Michigan roads are seriously bad this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/comments/7z5sqf/potholes_on_mound_road/
It's not uncommon to see places like this throughout the metro-area. There are roads that we don't go down because they're essentially impassable.
@craigmaloney man that subreddit seems kinda bleak right now
@cwebber I still see hope in there. It's a Metro-Detroit thing. 😁
@craigmaloney I would like to know more, at some point, about your perspective on Detroit and the surrounding area, especially signs of hope. About a decade "Detroit is crumbling" got a lot of press, but it's clear the city is still running. I've heard from some folks that there's a lot of interesting stuff happening in Detroit right now, but those comments were mostly vague. Would be good to hear a local's take!
Then again you keep telling me to visit... ;)
@cwebber Well, I wouldn't want to sway you from heading over here to see things first-hand.
Detroit is in some ways the canary in the coalmine for large cities. We've had a lot of folks leave the area and a lot of corruption over the years. We also have a large amount of super-rich folks in the suburbs and a lot of poverty in the city. But things seem to be an an up-tick in recent years. We've had some competent leadership that realizes that you can't just ride out the problems in the city.
@cwebber The largest problem is we have a very divided Detroit. We have a race problem that has been simmering for generations, and part of the reason we don't have a mass transit system up Woodward Avenue is because the rich folks don't want "those people" having easy access to their cities.
We also have a lot of folks from Eastern Europe and the Middle East setting up residence. Many folks still come to Detroit to work here, and having the headquarters of three automakers and suppliers helps
@cwebber Detroit has unique challenges. We have amazing architecture that is crumbling, buildings that hearken back to a bygone era that now sport the scars and paint of disaffected youth, and neighborhoods where showing the slightest bit of affluence makes you a target. And we have multi-million corporations pouring money into the city as fast as they can to build it up. It's a strange dichotomy for folks who aren't as familiar with it.But we have a rich history and an awesome legacy.