6 ms·

I work downtown but live in the burbs. I totally agree. Its a strange feeling when the entire business district (which is what is seen as evidence of the "comeb

I work downtown but live in the burbs. I totally agree. Its a strange feeling when the entire business district (which is what is seen as evidence of the "comeback") feels just like a giant Quicken campus. I see far more private security than police.

hyperbovine 8y ago
The burbs sprang up around a city and economy 3-4x as large as it is today. Coupled with an overall shift in preferences towards urban living among millennials, it seems unlikely that there will ever again be a need for as much suburban housing around Detroit as there was in 1950. In other words, is it really reasonable to expect all of these areas to rebound?
- sixeleven 8y ago
  My comment was more about how the core of downtown feels more like a corporate campus rather than a downtown city, it's a strange feeling. However, I think it's reasonable to question the expectations of which areas will rebound in this era.
- collyw 8y ago
  I am curious if there is a preference for urban living or its just a case of where the jobs are. I would quite happily live in a small town but that's not where the jobs are for me (software engineer) or my girlfriend (neurologist).
  - lotsofpulp 8y ago
    There is less economic stability, so it's more risky to be in a place with fewer employers, that by itself incentivizes wanting to live in an urban area.
  - c0nsumer 8y ago
    In the Detroit area the vast (VAST!) majority of the jobs are out in the suburbs. There's a good bit of stuff in downtown, but almost everything here is in an outer ring like Warren, Auburn Hills, Novi, Dearborn, Southfield, etc.
    - collyw 8y ago
      I am in Europe and the opposite seems true.
- freehunter 8y ago
  The suburbs around Detroit really started taking on a life of their own recently. Far from just housing, many of them have actually developed downtowns and cultures and personality of their own as Detroit has floundered. "Detroit" is really collection of small towns packed into a fairly dense geographical area. The City of Detroit is relatively inconsequential without Royal Oak and Novi and Grosse Pointe and Bloomfield Hills and Warren and Pontiac etc.
  - richk449 8y ago
    Novi? Is strip-mall-sprawl a personality?
    - karpodiem 8y ago
      The 55,000 people that live there seem to be ok with it.
qudat 8y ago
Agreed. This city is a commuter city: everyone drives into downtown at 8 am and migrates out into detroit metro at 5 pm. It's a nightmare commute. I really enjoyed working by Campus Martius but the commute was brutal. I also did not enjoy the insanely high parking prices. I totally agree about the Quicken vibe. Dan Gilbert owns a significant portion of the real estate downtown.

hyperbovine 8y ago

The burbs sprang up around a city and economy 3-4x as large as it is today. Coupled with an overall shift in preferences towards urban living among millennials, it seems unlikely that there will ever again be a need for as much suburban housing around Detroit as there was in 1950. In other words, is it really reasonable to expect all of these areas to rebound?

sixeleven 8y ago
My comment was more about how the core of downtown feels more like a corporate campus rather than a downtown city, it's a strange feeling. However, I think it's reasonable to question the expectations of which areas will rebound in this era.
collyw 8y ago
I am curious if there is a preference for urban living or its just a case of where the jobs are. I would quite happily live in a small town but that's not where the jobs are for me (software engineer) or my girlfriend (neurologist).
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  There is less economic stability, so it's more risky to be in a place with fewer employers, that by itself incentivizes wanting to live in an urban area.
- c0nsumer 8y ago
  In the Detroit area the vast (VAST!) majority of the jobs are out in the suburbs. There's a good bit of stuff in downtown, but almost everything here is in an outer ring like Warren, Auburn Hills, Novi, Dearborn, Southfield, etc.
  - collyw 8y ago
    I am in Europe and the opposite seems true.
freehunter 8y ago
The suburbs around Detroit really started taking on a life of their own recently. Far from just housing, many of them have actually developed downtowns and cultures and personality of their own as Detroit has floundered. "Detroit" is really collection of small towns packed into a fairly dense geographical area. The City of Detroit is relatively inconsequential without Royal Oak and Novi and Grosse Pointe and Bloomfield Hills and Warren and Pontiac etc.
- richk449 8y ago
  Novi? Is strip-mall-sprawl a personality?
  - karpodiem 8y ago
    The 55,000 people that live there seem to be ok with it.

qudat 8y ago

Agreed. This city is a commuter city: everyone drives into downtown at 8 am and migrates out into detroit metro at 5 pm. It's a nightmare commute. I really enjoyed working by Campus Martius but the commute was brutal. I also did not enjoy the insanely high parking prices. I totally agree about the Quicken vibe. Dan Gilbert owns a significant portion of the real estate downtown.