Should Canada buy Detroit?

[Razor]

Kewl..Ontario would finally have a winning hockey team!

Seriously, that wouldn't fix Detroit's problems..I agree with the poster who said that maybe both governments can work together to revive Detroit. What's good for Detroit is good for the region including Windsor. It's an asinine suggestion. It wouldn't matter which country were to buy into this pipe dream. Detroit just couldn't be fixed by changing nationalities...Sure Americans in and around Detroit like Canadians for the most part, but it doesn't mean they want to become one of us Canuckleheads...They are understandably very patriotic....Think of the civil unrest.It's a crazy suggestion all around.

[dc_denizen]

Originally Posted by ue

Of course! And it's probably healthier than Toronto and Calgary too! After all, our cities are vastly inferior to every American city.

FYI, I was only responding to posters who seemed to think that the Detroit metro is poor, which as we all know, it is not.

[fflint]

Originally Posted by ue

Of course! And it's probably healthier than Toronto and Calgary too! After all, our cities are vastly inferior to every American city.

It was clear from the very first sentence of this asinine thread that some trigger-happy Canadian would set about finding a flimsy pretext for firing the first shot in another nationalistic "versus" battle. Congratulations on being the quickest draw.

Nothing has become more corrosive to the quality of forum discussion than the raging, chip-on-the-shoulder inferiority complex on display in your post and in countless others.

[ue]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

FYI, I was only responding to posters who seemed to think that the Detroit metro is poor, which as we all know, it is not.

It isn't, you're right. I'm not sure if it is overall less poor than Montreal (though I think the wealthiest in the Detroit area probably are wealthier than the wealthiest in the Montreal area).

Originally Posted by fflint

It was clear from the very first sentence of this asinine thread that some trigger-happy Canadian would set about finding a flimsy pretext for firing the first shot in another nationalistic "versus" battle. Congratulations on being the quickest draw.

Nothing has become more corrosive to the quality of forum discussion than the raging, chip-on-the-shoulder inferiority complex on display in your post and in countless others.

Oh get over yourself. If you don't like this thread, why the fuck are you here?

I was making a tongue-in-cheek reference to DC denizen's smug remarks in another thread recently. There is no real Canada vs USA that I'm trying to play up or whatever you're insinuating.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Metro Detroit is healthy; probably healthier than Montreal no?

So healthy that it has as many murders as the entire nation of Canada.

[TarHeelJ]

Maybe Canada will just come in a take Detroit. It could be Canada's little Crimea.

[M II A II R II K]

Perhaps Dubai can buy it, and use it as a playground to build their fantasies on it.

[bobcat]

Had to check calendar. Nope, still 2 more weeks until April 1.

[middeljohn]

Originally Posted by fflint

It was clear from the very first sentence of this asinine thread that some trigger-happy Canadian would set about finding a flimsy pretext for firing the first shot in another nationalistic "versus" battle. Congratulations on being the quickest draw.

Nothing has become more corrosive to the quality of forum discussion than the raging, chip-on-the-shoulder inferiority complex on display in your post and in countless others.

In retrospect, I could've altered the thread topic so that it offers potential solutions to Detroit's bankruptcy. The idea of Canada buying it piqued my interest though, as it's an out-of-the-box idea to help solve the problem, but all I want to see is it nursed back to health as I like Detroit and its history.

Calling this thread asinine three times now is a little bit rude seeing as this forum is all about sharing ideas for a better society. It's also a relevant thread seeing as the topic got quite a bit of media attention a few months ago. And it's not like I was trolling by making the thread either, I put actual thought into the pros and cons of going about this method to solve Detroit's bankruptcy. If you think it's a stupid idea, which it very well could be (I never made a conclusion, was simply weighing the scenarios) then by all means share why you think so. But by repeatedly indirectly trying to insult me by calling the thread "asinine" without actually contributing an alternative idea you're on the same level as the people who are taking this thread as an opportunity to make jokes about Detroit despite my asking people not to.

If this is a too sensitive topic for people then the mods can lock it, but I think Detroit's bankruptcy is a major issue in North America and I barely ever see anyone talk about it on this forum, or in the media really. So if you have ideas, then share, but if all you're going to do is insult other peoples' ideas without contributing any of your own, then why post at all?

[mousquet]

Stop quarreling to this thread... I've been stupid when saying Detroit looked too nice for Canada. I was only thinking it still has some historic highrises and other buildings of some kind that Canada is far from having in large numbers. Entire France has no such buildings either, and will never have them. Feeling better, everone?

That said, it seems ridiculous to think Canada would ever "buy" it. lol WTF? Think about it. Detroit is a US city. The US won't sell any of their city, I'm pretty sure about that. And they're right.

Now a closer political partnership between the 2 countries is possible, if not likely. If not downright necessary.

[ue]

Probably because most people outside Michigan and perhaps northern Ohio don't see the City of Detroit going bankrupt as having all that big of an effect on their lives.

I agree with mousquet that I don't think as it stands, Canada buying the City of Detroit or Metro Detroit or all of Michigan is a very likely idea. It's a different place with a different mindset from that of Canada. I don't think either side would be very into it, despite there being some potential benefits. But as a hypothetical 'what-if' scenario, it's an interesting thread topic.

[middeljohn]

Yeah, I don't think it's likely either, but I would like to see Detroit and Windsor more inter-connected. The region has the potential to be a grand get-together point for Canadians and Americans, but it doesn't seem to act that way.

