No, not NPR! Anything but NPR!

*click*

Page not found.

Oh, the anticlimax.

ZAZ: No, not NPR! Anything but NPR!

*click*

Page not found.

Oh, the anticlimax.

Huh. Just worked for me.

Yahoo's warning was justified. Who really needs to ready dirty stuff like this:

men well into their 50s hold the hose

Detroit is a god-awful hell hole full of jackasses and ne`er-do-wells?
I find this very hard to believe.

It's from this blog I learned the term "urban prairie"

/Detroit is a mess

My boobies referred to the original link, which went to a Yahoo redirect page that warned the linked-to page was not approved or something like that and click at your own risk. The link on Yahoo was to NPR, but it had a typo.

Ye Gods, Detroit has become a 3rd world level shiathole.

Setting aside the root cause of Detroit's woes for the moment, it seems a big part of their ongoing problems have to do with abandoned buildings/neighborhoods.

I'm no expert of course, but I don't think tearing down the abandoned buildings and hauling off the debris could be all THAT expensive, could it?

It seems like the sort of project the state and feds could get together on and help fund-- say as part of Obama's infrastructure plans.

Hell, maybe the city could even toss a bunch of wildflower seeds in the resulting open fields to pretty the place up a bit more.


It seems to me that Detroit somehow needs to reinvent itself as a much smaller city-- it has got to cut off and destroy its dead chunks so the parts that are still alive might have a chance to thrive again.


_{/I have no idea about what I'm talking about, of course.
//But when has that stopped any Farker from posting?}

Riche: /I have no idea about what I'm talking about, of course.
//But when has that stopped any Farker from posting?

I say we give it over to immigrants and tell them they get citizenship if they bring the median and mean incomes of the place up to $35k

The first thing that came to mind was Subby was referring to D.C.

Obviously, the solution is to bring back Devil's Night.

Sounds like a WV neighborhood.
/takes one to know one

I know just the people to help...

fredbox: Take him to Detroit.

gold.

/you are a poster of extraordinary magnitude

Riche: Ye Gods, Detroit has become a 3rd world level shiathole.

Setting aside the root cause of Detroit's woes for the moment, it seems a big part of their ongoing problems have to do with abandoned buildings/neighborhoods.

I'm no expert of course, but I don't think tearing down the abandoned buildings and hauling off the debris could be all THAT expensive, could it?

It seems like the sort of project the state and feds could get together on and help fund-- say as part of Obama's infrastructure plans.

Hell, maybe the city could even toss a bunch of wildflower seeds in the resulting open fields to pretty the place up a bit more.


It seems to me that Detroit somehow needs to reinvent itself as a much smaller city-- it has got to cut off and destroy its dead chunks so the parts that are still alive might have a chance to thrive again.


/I have no idea about what I'm talking about, of course.
//But when has that stopped any Farker from posting?

Oddly enough, I've actually volunteered for a group in Detroit that does just that (Go Blightbusters!)

Dumpster rentals are expensive. We cleaned up a playground that was being used essentially as a dump on one side of it - repainted all the equipment and cut the lawn too - but we couldn't toss the concrete that was left there because they didn't have enough money to haul it away.

So yeah, it does cost money.

And for the record - have you ever heard of urban gardening? There's plenty of folks working to reclaim the spaces that have been demolished. The group I volunteered with had a park started across the street of the house we demolished.

If you just let "wildflowers grow", people - some of 'em driving in from the suburbs no doubt - are just going to use it to dump construction waste, amongst other things. It needs to be tended and cared for. Thankfully, that's catching on.

Also, swinging a sledgehammer at an abandoned building is a really good fielding. If any of ya'll are in the Metro Detroit area, I highly recommend seeing if Blightbusters is still looking for volunteers. Damn that was fun. Especially knowing it was going to end up a park, and the kids walking to school past it would be safer.

