As reported in the Detroit Free Press: Acres of barren blocks offer chance to reinvent Detroit
Detroit, where the population peaked at 2 million in the early 1950s, is home to about 900,000 today and is still losing people. The depopulation and demolition of abandoned properties has left the city dotted with thousands of vacant parcels, ranging from single home lots to open fields of many acres.The article then on to give suggestions from "experts" of turning these current wastelands into urban farms (as long as they're not corporate of course), parks etc.
Instead how about some real vision?
These areas, or large contiguous areas, should be removed from the purview of the Detroit City Council and Mayor's office and turned over to a Detroit Township, an entity separate from the City to be created and start over.
This would get rid of the in-built corruption that has brought about this desolation, remove the crippling city income and high property taxes that affect these properties and make a chance to start fresh with new leaders, new residents, new businesses, and new ideas.
Otherwise Detroit will be left with this unused wasteland while the current leadership dithers. The City of Detroit created this problem, and they're not going to fix it, so its time to take the abandoned areas away and start over.
2 comments:
Here is the question on which the success or failure of such a project would hinge: Who would run the new entity? Would it be:
A. Someone from the suburbs who is interested in economic development and smaller government for all the citizens.
B. Someone from Detroit who is interested in creating a leftist, socialist, racist, corrupt enclave just like Detroit is now.
The fight would undoubtedly be interesting. My own opinion would probably be colored by my "outstate" perceptions of Detroit and its rulers.
Hopefully A, with plenty of educated suburbanites and businessmen coming in to make the abandoned area reborn and prosperous.
But given that people vote for leaders from their own locale, its possible it would be B. It will all depend on who goes to live in the "new township".
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