..but youtube just gave me a HUGE education on what's going on in your city

I've always been terrified of the place when we've passed through, and now I'm blown away to see that it's becoming a ghost town. As in, abandoned skyscrapers. Holy shit.

was it the UAW? Corrupt politicians? Crime?

what happened???

I just read this a few hours ago.

Retailers Head for Exits in Detroit

Shopping Becomes a Challenge as Auto-Industry Collapse Adds to City's Woes

DETROIT -- They call this the Motor City, but you have to leave town to buy a Chrysler or a Jeep.

Borders Inc. was founded 40 miles away, but the only one of the chain's bookstores here closed this month. And Starbucks Corp., famous for saturating U.S. cities with its storefronts, has only four left in this city of 900,000 after closures last summer.

There was a time early in the decade when downtown Detroit was sprouting new cafes and shops, and residents began to nurture hopes of a rebound. But lately, they are finding it increasingly tough to buy groceries or get a cup of fresh-roast coffee as the 11th largest U.S. city struggles with the recession and the auto-industry crisis.

No national grocery chain operates a store here. A lack of outlets that sell fresh produce and meat has led the United Food and Commercial Workers union and a community group to think about building a grocery store of its own.

One of the few remaining bookstores is the massive used-book outlet John K. King has operated out of an abandoned glove factory since 1983. But Mr. King is considering moving his operations to the suburbs.

Last week, Lochmoor Chrysler Jeep on Detroit's East Side stopped selling Chrysler products, one of the 789 franchises Chrysler Group LLC is dropping from its retail network. It was Detroit's last Chrysler Jeep store.

"The lack of retail is one of the biggest challenges the city faces," said James Bieri, president of Bieri Co., a Detroit-based real-estate brokerage. "Trying to understand how to get it to come back will be one of the most important keys to its resurgence -- if it ever has one."

Detroit's woes are largely rooted in the collapse of the auto industry. General Motors Corp., one of downtown's largest employers and the last of the Big Three auto makers with its headquarters here, has drastically cut white-collar workers and been offered incentives to move to the suburbs. Other local businesses that serviced the auto maker, from ad agencies and accounting firms to newsstands and shoe-shine outlets, also have been hurt.

The city's 22.8% unemployment rate is among the highest in the U.S.; 30% of residents are on food stamps.

"As the city loses so much, the tax base shrinks and the city has to cut back services," said Margaret Dewar, a professor of urban planning at the University of Michigan. That causes such hassles for retailers as longer police-response times, as well as less-frequent snow plowing and trash pickup.

While all of southeast Michigan is hurting because of the auto-industry's troubles, Detroit's problems are compounded by decades of flight to the suburbs.

Hundreds of buildings were left vacant by the nearly one million residents who have left. Thousands of businesses have closed since the city's population peaked six decades ago.

Navigating zoning rules and other red tape to develop land for big-box stores that might cater to a low-income clientele is daunting.

The lack of grocery stores is especially problematic. The last two mainstream chain groceries closed in 2007, when The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. sold most of the southeast Michigan stores in its Farmer Jack chain to Kroger Corp., which declined to purchase the chain's two Detroit locations, causing them to close.

A 2007 study found that more than half of Detroit residents had to travel twice as far to reach a grocery store than a fast-food outlet or convenience store.

Michelle Robinson, 42 years old, does most of her shopping at big-box stores in the suburbs. When visitors staying at the hotel near her downtown office ask where to shop, she sends them to a mall in Dearborn, 12 miles away.

A few retailers are thriving. Family Dollar Stores Inc. has opened 25 outlets since 2003. A handful of independent coffee shops and a newly opened Tim Horton's franchise cater to workers downtown.

Discount grocer Aldi Inc. opened stores in the city in 2001 and 2005. A spokeswoman said the chain is "very bullish" on Detroit. Farmer's markets draw crowds looking for fresh produce.

