos_Box Posted January 3, 2011 Posted January 3, 2011 Yeah, the BBC one showed that. Apparently Detroit leads the US in home grown food. What is sad is that this is through poverty, and not through any 'initiative'.
sted Posted January 3, 2011 Posted January 3, 2011 Yeah, the BBC one showed that. Apparently Detroit leads the US in home grown food. What is sad is that this is through poverty, and not through any 'initiative'. yup the bbc one also shows them employing people to recycle old disused buildings to try and help things
dhicks Posted January 3, 2011 Posted January 3, 2011 is there anything much left in Detroit? Lots of large, empty properties going for a song, by the look of it - if you're an artist or similar that wants a large studio to work in, or if you have some money to invest in property, now might be a good time to buy a place in Detroit. -- David Hicks
john Posted January 3, 2011 Posted January 3, 2011 Lots of large, empty properties going for a song, by the look of it - if you're an artist or similar that wants a large studio to work in, or if you have some money to invest in property, now might be a good time to buy a place in Detroit. -- David Hicks By the sounds of it I could buy the historic theatres that's crumbling away for $50, but the key thing will it ever get itself going again, Detroit that is not the theatre. With me in-charge of the theatre it would get going again but it needs people to work
localzuk Posted January 3, 2011 Posted January 3, 2011 Lots of large, empty properties going for a song, by the look of it - if you're an artist or similar that wants a large studio to work in, or if you have some money to invest in property, now might be a good time to buy a place in Detroit. Problem isn't the cost of the property. Its the cost to maintain it/repair it, and the property taxes etc... A cheap building suddenly becomes VERY expensive.
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