America's worst cities/metros

[kingchef]

there was a program on cable last night profiling detroit. the mayor was being interviewed concerning his plans for the city. he was asked if he believed that detroit could come back to its former glory, and he replied, "i think so."

his plan centers around "down-sizing" the city. blocks and blocks of the city would be excised, because of the inability of the city to provide continued infrastructure. the program showed city block and city block of land w/ one or two occupied houses. other houses were either abandoned long ago, or they were completely dozed to improve the chance of running out vagrants, shutting down crack houses, and keeping illegal squatters away.

the mayor was asked what plan would be used to provide for the one or two families on those particular blocks. he indicated that they would be offered other housing. it would be necessary for these individuals to move regardless of their desire. according to the mayor, down-sizing was the only solution to a lack of a middle class tax base. i didn't hear what the plan was to move laborers, white collar workers, etc. into downtown or detroit proper. seems to me these empty blocks would have to be areas in which new housing would have to be built, unless the land were to remain leveled and workers forced to drive long commutes from other cities into detroit. again, i did not hear the amount of land that would be given up by the city nor the percentage of shrinkage of the official city limits.

it was an interesting program, and i wish detroit well, as i have family who live in bloomfield hills. detroit has a pretty skyline, and i just don't see a city its size becoming a ghost town, so to speak.

[atlantagreg30127]

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