
Detroit in Ruins - rglover
http://detroiturbex.com/content/index.html
======
winestock
My brothers run a property service company that maintains foreclosed homes in
Detroit and parts northwest of it. When they need extra help, I ride along
with them.

Detroit and Pontiac are not the kinds of places that one would care to go by
oneself, even for muscular young men. On more than one occasion, we would be
approached by "youths" (one of them wasn't even that young) who were clearly
drug dealers. One of my brothers confirmed this to me. The smell of marijuana
smoke was another tell. Once, we were leaving a property just as several
police cars were converging on a group of huddled young men. Those young men
had been giving us the evil eye and my brother hurried us out of there.

In some houses, the mold grew as tufts of fur spackling the walls in patches
bigger than a man's hand. Garbage, broken furniture, and other debris was
piled higher than our waists in some houses; the previous tenants had been
mentally ill hoarders. We hiked through those rooms more than we walked into
them.

Last winter, we found a house where ice covered the basement up to a foot
below the roof. I stepped on the ice on the stairs going down and my foot
cracked through. I missed a cold and putrid bath by catching the walls just in
time.

When they first went into that business, my brothers were assured that --
sooner or later -- they would come upon a drug house or a dead body.

I live in the suburbs. I do not want to live in Detroit.

~~~
klous
I've lived in the Metro Detroit suburbs, and downtown Detroit is _the_ spot
right now. The ability to get whatever you need, yes even groceries, within
walking distance is a reality. Walking to Tigers games, enjoying the
nightlife, eating at amazing restaurants, and enjoying the city are a regular
part of life.

I live in downtown Detroit. I do not want to live in the suburbs.

~~~
burgerbrain
_"The ability to get whatever you need, yes even groceries, within walking
distance is a reality."_

No offence, but having lived in about 4 major US cities (Detroit not
included), that seems to be setting the bar _awfully_ low. Being able to buy
groceries is just a basic necessity, and restaurants/nightlife is something
every city has.

~~~
homosaur
Tell that to the folks living in downtown St Louis. We finally got a grocery
store downtown last year. Not that it's a major city though.

~~~
roel_v
Wikipedia says St Louis had 353k inhabitants; how can a city of that size not
have grocery store? Not all of them could be eating out every single meal? Or
is this for some specific definition of 'grocery store'?

~~~
CognitiveLens
The parent comment is referring to downtown in particular - of course the city
has grocery stores, but many cities have few or no grocery options in the
central business district, as suburbia sucked the life from downtown in the
80's and 90's.

------
saturdaysaint
This is unsympathetically referred to as "ruin porn" around Detroit. Yes,
there are an exceptional amount of abandoned buildings (there are about
600,000 people in a city that could probably comfortably hold 3x that), but
there are also world class universities, sports arenas, restaurants concert
venues, houses and apartments, etc.

[http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n8/htdocs/something-
something...](http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n8/htdocs/something-something-
something-detroit-994.php)

~~~
kenjackson
I assume when you mention world class universities you're referring to UM Ann
Arbor -- maybe Kettering too. Is there a lot of cross fertilization between
the city and the schools? Do a lot of UM students live or move to Detroit?

~~~
riceadam
I'm a UM student and I can't say there's much alumni activity in Detroit
itself. Grads generally either work in Ann Arbor, Metro Detroit (Birmingham,
Royal Oak, etc.) or leave the state entirely.

This graphic from Forbes is pretty telling: <http://goo.gl/4uBr>