Olga Stella, an official at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, works to persuade businesses to move to the city. She says companies have underestimated Detroit's economic potential and that Aldi and Family Dollar are proof there's money to be made here.

Meanwhile, the former Lochmoor Chrysler Jeep is now Lochmoor Automotive Group, a used-car dealership and repair shop. Gina Russo, daughter of the dealer's longtime owner, is being groomed to take over the family business. She has agreed to start selling small pickup trucks made by India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

Write to Andrew Grossman at andrew.grossman@wsj.com

I Detroit

It's a bit sad to see her going through such hard times

I was born in Detroit but I haven't visited in many,many years,even though I have a few relatives there It breaks my heart to see what has happened to this place.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...z_vDOrqOOQ


[Edited 6/19/09 6:34am]

I read how they thought one solution might be to make the area smaller so it's not so spread out. Not sure that's going to make much difference right now.

The UAW??? They're here to make sure people have jobs!

Lord knows there's a lot of corruption in Detroit politics. There was the giant mayoral scandal that sent the mayor to jail and cost him is job. Now the "sludge" scandal that is ripping through city council. I've also been reading about thousands and thousands of dollars worth of fraud in Detroit Public Schools.

And, yes, there is a lot of crime and drugs.

dustysgirl said:

looks like another Windy city nickname is in order. Chicago was really called windy from all the corrupt politicians, I think it's time for Chicago to pass the torch.

"Detroit.....whats happening?"
Dance On

muirdo said:

The Fireworks were KILLER

and the Tigers won all 3 home games last week too

Mach said:

I love Detroit, too. It's really going rough here. I know soooo many people who are out of work. Scary times.

New Orleans was destroyed by Mother Nature and politics.

Detroit is being destroyed by politics and politics.

Very sad.

KatSkrizzle said:

Actually it's widely reported Chicago earned the nickname the Windy City because of all the hot air the politicians blew talking about what a great city it was when they were trying to win the bid for the 1893 World's Fair. So while Chicago is where the "C" stands for corrupt (politicians) , that's not what the phrase refers to.


Although according to the Chicago Reader, the phrase appeared before that and did really refer to the fact that it's "cooler by the Lake" due to the breeze.



.
[Edited 6/30/09 13:50pm]

ew WEEEE....where do we start?

The politicians are on the take, ready to line their own pockets. So much corruption within city officials. One of our city coucil members wanted to take federal stimulus money to fix Cobo Center's roof (can't do). Right there, it tells you that she (and others) don't hesitate to take money from one hand to give to the other. There are no rules.
The suburbs are excellent and literally support Detroit, with their attendance of games and entertainment within the city. Of course, Detroiters are hard pressed to give credit to the burbanites. We can't even vote for city elections, although we are taxed if we work in the city. How's that for taxation without representation?

A state appointed Detroit Public School official, Robert Bob (the Bob's) is in the middle of uncovering millions of dollars taken from the school district. Anything from people not working, but still on the payroll to stealing of hundreds of computer equipment...He's doing a great job of uncovering and firing people, but sadly, about 50 schools will have to close down next year.

Sadly, Detroit can't seem to run it's own government. It needs to be placed in the hands of the state. There is too much at stake.

Kwame was just the tip of the iceberg...

Of course, unemployment is everywhere, but here, it's devastated the economy.
People can't afford to sell and move.

Detroit has lost too much of it's tax base...it's no longer "white flight", it's everyone leaving because the schools are a joke, the services are laughable and the politicians are crooks.

We deserve better.

As far as the major retailers...it's the vicious cycle thing.

Who wants to put their stores in Detroit where there will be few customers and much thievery? But, how do you bring back Detroiters? By having more stores for them to shop at nearby....

I worked retail for almost 20 years...your inventory would be shot to hell by putting stores in Detroit right now...you can read that however you want to, but it's the reason the majors are staying away.

Ultimately, it's business, and you have to make money.