Detroit: The Shape of Things To Come?

[cronus]

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

Reminds me a lot of areas around Chernobyl.

...Hasn't Detroit always been a bit of a shit-hole, though?

[Jason]

It used to be a bustling modern metropolis in the glory days of American automobile manufacturing, but following the oil crisis of the 1970s it's really gone to shit. It has been improving somewhat in recent years.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

I heard that GM got a bale-out grant from the gummint and then out-sourced all the jobs.

[JimC]

"Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair..."

[Audley Strange]

Yes. Eventually there will be no need for cities at all and we will all live in endless suburbia. close to the omni-distribution centres where we all work part-time, maintaining robots or delivering crap to each other.

[mistermack]

Fuck fuck fuck, what a waste !! I can understand the odd building standing idle for a while, but not that.

In Britain, every square inch is fought over.

Have a look at this, as the other extreme :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/ju ... perty-sale

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, there's no reason to be in Michigan at all, so being in a dead town just ain't attractive.

[Svartalf]

The only reason to be in MI recently moved to Boston.

[mistermack]

Well, there's no reason to be in Michigan at all, so being in a dead town just ain't attractive.

Yeh but, what has Chicago got, that Detroit hasn't? My cousins live in Chicago, and I've never heard of anything like that where they live.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, there's no reason to be in Michigan at all, so being in a dead town just ain't attractive.

Yeh but, what has Chicago got, that Detroit hasn't? My cousins live in Chicago, and I've never heard of anything like that where they live.

Detroit was a monoculture, so when the reason died, so did the city. Chicago is diverse, and also the largest city in the central US.

[mistermack]

Detroit was a monoculture, so when the reason died, so did the city. Chicago is diverse, and also the largest city in the central US.

That doesn't explain why a place with cheap property, lots of labour looking for work, and free access to the US market, can't attract business.
Not everybody trades within a few blocks of their HQ. these days. Just because Detroit is suffering, that doesn't stop businesses snapping up all this cheap infrastructure.

The Germans are paying millions, for buildings like that. And still selling stuff all round the USA.
Detroit has huge advantages over Dortmund. Cheap labour, cheap property, and cheap shipping to the USA.

Something's wrong with capitalism here, if it can't adjust to conditions.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, the infrastructure was shit before the bubble burst, so it's not an attractive place to locate a business.

[Coito ergo sum]

It used to be a bustling modern metropolis in the glory days of American automobile manufacturing, but following the oil crisis of the 1970s it's really gone to shit. It has been improving somewhat in recent years.

It improved from about 1994 to about 2004, then it all started crumbling again. The place is a dump.

[Coito ergo sum]

Yes. Eventually there will be no need for cities at all and we will all live in endless suburbia. close to the omni-distribution centres where we all work part-time, maintaining robots or delivering crap to each other.

The socialist's dream. Evenly distribute the population to eliminate the distinction between cities and the countryside. It's one of the pillars of Marxist socialism.