~~~
klous
I'm a UM grad and I live in downtown Detroit. It's amazing: great culture,
music, food, night-life, and I feel safe. I took our entire office to my place
before a Tiger's game last week and now multiple people are looking into
moving downtown and others are interested after that graduate.

~~~
rick888
Downtown might be okay. However, if you go outside just a little bit, you are
in the danger zone. This isn't speculation.

Even 8 years go it was bad. I worked downtown and could regularly hear
gunshots from my office during the day.

------
rmason
Some see chaos, others see opportunity. The story you're not reading about
Detroit is that after hitting rock bottom in 2008 it's starting to turn
around.

I've got a friend Henry Balanon who was recruited to a new startup, Detroit
Labs, which is backed by Detroit Venture Partners

[http://www.modeldmedia.com/startupnews/detroitlabs080911.asp...](http://www.modeldmedia.com/startupnews/detroitlabs080911.aspx)

Though it's been slow in getting started because of the state's right to farm
law that never anticipated urban farming things are moving forward.

[http://www.freep.com/article/20110808/BUSINESS04/108080324/C...](http://www.freep.com/article/20110808/BUSINESS04/108080324/Commercial-
farming-start-Detroit-1-000-trees)

I've personally witnessed a number of 'unnofficial' farming efforts already
underway that have never sought city permission.

Also the city under Mayor Bing has started to direct more of their limited
resources towards neighborhoods that can be saved and away from lost causes.

[http://www.detnews.com/article/20110729/METRO01/107290367/14...](http://www.detnews.com/article/20110729/METRO01/107290367/1409/metro/Bing-
ready-to-make-%E2%80%98hard-decisions%E2%80%99-to-revitalize-neighborhoods)

There have been two very successful Maker Faire's in Detroit that have
showcased the enormous talent in the city.

[http://www.detnews.com/article/20110730/METRO01/107300364/14...](http://www.detnews.com/article/20110730/METRO01/107300364/1409/METRO/Maker-
Faire-showcases-local-inventions)

There are urban pioneers that are remaking entire neighborhoods. There's huge
opportunites in the city, you just have to pick your spots.

~~~
nowarninglabel
Tooting our horn again, but Kiva is another one that sees opportunity:
<http://www.kiva.org/detroit>

The loans we put up for Detroit were funded in a matter of hours, so there was
also plenty of folk who thought it worth funding.

------
riceadam
Being from Detroit, it's great to see young tech companies springing up in the
city but I think that video Knoxville did with Palladium Boots sugar coats
things a bit too much. Hipsters starting underground bars/clubs and
photographing urban decay is not going to revive the city.

A plan for a $500m railway was recently approved and I can't see any way it's
going to be successful in its first phase. My main issue with the proposal as
it is now is the fact that the line only extends to 8 mile.

For those of you unfamiliar with the city, the mile roads lie parallel to the
Detroit River and span outwards all the way into rural areas. Driving into the
city, things start to go downhill fast around 8 mile -- which is why everyone
knows what it is now thanks to Eminem's movie. If I'm going to a sporting
event or casino from my house in the burbs, I'm not going to drive 15 minutes
to 8 mile, park my car in a shady parking lot, and get on a train when I could
just drive another 15 minutes instead.

Anyway, for this new train venture to be even remotely successful I think the
track would have to extend to at least 12 mile if the city is looking for an
influx of wealthy suburbanites.

------
dtap
As I see in the comments here, and in general public sentiment, there is an
extreme bifurcation. People who believe and people who don't.

I grew up in the suburbs and will be moving downtown in a month. A lot of
people, my parents, my girlfriend and some of my friends think I am crazy.
When you see pictures like this, it is hard not to blame them. But once you
get past the empty buildings and wasteland, there is something magical about
the city.

Not a single person who lives in Detroit does so lightly. Everyone loves this
city and firmly believes in its future. It provides opportunities unlike
anywhere else. For example, there are 6 bars within 500 feet of my front door.
I can see Comerica Park from my bedroom. The prospect of a Tigers playoff run
makes me extremely excited. No where else can I get this experience for the
amount of rent I am paying.

It certainly has its problems, largely created by 30 years of inept city
government and the collapse of the auto industry. But we have smart people
running the city and the state and a large, well-funded, group of people who
have a contagious belief in its future.

