More About Detroit

According to Wiki, the Detroit riot of 1967 was the most destructive riot in U. S. history until it was surpassed by the Los Angeles riot of 1992. Forty three people were killed, 1,189 reported injuries, 7200 people were arrested, and 2,000 buildings were destroyed. According to the quote from Mayor Coleman Young, the outward migration of Whites from Detroit was three times greater after the riot than before.

Granted, the city was in decline before the riot but, as you pointed out, other cities have had riots over the years and recovered. Detroit never did. It was only a few years ago that the city started demolishing some of the derelict buildings. Before that, they were being informally demolished by arsonists and salvagers. People would go in and strip the plumbing and wiring and anything else they could sell on the scrap market. According to newspaper accounts, the fire department decided to stop putting out fires in these buildings because they got tired of fighting fires in the same buildings over and over again. They would monitor the fire to make sure it didn't spread to other structures, and just let it burn itself out. There used to be a tradition of mass arson  on "Devil's Night", the night before Halloween. Fire and police resources would be overwhelmed and unable to do anything about it. I seem to remember they stopped that some years ago, but I don't remember why. Maybe there was nothing left to burn. According to Wiki, not all of the arson fires are random acts of vandalism. Many of the derelict buildings are being used as drug houses and, when the neighbors get tired or waiting for the police to do something about it, they just torch the building.

Every once in awhile, our local newspaper runs a story about somebody who has a plan to make use of some of the vacant property in Detroit. There was one guy who proposed planting thousands of fruit trees and going into the orchard business. Others are encouraging the locals to plant vegetable gardens and grow some of their own food. There have been a number of projects to spruce up the downtown, but they have had minimal effects on the distressed neighborhoods. The city will sell you a derelict building or a vacant lot for a dollar if you promise to make something useful out of it.

Detroit has recently gone through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. There has been a lot of talk about it being a new beginning for the city. Maybe so, we'll just have to wait and see.