Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre. From their The Ruins of Detroit series
The Chicago Trib details the dire condition of Detroit.
Median house value in Detroit is now $7,500.
The city’s bond rating has been downgraded to junk and it could go into receivership.
It has no major grocery chain and only two movie theatres, even though physically is larger than Manhattan, S.F. and Boston combined. Population is steadily shrinking and those who remain tend to be poor.
Theirs homicide rate dropped 14 percent last year, prompting a mayoral candidate to say, “I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but there just isn’t anyone left to kill.”
Another mayoral candidate suggested bulldozing large areas and building wind farms.
So how do you bring it back? Especially considering the ongoing collapse of the US auto industry. Maybe they could encourage urban farming and homesteading plus giving huge tax breaks for any business agreeing to move in (or stay put.) What will the Detroit of twenty years from now like like?
Tip: The Big Picture