If anyone from HN is ever in town and wants to grab a beer downtown, I'd be
glad to show them around.

~~~
pavel_lishin
> It provides opportunities unlike anywhere else. For example, there are 6
> bars within 500 feet of my front door.

So... it provides an opportunity to drink? New York has that, too, and it's
not blighted by urban decay. (Well, not anymore.)

------
edw519
It doesn't have to be this way. Perhaps with some planning and leadership,
Detroit could follow Pittsburgh's example:

[http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/11/pittsburghs_renaissa...](http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/11/pittsburghs_renaissance_holds.html)

~~~
pitdesi
Yes. See also:

[http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/18/can-pittsburgh-save-
de...](http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/18/can-pittsburgh-save-detroit/)

[http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/changing-gears-what-
det...](http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/changing-gears-what-detroit-
might-learn-pittsburgh)

Honestly though, all of these studies harp on different things that Pittsburgh
has done than Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, etc... but the main thing that
Pittsburgh has that pulls it through is fine research universities (mostly CMU
and Pitt). Detroit doesn't have that, and it's hard to build. Yes, Ann Arbor
is only 45 minutes away... but it's really worlds away. (I went to CMU and
UMich, CMU is much more Pittsburgh than UMich is Detroit)

------
GaltMidas
They aren't very up to date. Many of these have been replaced. The velodrome
is maintained by people who simply like to ride. It doesn't look like that
picture at all.

We get it. There are many urban wasteland piles of crap and thousands of
houses that are abandoned. Downtown Detroit is represented here by about 5% of
what is actually there as far as ruins go. Next to the skyscrapers are brand
new buildings housing Quicken and CompuWare among many others. Dan Gilbert
actually bought a couple of the buildings shown here to move the rest of his
people into. "Skyscrapers are on sale!" -- Dan Gilbert at TedXDetroit.

It's not perfect but I wonder how many people actually think that this is what
is "normal". I mean come on...Irish Hills? They aren't even in the same metro
area, let alone Detroit. I would need a map to even find them. Next to the
"CPA" Building is one of the hottest restaurants for hundreds of miles.

------
shabble
I'm surprised at some of the remains, especially in the public health section
- hospitals and clinics. There are rooms full of medical records, along with
drugs, surgical equipment, and (possibly) radioisotopes. Probably not the
latter, and they're just old x-ray machines, but the Goiânia accident[1] is
what might happen if there are.

It seems almost like a desperate evacuation over hours and days, rather than,
as I seem to find, over years. There's strong parallels with the photos from
Pripyat in terms of the stuff left behind.

Did the city lose big chunks of population near simultaneously, or was it a
constant trickle away? Why didn't the building owners make some sort of
planned move? At least that way they could rip out the valuable stuff, and
destroy things like medical records.

[1]
[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident)

~~~
Luyt
That story about Goiânia made my neck hairs raise. I wonder, did the
radiological therapy machine not have any 'radiation danger' signs on it? Or
maybe the scavengers ignored it, or didn't recognize it as such.

------
noelwelsh
I'd like to know more background on this. Why don't people move into the empty
buildings? Housing in the UK is fairly scarce and empty buildings are likely
to be colonised by squatters. After ten years or so squatters can actually
claim the property. I thought artists would like the opportunity to get a big
studio at a discount rate, and hackers who are bootstrapping would sure make
their capital go a lot further in Detroit.

~~~
neutronicus
Detroit is crime-ridden and cold. Why not just move to another part of the US?

~~~
noelwelsh
Sure it's cold, but it's cheap and apparently still has decent facilities. I'm
not sure on the crime -- how much is that story a media beat-up? Are there
other parts of the US where you can be near a large urban centre and pay
virtually nothing? (It's an honest question! And yes, I could probably look
this up somewhere.)

~~~
stevenbedrick
"Anecdote isn't the plural of datum", and all of that, but here's a point for
the scatterplot. I was in Detroit visiting family a year or so ago, and we
spent a day driving around the downtown area sightseeing (featuring commentary
by elderly relatives about theaters, stores, restaurants, etc.). At one point,
while leaving the Indian Village neighborhood, we came across a police
roadblock; a series of U-turns and detours revealed that, in fact, the police
had closed off an area several blocks on a side including a good-sized stretch
of Jefferson (a major road in Detroit). There were several police helicopters
buzzing around, lots of armed cops, etc. etc. This was during rush hour. After
talking to some of the officers and some bystanders, we discovered what was
happening: somebody had, upon being evicted from some sort of residential
treatment facility, begun threatening people with a gun. When the police
arrived, he shot at them, and then ran away. The police were currently trying
to figure out which of several buildings he was in, and had closed off most of
a neighborhood as well as a major street to try and contain the situation.[1]

In most cities, this sort of thing (major police operation, shots exchanged
between police and armed member of public, street closures, etc.) would have
been big news; that night, none of the local news broadcasts even mentioned it
(one traffic report that afternoon did mention the closure of Jefferson, but
didn't go into details). No headlines in the paper the next day, either.[2] My
point here is that this sort of thing was apparently commonplace enough that
it wasn't considered to be a newsworthy event, and none of my Detroit
relatives seemed particularly surprised or concerned.

