OT: Bulldoze 1/4 of Detroit?
Any chance the Detroit Free Press will be part of the demolition?
"Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile.
Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100308/ap_on_bi_ge/us_downsizing_detroit
At what point are we going to blame GM killing public transportation in Detroit as being a cause of the urban sprawl?
After Houston blames Big Oil for doing the same thing here.
More to the point, GM is what gave Detroit money for so long. The public accepted the money without planning ahead and going ahead with public transport anyway. Same thing in Houston. While Big Oil still gives us some benefits, we've at least started on public transport anyway.
If the lack of public transit is what caused the urban sprawl, then whatever GM did happened way back in the 50s and earlier. So laying that blame would pretty much be nothing more than Detroit's usual MO: when in doubt, blame the past and throw rocks at the people that did a lot more good than bad.
So in other words, yeah, exactly what I said. Detroit would probably be best served playing the blame game, driving GM out to Warren in retaliation, and leaving the RenCen empty, amirite?
I mean, my OP was heavily sarcastic. But sure, might as well.
O I C. Sorry, my sarcasm detector is out of warranty.
You've linked to a Wikipedia article, which according to the banner at the top "appears to contradict itself" and "The neutrality of this article is disputed." Beyond all that, it refers to the alleged scandal as a "conspiracy theory."
EDIT: I missed the sarcasm as well.
Urban sprawl exists in every major metropolitan area, regardless of public transit. New York City has a pretty extensive subway system, but that hasn't kept New Jersey and Connecticut pastoral.
I'd always heard it was the tire companies that worked to kill the streetcar.
an abandoned building falls in Detroit when no one's around, does it make a sound?