Also, a big problem with Detroit is that, unlike other cities, it wasn't able to annex. Well, that and the politics. And the idiots in the suburbs who think you can let a city die and it won't affect you in the slightest since you live north of 8 mile and all. And a bunch of other things.

I still love Detroit.

/hesitate to burn the buildings

Here in TX they start billing you for mowing your lawn and then seize the property at whatever point they are allowed to. Then they auction it off to someone who fixes it up and rents it to some poor but decent family. If they would just do that in Detroit then moms could get their kids out of the slums and projects and the culture could start to change.

I hear St Louis is a big shiathole too now. Or was it Cleveland?

You can also count the race riots of 1967 as leading to the downfall of Detroit.

NannyStatePark: Here in TX they start billing you for mowing your lawn and then seize the property at whatever point they are allowed to. Then they auction it off to someone who fixes it up and rents it to some poor but decent family. If they would just do that in Detroit then moms could get their kids out of the slums and projects and the culture could start to change.

I hear St Louis is a big shiathole too now. Or was it Cleveland?

I worked with 4 St. Louis expats this summer and fall. From what I heard, it's been a shiathole for awhile.

NPR? why would i want to listen to someone in my corner, when i can listen to the Corporate owned spinmeister propaganda loudmouths at Faux News?

everyone knows NPR is just out for the money.

Linux_Yes: NPR? why would i want to listen to someone in my corner, when i can listen to the Corporate owned spinmeister propaganda loudmouths at Faux News?

everyone knows NPR is just out for the money.

I see what you did there.

the condition of Detroit is a reflection of the people who live there, same as any other place on earth.
since there will be more movies featuring the destruction of civilisation, why don't we move all of hollywood there and call it
Hollyhood

dj_bigbird: It's from this blog I learned the term "urban prairie"

/Detroit is a mess

It reminds me of something from Fallout. People are just barely surviving, totally cut off from what you and I consider civilization. It'd be interesting as hell to investigate, but I don't want to die just yet.

NannyStatePark: Here in TX they start billing you for mowing your lawn and then seize the property at whatever point they are allowed to. Then they auction it off to someone who fixes it up and rents it to some poor but decent family. If they would just do that in Detroit then moms could get their kids out of the slums and projects and the culture could start to change.

I hear St Louis is a big shiathole too now. Or was it
Cleveland?

You live in Texas and you're calling other places shiatholes?

chopit: dj_bigbird: It's from this blog I learned the term "urban prairie"

/Detroit is a mess

It reminds me of something from Fallout. People are just barely surviving, totally cut off from what you and I consider civilization. It'd be interesting as hell to investigate, but I don't want to die just yet.

I've been spending time in Detroit since I was 5 years old.

Started going there by myself as soon as I could drive to go to concerts.

There's plenty of awesome art going on there, stuff that wouldn't be possible in any other city.

Also, I'm not dead yet. Pretty sure.

Detriot is pretty bad. From Livernois west is a big crappy urban wasteland until you hit the Henry Ford area, then it gets nice again. from about Mile 2 to 10 on mostly the west side of 75 it is horrible too.

Just declare Detroit a landfill and treat it accordingly.

StreetlightInTheGhetto: chopit: dj_bigbird: It's from this blog I learned the term "urban prairie"

/Detroit is a mess

It reminds me of something from Fallout. People are just barely surviving, totally cut off from what you and I consider civilization. It'd be interesting as hell to investigate, but I don't want to die just yet.

I've been spending time in Detroit since I was 5 years old.

Started going there by myself as soon as I could drive to go to concerts.

There's plenty of awesome art going on there, stuff that wouldn't be possible in any other city.

Also, I'm not dead yet. Pretty sure.

Apt handle.

jrs79: Detriot is pretty bad. From Livernois west is a big crappy urban wasteland until you hit the Henry Ford area, then it gets nice again. from about Mile 2 to 10 on mostly the west side of 75 it is horrible too.