1\. Notably, the particular chunk of neighborhood in question was at least
half-abandoned (judging from the amount of ivy covering every second house).

2\. Technically, by "the paper the next day," I mean the Detroit Free Press's
website. At that point in time the DFP wasn't printing week-day paper
editions.

------
encoderer
If you want to see a side of this story the MSM doesn't cover, watch this
great documentary with Johnny Knoxville:

<http://www.palladiumboots.com/exploration/detroit>

~~~
pyre
That link didn't work for me, but this one did:

<http://www.palladiumboots.com/video/detroit-lives#part1>

------
ddw
At my last job I biked through North Philly everyday. There are some ok
neighborhoods, but there are plenty of abandoned strips that look like they
were bombed in WWII.

It's so sad because you can look at them and say "that used to be a department
store and that was a grocery store" and you can almost imagine the people
walking around in the 70s (the last time there was probably activity).

But these Detroit photos with theaters and libraries and rec centers
closed....damn.

------
ethank
What bugs me about the poverty-porn you see from Detroit is that if you really
wanted to, you could do the same documentation in the wealthiest segments of
Los Angeles, just by going a few blocks over.

If I really wanted to, I could take my DSLR over to Canoga Park in Los Angeles
and make it seem like I'm in a third world country. It's less than a mile from
my home.

~~~
probablycorey
Sure, you can do that in certain parts of LA. But you can see these ruins
almost everywhere in Detroit. It's really one of the most depressing cities
I've ever been to.

~~~
ethank
Just down the street from me is a house that has been abandoned for a few
years.
[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.172165,-118.634398&ll=3...](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.172165,-118.634398&ll=34.172204,-118.634384&spn=0.000826,0.000603&sll=34.1701,-118.65773&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&num=1&t=h&z=21)

If I wanted to take some photos it'd be nice ruin porn. Of course the
properties to the right and left are million dollar homes.

~~~
probablycorey
I get your point that there is "ruin porn" in almost any city.

I don't think you get my point though. Detroit is almost entirely "ruin porn",
there are no million dollar homes next to any ruins in Detroit, I doubt there
are any million dollar homes in Detroit at all.

------
nkh
I grew up in Michigan.

If you want to see some of the prominent architecture that has been abandoned
check out this site:

<http://www.forgottendetroit.com/>

If you drive down Woodward Ave. to go to a Tigers game you get the sense you
are in postwar Germany in parts. Some of the highrise buildings have facades
on them so they look like functional buildings from the baseball stadium.
However when you walk around the back side, the windows are blown out and they
are abandoned.

~~~
lukejduncan
Another great one from an amazing photographer <http://www.lostdetroit.com/>

------
dkastner
My new business plan: 1\. Abandon the city for the wealthy suburbs 2\. Leave
the poor behind, defund infrastructure 3\. Sell tours and photos of neglect
and destruction 4\. Profit!

Some things to consider: * While the population of Detroit proper has fallen,
the total population of the metro area has remained fairly static over the
past 40-50 years <http://www.somacon.com/p469.php> * The Detroit suburbs are
just as nice as your typical American suburbia. * The State of Michigan is
training hundreds of Emergency Financial Managers who now have the power to go
into any municipality the State deems "financially unsustainable," dissolve
local governments, and terminate any contracts (union or otherwise) in order
to force a balanced budget. So while urban areas continue to be defunded by
the state and by fleeing wealthy residents, they are put in the precarious
position of trying to balance their budgets or risk a hostile takeover. *
Meanwhile, we all have a good time looking at the pictures.

------
RexRollman
For the stupid people (me), can anyone tell me what the "urbex" after Detroit
means? I didn't see it on the website.

