  Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 1696 Registered: 06-2006 |
...really, people? This is what you came up with? How can Detroit become a thriving world class city? A diverse panel of 30-somethings who spoke at Wayne State University this morning came up with these suggestions: * The state should invest more in education and less in prisons. * Change mandatory sentencing laws that disproportionately target poor people. * Cap suburban sprawl. * Detroit should welcome immigrants, and require the police and other city employees to live in the city. "College graduates want to live in culturally diverse areas," said Dalton Roberson, an associate who works at nonprofit New Detroit, citing research by renowned urban sociologist Richard Florida. The Detroit News was one of several sponsors of the panel discussion titled "Movin' the D Forward." http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/U PDATE/707260460/1003 | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 1357 Registered: 10-2003 |
Wow, that was underwhelming. Hopefully someone was there can tell us how this article is just a brief summary of all the really good dialogue at this discussion group. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3359 Registered: 02-2005 |
The first two points seem rather irrelevant. I agree with the rest. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 1358 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yes but "Cap suburban sprawl" is like saying "make everybody obey the law". It's a nice thought, but the only thing that's going to do it is this crappy housing market. Once that's back on its feet, it's back to ripping up forests and putting in strip malls and Pulte neighborhoods. | ||
Detroit_stylin Member Username: Detroit_stylin Post Number: 4471 Registered: 10-2003 |
How are the first two irrelevant? | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 1856 Registered: 02-2007 |
The first one isn't, the second one, well is sort of irrevelant. Although I think one way Detroit could easily become a World-Class City is by enforcing their Ordinances and improving city services. | ||
Quozl Member Username: Quozl Post Number: 1020 Registered: 07-2005 |
This is the second point made: Change mandatory sentencing laws that disproportionately target poor people. WTF does that have to do with enforcement of Ordinances and improving city services? | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3360 Registered: 02-2005 |
#2 really doesn't improve the city more than anywhere else. The first point is important, but we can proceed with aggressive redevelopment without it. School funding should come back with a larger tax base in the city; in addition, we know that it is more than just funding the makes good schools, D_stylin. But, since the goal of these ideas is to make Detroit "world class," eventually, clearly, the schools have to get much better. I agree, Urbanize. And just how much money could the city make my writing more tickets and enforcing laws that most people assume aren't enforced in the city any more? Upon recieving a parking ticket for parking 2 feet from a driveway approach as opposed to the requisite 4 feet here in A2, I thought: wow, Detroit should really prey off of ignorant people like me in the same way to make some money. I'd much rather pay $25 to Detroit than A2 anyway. The same goes for speed enforcement. Every has gone 10-20 mph over the limit on Jefferson for years now. Put some extra traffic cops out for a few days, catch everyone off guard, and make a few thousand dollars a day... The city needs revenue to provide services. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3361 Registered: 02-2005 |
Quozl, I don't think Urbanize meant to connect those two points. | ||
Quozl Member Username: Quozl Post Number: 1021 Registered: 07-2005 |
Okay, thanks for the clarification Mackinaw. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 180 Registered: 02-2007 |
Two are missing 1) Create incentives for businesses to move into the city, instead of penalizing them for just being there. No or low taxes for a period, free water, free electricity, concerns quelled and stick to agreements. This is how rural towns get manufacturing. 2) Appoint special police/cityworkers or have adequate police to answer alarms and patrol these areas of industry at night.. Provide reliable city services. I have a bizz in the burbs and outgrowing the floorspace (non-automotive). I was downtown this morning and I seen a lot of buildings with potential that have been abandoned. The city needs to concentrate on bringing manufacturing back in. They will only do this with reassurances of the two points above. For me anyways. How about the city hiring some ambassadors to call on area businesses with incentive packages? It's called sales. If Detroit leaders think by some phenomenon, folks will just start moving back in they have a long wait on their hands. If a business was ran this way it would fail too. Left as it is, sadly Detroit will keep deteriorating. Visions of a more cosmopolitan like atmosphere is never going to happen without a manufacturing base (jobs) and those workers living in proximity. By the sounds of the suggestions arrived at by this mornings meeting, it was a waste of time. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3365 Registered: 02-2005 |
