Whole cities severely damaged. And then we just watch them blow away.

[Stinky The Clown]

Nature took New Orleans.

The economy took Detroit.

Both cities were laid waste by outside forces. Apart from the specific vegetation that can been seen overtaking the remaining signs of civilization it is difficult to tell apart the two cities when looking at photographs.





The hopeful side of me sees the vision of these places coming back. But then I stop. Reality invades my hope. I realize that many hopes are rightly dashed. As I consider that our leaders increasingly hold that we can't pay our elderly what we OWE them, how will these cities ever come back? Simply, they won't. Instead, other cities will suffer the very same fate - destroyed by forces outside their control.

The new normal.

The normal decline.

The normal diminution.

The normal devastation.

The normal desperation.

[zipplewrath]

1. Cities come and go

One can go around the world and visit cities that basically are no more. Trade routes change, natural disasters, and political shifts. The sad reality is that there isn't much "reason" for either New Orleans or Detroit to be nearly as big as they were. NO should probably be a town of about 30,000 people. The tourist trade might be able to justify a slightly larger population, maybe 100K or so. Detroit, like many cities in the area, have lost their purpose, now that heavy manufacturing is no longer as dominant as it was. It's not that there is NO purpose for them, merely that they can't justify, economically, their previous size. Unfortunately, there is rarely a pretty way for cities to contract, especially that much over short periods of time.

[PassingFair]

2. "Downtown Detroit" has MANY more functioning businesses now than...

it had when I lived there in the 80's.

In the 80's, I would have to drive to the
suburbs to buy ANYTHING.

There were only a handful of restaurants
open for breakfast.

There are a LOT more options for entertainment now.


Downtown Detroit.
Fox Theatre area.
Woodward Ave.
Wayne State area....all much more vibrant and
prosperous than when I lived downtown.


Of course, the "Warehouse District" is in shambles.

I moved because of the public school situation in 91....
My old neighborhood is in tatters... but it was a risky
choice in 91 as well.

My mother just sold her house this year.