~~~
psyklic
urban exploration

~~~
Luyt
Thanks, I thought it was 'urban exploitation' ;-)

------
arethuza
David Byrne did an excellent article based on cycling through Detroit:

[http://journal.davidbyrne.com/2010/09/092310-dont-forget-
the...](http://journal.davidbyrne.com/2010/09/092310-dont-forget-the-motor-
city.html)

Interesting to read about Glagow being used as a positive reference for post-
industrial regeneration!

------
JAVagueArgument
From an entrepreneurial perspective this web site is a gold mind for film
locations and location scouts.

Sad as it is that this is the state of such a city, but it could be turned on
it's head for profit.

~~~
riceadam
Unfortunately, Rick Snyder is doing away with the state's film industry
credits: <http://thedc.com/nPBpLQ>

Thanks, Rick!

~~~
JAVagueArgument
Yeah, that isn't good, but just means location scouts and film makers will
have to get creative, now there is a real challenge for an entrepreneur.

------
lincolnwebs
Detroit is not its abandoned buildings. It is Midtown and Woodbridge, it is
Boston-Edison and Indian Village, it is Eastern Market and the rekindled
downtown blocks. Detroit is the "Live Midtown" campaign, the "Live Downtown"
campaign, and the M1 rail alliance. It is grass-roots groups & websites like
TweeTea and Detroit Moxie.

I'm not a Detroit native, but I see this city for what it is: a mountain of
opportunity for anyone who can see past the popular headlines.

------
tomlin
This isn't just a Detroit problem. Residents of just about every mid-to-high
pop. city could pick a few eerily similar buildings on this site left in the
very same states.

Living in Ontario, Canada, I can say our situation isn't quiet as progressed
as Detroit, but the cracks are definitely starting to show. I think Detroit
shows signs of what is to come on a larger scale if we don't start putting
people and civics as a front-and-center issue.

Detroit's pain should serve as a great education and not simply thought of as
a _worst case scenario_.

Not all is lost for Detroit, as it is in a great position of pivot that would
normally be masked by the bureaucracy of a "well run" city.

------
shawnee_
This is just plain disturbing (also, does not require a bunch of clicking)

[http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/07/captured-
the...](http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/07/captured-the-ruins-of-
detroit/2672/)

------
tomotomo
Each year a large number of people come to Detroit from around the world to
photograph and then publish either articles or entire books on the "ruin porn"
in Detroit. Some of these books sell for a pretty penny.

But a number of the subject buildings in these photos have been redeveloped
over the years: <http://www.dtownie.com/2011/08/10/the-mecca-of-ruin-porn>

------
jeffepp
There is a TON of opportunity in Detroit. A lot of smart money has already
started pouring into the city.

~~~
jjm
I know all about that city, and let me tell you I seriously doubt it is
anything close to the opportunity that exists elsewhere.

Just because 'some' money is coming in doesn't mean it will come out of the
slump that _IS_ Detroit. Between scandals (do i really need to cite?), poor
getting even poorer (which is insane), the violence[1][2], and people leaving
[3], it makes it a hard choice for anyone to want and stay. The real
unemployment rate is hovering around 50%[4] for goodness sake!

It will take years and hundreds of times more money that is coming in to get
that city back. Until that happens the city is not going anywhere but down.

Though houses are being given away for $1000[4], and stats that show it is
really cheap to live in Detroit (really, i wonder why) doesn't mean it's a
good deal!

If your a hacker, debug your situation. Get out before you get caught in a
segfault or infinite loop.

A good place to start investigating:
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/06/29/the-b...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/06/29/the-
best-places-for-business-and-careers/)

[1]
[http://www.freep.com/article/20110727/NEWS01/107270448/Despi...](http://www.freep.com/article/20110727/NEWS01/107270448/Despite-
dip-violent-crime-Detroit-homicides-still-rise)

[2]
[http://www.detnews.com/article/20110808/METRO01/108080359/De...](http://www.detnews.com/article/20110808/METRO01/108080359/Detroit-
will-put-desk-cops-on-street-to-stop-rising-murder-rate)

[3] [http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/24/vanishing-city-the-
story...](http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/24/vanishing-city-the-story-behind-
detroit%E2%80%99s-shocking-population-decline/) I haven't even seen the 2011
stats yet, but 2000-2009 clearly showed a huge decline. I wouldn't be
surprised if 2011's numbers are accelerated.