Your second to last paragraph does not make a ton of sense to me. Of course, any new manufacturing jobs would be great, but the city can rebound by attracting other types of employers. Your two points, especially the first one, are great. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 60 Registered: 06-2007 |
This is why Detroit is in the state its in. The mindset. 1)Education is a choice. If you want to skip school or not pay attention,you will regardless.Lack of education doesnt automatically send them to prison. Poor personal choices are more to blame. 2) Sounds like someones paranoid.I want to know what kind of proof they have that the poor are disproportionately being targeted.Provide me with proof and Ill listen. Right now, it sounds like someones just trying to blame "the man". 3)Suburban sprawl is controllable, but the municipalities all have different takes on it.All the sprawl brings in more taxpayers, to the municipalities advantage. Oakland Twp. is out of control with overbuilding. However, Addison Twp, its immediate neighbor, isn't. Most housing being built in Addison is still on no less than an acre, keeping out extreme density. The state should have no buisness telling the individual cities and townships how much or little they can grow.Thats why they have city managers and township supervisors. 4)I thought we were a pretty immigrant-friendly area already. I suspect 50% of Hamtramck-maybe more-consists of foreign-born residents. Ditto the east side of Dearborn.And what about the Mexicans in s/w Detroit? Many are immigrants born in Mexico itself. As for city workers living in the city? Good luck trying to lure recruits. I believe its unethical to tell your workers where they can live. Give rules saying where police officers and firefighters can live and they will just find another department to work at. Many cities require a 25 minute radius, which is understandable.But in a free country, don't tell me I have to live in this city or that.I've never supported that strict of a residency requirement. Again, more food for thought to add to a debate. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 284 Registered: 05-2004 |
Sounds pretty damn lame to me. How about some solutions for fixing crime in the city? | ||
Number1 Member Username: Number1 Post Number: 9 Registered: 07-2007 |
Detroit should 1) Privatize all city services except for the police and perhaps the fire department. 2) Invest even more money into the police department so officers can be stationed in more places. The requirements to join the police force should be raised so the quality of the service will improve. 3) Start electing city council members by district. 4) Drastically reduce the number of city workers so taxes can be lowered. | ||
Jb3 Member Username: Jb3 Post Number: 228 Registered: 06-2007 |
quote: " The state should have no buisness telling the individual cities and townships how much or little they can grow.Thats why they have city managers and township supervisors" This is exactly what will keep Detroit from ever being a 'world class city'. Not to mention the continued decline of other once prominent cities. The state and fed. gov. ABSOLUTELY should put limits on growth. I'm sick of all these wannabe little towns and growing suburbs that want their little main streets. Fuckin garbage!!! grrrrrrr | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1336 Registered: 04-2006 |
Sounds like the crap and dribble put out by first year urban planning students who grew up in rich neighborhoods. How about code enforcement and addressing crime? How about dropping taxes so the City can compete with the suburbs for both population and employment? What good is mass transit if the jobs and people continue to leave? I'd rather see them put the money towards programs to help out the crackheads and streamline the bus system so it functions better. The University wants more money spent on education. Wow what a surprise, another money grab to help pay ove over extended bonds and teachers who work 15 hour weeks and take six month sabattacals on the govt tit. I don't understand what they mean by laws against the poor. If the poor break laws, they break laws, period. Any time a fourmula connect the dotter like Floria is mentioned, be highly suspect of those who put the drole together. (Message edited by Detroitplanner on July 26, 2007) (Message edited by Detroitplanner on July 26, 2007) | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 460 Registered: 04-2006 |
Privatize DDOT by selling it for one dollar. Privatize SMART also. SMART lost the city of Livonia contract because of neglect and the illegitimate DARTA agreement. It's time to say NO next August 2010 to cap the SMART property tax and say NO to the massive SEMCOG/MDOT freeway expansions that are already approved for federal grants without any regard for inner city minorities and the low income. Our leaders only care about getting more Wal-Marts built by shutting down public bus routes to load their pockets with big pay raises. There is hope that SMART may come back to Livonia but it will take lots of work. The lack of hard work is exactly why SEMCOG's Framework for Action Plan failed. It's back to the drawing board for another multi-million dollar transit study. And more meetings and meeting and new tax increase proposals. | ||
