Diegetics

A friend of mine brought up the idea of moving to Detroit today. It seems that he's struck with the idea of buying a few houses, kicking around, and enjoying the splendor of the ruins of the city while watching it become something else. And at the prices these properties are going for, a small neighborhood can be yours for less than season away, if not a week away, if not a weekend away. And why not do your part to revitalize the city, even in the tiniest way? The concept seemed strong. But is it practical?

Does anyone have a more first hand view of which sort of big city place, if any, can be enjoyed in this fashion without being mugged by a crack addict? Or is this sort of tourism only for those who don't mind a little authentic gang warfare?

Decadent youths I rarely associate with report that Detroit is in the midst of a takeover by Bohemian artists, attracted by aforementioned cheap rent.

Why am I reminded of those kids who were teasing a tiger at a zoo, until it leaped out of the cage and ate one of them?

Detroit, 2009

Homicide: 40.1
Forcible rape: 36.8
Robbery: 650.8
Aggravated assault: 1,238.9
Violent crime: 1,966.8

Burglary: 2,090.7
Larceny-theft: 2,079.5
Motor vehicle theft: 2,044.6
Arson: 68.6
Property crime: 5,567.5

per 100k.

I recall hearing that one of the fun Halloween past times is setting fire to abandoned homes.

That's South African crime levels. I'm in no rush to invest, myself. Artists are a lot less risk averse than I am. Must be their low, low (negative) net worth.

Sounds like your chum just wants to . ...

Artists are often the harbingers of gentrification, seeking cheap spaces in edgy areas. Worked in places like Hoxton (London), Williamsburg (NY) but never to my knowledge from so low down.



Detroit is "only" number 8. Gary IN and (for different reasons) Oakland and New Orleans do not surprise, but Philly and surroundings score really badly (Camden NJ, Irvington, and if it had its own data, North Philadelphia)

The Chicago problem is essentially South Chicago.

Give free homes to returning veterans. Relax weapons and use of force laws for said residents. Wait one year.

Problem solved.

Colonizing Detroit is a Raver fantasy. It could be done if a developer wanted to capitalize on it. I can think of a way of making a section of Detroit into Ibiza or Goa with the right backing. I could even help execute it. I have some deep connects in NYC and Chicago for that sort of thing.

Ibrahim,

Sophisticated and Ivy-educated types like myself generally tend to mock these folks for clinging to guns and (usually) religion, but if my car breaks down I'm more likely to see a veteran stop by to lend a hand in his 1997 F-150 outside a small town in the Appalachians, than a Somali warlord in his modified technical Toyota outside of Mogadishu.

Laugh about it all you want, there is still in America something that we call a civic spirit. Maybe they don't have that in Canada, eh?

I don't think the argument is simply about more private gun ownership. It's that importing an already cohesive community and implanting it where community bonds are weak might make a difference. After all, it's harder to sell drugs on the street corner if the person under whose window you're selling is not an isolated little old lady but a large and well trained guy who can field-strip a machinegun in under a minute. And if such guys were to live on EVERY street corner, it's like endless free police.