[steiza]

Detroit is not, as some comments are suggesting, in a state of anarchy.

Yes, there is crime, similar to other major American cities with crime problems (like St. Louis or Atlanta). Yes, because of depopulation it is hard to get groceries, do your banking, or catch public transportation. But this does not mean the 700,000ish Americans who live in the city proper live in "anarchy".

In Michigan's Upper Peninsula there are also many roads that don't get salted and plowed, and long waits for ambulances - do those people also live in anarchy?

[jlgreco]

If you have a city that gets comparable service as relatively remote rural areas, then yeah, it pretty much is an anarchy.

The only thing that you can fairly compare a city to is other cities. As far as cities in America goes, I think it is fair to say that many attributes of Detroit are very reminiscent of an anarchy. There may be better examples, but Detroit stands out for its former prominence.

[steiza]

I can assure you Detroit has "normal" services like city water, garbage collection, electricity, and the majority of roads are maintained (even if 100% of them don't get plowed during the winter). I still don't see how anyone can say that is "reminiscent of anarchy". Is there an anarchy you lived in that it is reminiscent of?

Downtown Detroit has two major sports teams (the Tigers and the Red Wings), renown cultural attractions like the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the world headquarters of a few companies like Quicken Loans and General Motors... the characterization of downtown in this thread is really bordering on the absurd...

[jlgreco]

I don't intend to be harsh, but all of those things are basically baseline expectations. I can't help but think that you are damning the city with faint praise.

[sneak]

According to the rumor mill, the DSO is about to close.

The only things vibrant downtown are the sports arenas and the casinos.

[altcognito]

Hey, now I realize the Lions are bad, but they also play downtown.

[jmccree]

Living in Atlanta, I wouldn't think to compare our current crime state to anywhere near Detroit or St. Louis, but this post made me curious how we actually compare. A quick check of homicide and rape stats show both cities at twice or more our rate. I think the real story is the incomes per city:

  Atlanta, Median household: $45k, Per capita: $35k
  St Louis, Median household: $29k, Per capita: $18k
  Detroit, Median household: $25k, Per capita: $14k

I suspect like Atlanta's reputation for crime, Detroit's is also overblown, but there seems to be a real difference that shows Detroit is still a bit farther behind on the path to urban revitalization.