Maybe that's why I haven't died. Except for Mexicantown I'm strictly an Eastside girl.

chopit: StreetlightInTheGhetto: chopit: dj_bigbird: It's from this blog I learned the term "urban prairie"

/Detroit is a mess

It reminds me of something from Fallout. People are just barely surviving, totally cut off from what you and I consider civilization. It'd be interesting as hell to investigate, but I don't want to die just yet.

I've been spending time in Detroit since I was 5 years old.

Started going there by myself as soon as I could drive to go to concerts.

There's plenty of awesome art going on there, stuff that wouldn't be possible in any other city.

Also, I'm not dead yet. Pretty sure.

Apt handle.

There's a short story behind it I'm not going to bother retelling, but it is indeed a reference to Detroit.

And Jesus, oddly enough.

Maybe I'll tell the story later.

/breakfast

I heard rumor that there were homes being sold for $500 ea, and some neighborhoods (entire farking neighborhoods) were being sold for a few grand.

Not sure how accurate that is.

I think the riots are were an event that coincided with the peak of Detriots condition. It died on the way up so to speak. The 60s were the peak of automnobile dom with the GTO, mustang and etc.
It will finally just dry up and blow away.

I can haz Detriot tag?

you wanna talk about cities on the decline? ever been to Utica, NY? Good lord.

Can somebody explain how 1/4 of the houses in a city can be vacant? Shouldn't the price of the houses fall far enough for them to be affordable? Isn't this how a free market works?

/not trying to start a flame war, even though I used the term "free market"
/not economically viable

StreetlightInTheGhetto: jrs79: Detriot is pretty bad. From Livernois west is a big crappy urban wasteland until you hit the Henry Ford area, then it gets nice again. from about Mile 2 to 10 on mostly the west side of 75 it is horrible too.

Maybe that's why I haven't died. Except for Mexicantown I'm strictly an Eastside girl.

Our company played along with the Detriot renewel thing and built a new building right in the middle of the ghetto. Ofcourse we have to put armed gaurds along with a 10 foot wall with barbed wire. But still. The building was across the road from a whore/crack house. All day long you could watch people do thier "business." It was pretty wild watching the comings and goings.

As for west, it did get a little better just before the Henry Ford area, I think Greektown is that way, and if I remember right. It is "sort of" nice.

Pechorin: Can somebody explain how 1/4 of the houses in a city can be vacant? Shouldn't the price of the houses fall far enough for them to be affordable? Isn't this how a free market works?

/not trying to start a flame war, even though I used the term "free market"
/not economically viable

Detroit's a welfare shiathole. Why would anyone BUY a house?
Let the city pay for your housing.

lokidecat [TotalFark] 2008-12-27 02:15:44 PM
I heard rumor that there were homes being sold for $500 ea, and some neighborhoods (entire farking neighborhoods) were being sold for a few grand.

Not sure how accurate that is."


// very, infact you can get a house for a dollar
property taxes & mandatory util = 1200-1800- per year.
if something bad happens at your new house, they will sue you.

i would move there if the govt gave me 40 acres

and a mule

Didn't New York go through something similar in the 70s? The low property values allowing starving artists to live there which lead to the creation of punk and hip hop and just about made New York the culture capital of the world?

I love 1950's architecture, and it pains me to see so many pretty houses in such ruins.

If I had the dough, I'd buy an entire neighborhood in a convenient area to the local business, renovate it, and hire a private police force to help take care of it.

/that's how they cleaned up Lincoln Center area in NYC and now it is worth bazillions

I love Detroit, but it's still nothing more than a great place to be from.

mrdobalina:
You live in Texas and you're calling other places shiatholes?


Why yes. Yes I am. I live right between Houston and Galveston, which is the best spot around. I am sitting in my McMansion with my McSportsSedan that is going to drive through construction to my McDonalds at my McWal-Mart at the McStripMall and eat some McFriedFood for my McFatAss. Then I can go to the beach with my dirt cheap gas and swim if I want to right now because it is 75 degrees here right now instead of it being a death risk to go outside. I am surrounded by green lawns and flowers. And I'd take the day after Ike or the fourth ward over anything Detroit has to offer. So where, exactly, is the shiathole again? Do tell.

