I'm originally from MI, but have been gone a long time. Recently got lost and drove around parts of Detroit (hwy construction, took sign for detour, missed exit, etc.) the neighborhoods I drove through (thank God it was early morning) were complete 3rd world hell holes: nothing but burnt out shells, borded up businesses, operating liquor stores, and lots of tall grass/overgrown lots.
As a teen I had spent Saturdays helping feed the poor on the North side. Even then things seemed just depressed, but saveable. Nowadays it's like crossing an international border after you pass 8mile. Thing I kept thinking was...why can't the city just buy up whole swaths of the now depressed land and bulldoze?
Surely the political base can't last? Couldn't developers move in and create gated ghettos or high rises? Such a shame to see a major city burnt out and just decaying like that. The people seemed totally demoralized, nothing new was being built. Heck, even in Mexico city, with all its grinding poverty, you can see families working to improve their homes etc.