tale of two cities

Note: in my mind, this entry is unfinished. i never said exactly what i was trying to say. i wrote most of it a few days ago, and now i'm just punting this unfinished mess away. maybe i'll try it again someday in the future. maybe i won't. but because i'm my own editor, i'm choosing to show you this failed attempt at expression and opinion. in other words, this is truly a sketch.
















Detroit is an embarrassment.

I know there are two camps of opinion in this regard, and to many minds it would be blasphemy to speak so boldly against The City. After all, we're on the verge of the Next Detroit. The flowers are rising from the ashes, deals are getting done, contracts are being rewarded....we've got Campus Martius, the ever growing Riverwalk, lofts and lofts and lofts, new restaurants, big casinos, big cranes, overall a new energy and lots of Detroit Love to go around.

Yes, we have all these things. But Detroit has a funny way of reminding you of its shortcomings. And for me the past few days, these shortcomings have been manifesting themselves all too frequently. And in light of these shortcomings, Next Detroit begins looking like a smoke-and-mirrors show. It's a whore with pretty lipstick. It's a junky wearing a tuxedo.
















Although I'm covered in this blanket of anonymity, I will speak in vague terms in order to not break the law. Let's just say I'm currently fulfilling a civic duty, and in doing so I've been given a front seat reminder of Detroit's continuing culture of gun violence. I've also seen the incompetence of its law enforcement agency in full blossom. I've experienced the failings of its infrastructure. And my personal favorite, I've been able to participate in the Them vs. Us debate once again, Detroiters vs. Suburbanites. Apparently if you've ever lived within Detroit's city limits you can begin any line of debate with the phrase, "I live in The City," which gives your opinion a weight that cannot be trumped. If you've ever lived in The City, you know more about everything than anybody else anywhere. You understand the mind of every Detroiter that ever lived. You understand the nature of street justice. And you wear all this with a badge of superiority, like you're tougher and more world weary than the rest of us. Of course, many of these people don't live in Detroit Proper any longer, but that's beside the point.

I'm drifting. The real point is that we have two very different Detroit's emerging in the minds of metro dwellers, Next Detroit and Coleman Young's Detroit. I'm wondering which is the real deal?














The downtown is getting better, and that makes me happy. But the downtown region makes up only a fraction of the City of Detroit. So I'm left asking if the "Next Detroit" concept is being implemented anywhere in Detroit beyond its downtown? If not, I will continue to stand by the junky wearing a tuxedo line.

Perhaps the activity downtown can spread throughout the rest of the city. Maybe crime will drop, the schools will improve, the deficit will be reduced, the history will be preserved, faith will be restored in city government, the garbage will get cleaned up, and the Us vs. Them divide will fade away. I'm hoping. Of course, realistically speaking, I don't see this happening (unless it solves all of the city's financial problems). Detroit needs a stronger tax base and it needs a government that knows how to spend that money efficiently. I can't imagine a lively downtown curing this problem, not completely.

My point is that I don't want people to be hoodwinked by the developments downtown. Don't say, "Wow, Detroit's really rebounded." Because what you mean to say is, "Wow, the downtown has really started to rebound." The City has problems that no casino or riverwalk will ever solve.