[4] [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/16/detroits-
unemployme...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/16/detroits-unemployment-
rat_n_394559.html)

~~~
jeffepp
It's pretty clear you don't know "all about" Detroit, it's nice that you quote
a few articles though (especially one from 2009).

The opportunity that I mentioned is not in residential (yet) although I would
be a buyer of raw land near downtown.

There are some truly awful areas, but there are also some really great areas
of Detroit -- especially Midtown -- where there are very low vacancy rates and
an influx of college grads who want to live in a vibrant urban environment.

Billionaires are buying (with both hands) commercial buildings for pennies on
the dollar. I'm going to bet they know a bit more about "opportunity" than the
authors of your articles.

~~~
jjm
Well being a billionaire means you knew how to make money from a market
yesterday. It doesn't really mean they know how tomorrow. Odds will be better
as you have resources to try but everything is a gamble. Knowing the odds
help.

And so with that, I say the odds aren't so good in Detroit. The market is
constantly shrinking. That is fact (see the wiki link). This spills over to
exports as well. The last saving grace are the auto manufacturers, but as most
economists say the reliance on them for exports must end[5].

For all you know the 'billionaires' will frack[1] all the entire land and what
will you have then? Or maybe foreign nationals are buying the land to level it
for agriculture, and not high tech or manufacturing which keeps jobs
[2][3][4]. That would be nice, to see a farm land back on Detroit soil.

Yes maybe selling that $1k piece of land for $2k would be a good deal. You
just made 2x or maybe even 10x (if you could) there. But who are you going to
sell it to?

I've seen plenty of people and huge think tank laden corps (investment firms,
banks, etc...) with massive amount of money blow it all for stupid decisions.
Including during the 2008 CDO mess. Or just look at the current Euro zone
situation, they're STILL bleeding.

Yes what is happening to Detroit is also happening to the rest of the USA. The
only thing is Detroit was ground zero.

Rather than 'follow billionaires' I choose to forge my own path with my fellow
entrepreneurs learning from all of this horrible mess.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing>

[2]
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/world/americas/27brazil.ht...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/world/americas/27brazil.html?pagewanted=all)

[3] [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/grantham-says-
farml...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/grantham-says-farmland-
will-outperform-all-global-assets-1-.html)

[4] [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/being-like-soros-
in...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/being-like-soros-in-buying-
farm-land-lets-investors-reap-16-annual-gains.html)

[5] [http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/what-put-the-
brake...](http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/what-put-the-brakes-on-
detroits-economy.html/)

~~~
jeffepp
When you 'forge' your own path with fellow entrepreneurs who are learning --
will you grant more weight to those who have proven to succeed?

How about those who built more successful (at least from a financial
perspective) than 99.99999% of the world and have the power and resources to
enact real change?

Haven't you heard, a recent article [1] gives 13 reasons there is a comeback,
and it has some interesting nuggets:

\- unemployment is 11.3% (not 50%) \- high tech jobs growing over 100% yoy \-
ranked 46/150 for growth (opposed to 146 previously)

[1] <http://www.businessinsider.com/detroit-comeback-2011-3>

Rents, land, & costs of living are super low -- these are all significant
advantages in any competitive business landscape.

~~~
jjm
We can go back and forth with this.

Will you agree to come back to HN in 10 years (assuming HN will be around),
and we shall gauge whether Detroit's growth is explosive or slow? Enough to
reverse the population and poverty statistic trends?

------
5minuteplan
Check out this 10 bed 10 bath house in Detroit for $500K. Wow that is a lot
for your money!

[http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1771-Seminole-St-
Detroit-M...](http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1771-Seminole-St-Detroit-
MI-48214/88167213_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address})

------
hartror
I always wonder how entire cities ended up as ruins that were then lost and
subsequently found by archeologists. It seems like what is going on in Detroit
and other cities and towns is similar to what must have happened in many
city's cases over the millennia.

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antidaily
But we're getting a Whole Foods!

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brownie
Nice site. The documentary Detroit Wild City covers this subject pretty well.

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jsavimbi
I'd never seen water flowing out of a basement before.