I don't find the mindset in Michigan all that different from Ontarians though. They're certainly not like Texans for example. Crossing into Detroit feels more culturally familiar to me than crossing into Quebec, for example. I love approaching Windsor on the 401 and picking up Detroit's radio stations once I pass Chatham.

[dc_denizen]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

So healthy that it has as many murders as the entire nation of Canada.

Economically, it is certainly healthy. Per capita, the most engineers of any US metro. Well-run, low-debt, low-crime counties in Oakland and Macomb. Lots of auto manufacturing and design jobs, and in other sectors. U Mich. Next to the border, so benefit of trade. Of course it's exposed to competition, but hasn't done too badly for a place that's exposed to the bleeding edge of globalization in a way that Toronto, LA, Chicago and NYC are not.

On a per capita basis, metro Detroit and metro Washington, DC have a similar murder rate (or did until recently). If Detroit were like DC with the crime segregated in a certain part of the city, nobody would care about Detroit's crime rate; it might still be considered the Paris of the MW in fact...

Detroit doesn't have a high murder rate because the metro is unhealthy, the high rate is due to various demographic and cultural factors that are common nationally--these factors even appear in Canada I might add.

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by brickell

Will gladly trade Detroit for the Maritimes.

I'll sign for that.

Maybe Canada can start setting up some unequal treaty zones along the waterfront in Detroit. "The Canadian Concession" could be like the Bund in Shanghai circa 1880 - which would actually be a great thing for Detroit.

[biguc]

What the hell would you do with Hamtramck?

[ue]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Economically, it is certainly healthy. Per capita, the most engineers of any US metro. Well-run, low-debt, low-crime counties in Oakland and Macomb. Lots of auto manufacturing and design jobs, and in other sectors. U Mich. Next to the border, so benefit of trade. Of course it's exposed to competition, but hasn't done too badly for a place that's exposed to the bleeding edge of globalization in a way that Toronto, LA, Chicago and NYC are not.

On a per capita basis, metro Detroit and metro Washington, DC have a similar murder rate (or did until recently). If Detroit were like DC with the crime segregated in a certain part of the city, nobody would care about Detroit's crime rate; it might still be considered the Paris of the MW in fact...

Detroit doesn't have a high murder rate because the metro is unhealthy, the high rate is due to various demographic and cultural factors that are common nationally--these factors even appear in Canada I might add.

Colour me intrigued...

[ColDayMan]

^^Or even better...Highland Park.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by middeljohn

Calling this thread asinine three times now is a little bit rude seeing as this forum is all about sharing ideas for a better society.

It's an asinine thread because it's based on extreme ignorance about the Detroit region, which, again, is bigger and richer than any Canadian metro outside of Toronto.

The specific problems of Detroit are quite isolated, city proper specific, and are only unique in the American context in the sense that they're extreme (so, in other words, generally at the bottom of the rankings on issues like violence, poverty and abandonment). But there's nothing inherently different than in any other U.S. manufacturing center.

The bankruptcy is a good thing for the city, and probably doesn't even affect 10% of the region's economy, given that the city proper is such a small part of the metro. The region, while very troubled in certain aspects (and ridiculously troubled by SSP-type metrics like density, transit orientation and the like) is still a powerhouse, and dominates a sizable portion of the U.S. and Canada. The University of Michigan, and the manufacturing-based innovation, has no rivals in Canada, and relatively few anywhere.

If you want bike lanes and hipsters and good transit, go somewhere else. Detroit sucks for that kind of lifestyle. If you want a big house on a lake with all the amenities, good schools, and 20 minutes from work at an automotive engineering firm, it's great.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Stop quarreling to this thread... I've been stupid when saying Detroit looked too nice for Canada. I was only thinking it still has some historic highrises and other buildings of some kind that Canada is far from having in large numbers. Entire France has no such buildings either, and will never have them. Feeling better, everone?

That said, it seems ridiculous to think Canada would ever "buy" it. lol WTF? Think about it. Detroit is a US city. The US won't sell any of their city, I'm pretty sure about that. And they're right.

Now a closer political partnership between the 2 countries is possible, if not likely. If not downright necessary.

I agree. I do not have the french attitude to just come out and say it like you haha .

[middeljohn]

Originally Posted by Crawford

It's an asinine thread because it's based on extreme ignorance about the Detroit region, which, again, is bigger and richer than any Canadian metro outside of Toronto.

The specific problems of Detroit are quite isolated, city proper specific, and are only unique in the American context in the sense that they're extreme (so, in other words, generally at the bottom of the rankings on issues like violence, poverty and abandonment). But there's nothing inherently different than in any other U.S. manufacturing center.

The bankruptcy is a good thing for the city, and probably doesn't even affect 10% of the region's economy, given that the city proper is such a small part of the metro. The region, while very troubled in certain aspects (and ridiculously troubled by SSP-type metrics like density, transit orientation and the like) is still a powerhouse, and dominates a sizable portion of the U.S. and Canada. The University of Michigan, and the manufacturing-based innovation, has no rivals in Canada, and few anywhere.

If you read my initial post it should be obvious that I'm referring to the city proper joining Canada, not the entire metro. When I did mention parts of the metro joining it was written in way so that it could he understood as an additive.

Yes the metro is doing well, economically. That doesn't help Detroit PROPER though, as people will continue to leave. How do you stop this? I presented one idea for recovery, what's yours?