Detroit, Michigan

Based upon all the coverage its downfall has gotten, I didn’t expect much from Detroit. However, based upon all the coverage its slow recovery has also gotten, I expected to be pleasantly surprised. In both cases, my expectations were met!

Good start with the nice-enough bus station:

Though the neighborhood it was in wasn’t the nicest (lol — “2014”):

They really do have one of the most expansive, beautiful riverwalks I’ve ever been on. They’ve clearly put a lot of money into it, and it’s a gem:

That said, you don’t have to look far to see areas that haven’t gotten the money:

The centerpiece of the city is the giant Renaissance Center, glaring south at Canada across the river. It gleams & is pristine…

…and is devoid of people

This sign on it says it all:

The downtown corridor has the great midwest mix of old stone buildings & new high-rises, with lots of modern shops, stores, parks…

and is devoid of people:

And that sign again:

The baseball & football stadiums are right there in the center of things, with lots of bars & restaurants to fuel their fans…

…and people are nowhere to be seen

(there were no games in town while I was there, so this one is more understandable, but you’d still think you’d see some folks)

I didn’t visit any outlying neighborhoods, so have no view on their status & recovery, but it didn’t take a long walk out of town to feel the decline:

I think we’ve all become accustomed to US city downtowns/CBDs being hallowed out of people in our post-COVID, WFH world. Detroit was just going through that decline long before the pandemic — it took COVID for other cities to “catch up”.

So, like other cities, everything is there for Detroit to thrive again, it just needs the people to come back. It’s sad; and hopeful? 🤷