Tkshreve Member Username: Tkshreve Post Number: 101 Registered: 07-2006 |
Some Addendums: #1 -- Lower crime. Increase Police presence in all sectors of Detroit. Increase the quality of these officers (like someone be-4 said) by increasing qualifications and pay. * Once the City is perceived as a safe place to live in, people will get their heads out of the suburban dirt and actually make an educated decision upon whether they can actually move back to the city or not. ** This is not accomplished by closing Police Stations and combining districts. #2 Address the issue of racism. Better yet, teach our kids about the falsities and myths of racism. Our city is SO frickin' divided by this issue that is undermines every step forward and seems to be a reoccurring wild card when things don't go right. * We do have to all get along for this to ever be considered a world-class city. #3 Tear down the decrepid, desolate structures that have been condemned since the 70's. If this could be accomplished, maybe people from all over the US wouldn't have to tour our city online via "The Ruins of Detroit". * Although a very interesting tour, it doesn't paint an overall favoring picture for Detroit. | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 1698 Registered: 06-2006 |
"Detroit should...Privatize all city services except for the police and perhaps the fire department." Omni Consumer Products would beg to differ   | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 1960 Registered: 10-2003 |
"Detroit should welcome immigrants..." That's pretty damn significant. The city of Detroit ISN'T particularly welcoming to immigrants right now; it's very homogenous. Any city that has grown in the last decade has done so primarily due to the influx of immigrants (NYC, Chicago), NOT middle-class whites moving back into the city from the 'burbs. Detroit needs to actively RECRUIT immigrants if it desires to recover any population losses. However, if city leaders are intent upon maintaining the status quo (i.e., Detroit as a predominantly African-American city), that won't happen... and Detroit's population will continue to shrink. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 181 Registered: 02-2007 |
Get business moving back and into the city. Create jobs Create revenue And the rest will take care of itself. It's a joke the way it is now. A few Yuppie hangouts and utter slums. Beyond slums, it's so bad it's returning to open land again. There is no excuse for that. Absolutely none. This is the epitome of neglect and carelessness. Until some manufacturing base returns, forget it. What good is tightening up on crime without some sort of working class base to pay for it all. Who is going to pay for it now? If there was no crime in Detroit, it wouldn't fix the thousand other problems. If a base of revenue is rebuilt, there will be more funds to make all these projects and improvements possible. Voting in the proper leadership. Interested in the city's development. The way it is now, just a handful do anything about it, the majority could care less. Hiring a thousand cops and outsourcing trash pick up isn't going to do anything towards rebuilding. It will fix it this week.. Start filling these abandoned buildings with manufacturing jobs that employ the residents, give reason for more suburbanites to relocate there and drive property values up that drive out the folks committing the crimes. Thats how it gets fixed. There is no other way. | ||
Number1 Member Username: Number1 Post Number: 10 Registered: 07-2007 |
I also agree about immigrants. Detroit needs new immigrants. They are the people that would be willing to move to Detroit if it was in slightly better shape. They could help stabilize Detroit's population. Detroit shouldn't offer subsidies to the immigrants however. Once Detroit becomes a more affordable place to live and do business the immigrants will come on their own. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3370 Registered: 02-2005 |
"They are the people that would be willing to move to Detroit if it was in slightly better shape." It's sad that even the immigrants overlook Detroit. Well, that is a bit of a generalization, as plenty of immigrant groups are setting up here. We need more, though, but I worry about the national tide shifting more towards closed borders thanks to protectionism by democrats and some Republicans, and nativism from a lot of people. We need to grow the service economy to attract immigrants. We do have one major prereq, though, and it's affordable housing. Newark, NJ has seen a growing population based largely on a massive Hispanic influx. That city and NYC especially provide them with tons of jobs, and their communities have grown to the point where their are entrepreneurship opportunities-- chances to make money among their own communities. |