So where exactly is Run's House? Or are you one of those people who think if you admit what town you live in someone is going to hunt you down and kill you? Just curious about which shiathole you live in.

Conservationist: Detroit is an example of multiculturalism at work.

Racial conflict replaces a desire to work together.

Fifty years of feelgood liberalism have not fixed the problem.

Maybe we should just admit that multiculturalism never works, shake hands and move on.

Multiculturalism.

Detroit.

While Coleman Young was around.

...

Excuse me, I need to go laugh hysterically for a few minutes.

I grew up 6 miles from the border. The south suburbs really are pretty awesome in unforced multiculturalism.

If only because I can get damn good pierogi, pad thai, hummus, and curry all from walking distance of the house I grew up in.

ZombiesAreJerks

Didn't New York go through something similar in the 70s? The low property values allowing starving artists to live there which lead to the creation of punk and hip hop and just about made New York the culture capital of the world?

Only difference is NYC was the cultural capital long prior to that. As well as the business capital. You could still have those while being a shiathole bc everyone had moved to NJ and LI. Plus, NYC still had the Upper East Side and very wealthy enclaves in it while it was going under. It was the police force, MTA, and city cleaners (forgot their name, but a lot of money was poured into it in the late 80's) that really brought the gentrification into the other areas, IMHO.

Conservationist: Detroit is an example of multiculturalism at work.

Racial conflict replaces a desire to work together.

Fifty years of feelgood liberalism have not fixed the problem.

Maybe we should just admit that multiculturalism never works, shake hands and move on.

9/10, because you almost got me. I was gearing up to write a blistering retort, filled with words such as "blithering idiot", before I gave it a second thought. Bravo.

NannyStatePark: Here in TX they start billing you for mowing your lawn and then seize the property at whatever point they are allowed to. Then they auction it off to someone who fixes it up and rents it to some poor but decent family. If they would just do that in Detroit then moms could get their kids out of the slums and projects and the culture could start to change.

I hear St Louis is a big shiathole too now. Or was it Cleveland?

Cleveland isn't great, but it's not to this level yet.

jrs79: StreetlightInTheGhetto: jrs79: Detriot is pretty bad. From Livernois west is a big crappy urban wasteland until you hit the Henry Ford area, then it gets nice again. from about Mile 2 to 10 on mostly the west side of 75 it is horrible too.

Maybe that's why I haven't died. Except for Mexicantown I'm strictly an Eastside girl.

Our company played along with the Detriot renewel thing and built a new building right in the middle of the ghetto. Ofcourse we have to put armed gaurds along with a 10 foot wall with barbed wire. But still. The building was across the road from a whore/crack house. All day long you could watch people do thier "business." It was pretty wild watching the comings and goings.

As for west, it did get a little better just before the Henry Ford area, I think Greektown is that way, and if I remember right. It is "sort of" nice.

Greektown is pretty damn Eastside, my definition of East being "East of Woodward".

Why did your company build in the ghetto, and not in the turning-around areas (i.e. New Center, or hell, even Corktown)?

... bet it was cheaper. Armed guards don't really help a neighborhood, even if it benefits from business being there.

Nor does barbed wire for that matter.

It's time to give the abandoned neighborhoods back to nature.

NYZooMan: Pechorin: Can somebody explain how 1/4 of the houses in a city can be vacant? Shouldn't the price of the houses fall far enough for them to be affordable? Isn't this how a free market works?

/not trying to start a flame war, even though I used the term "free market"
/not economically viable

Detroit's a welfare shiathole. Why would anyone BUY a house?
Let the city pay for your housing.

I doubt that's a the main factor, but the lack of employment may attribute to nobody buying houses there. It seems like it could be a good investment for $500 a house...

When does construction on New Detroit begin?