[Detroit Photo of the Day]

Cool pic! Looks like a nice place for a high speed communter train.

[Detroit Off Topic]

33 days till I move to the D and I don't have a neighborhood picked out yet. Insurance is way to expensive in Detroit, so I'm going to trade the focus in and get a moped. Anyone have advice on the best neighborhood to reside in without a car? I need a bar, grocery store, close to WSU, and access to bus routes in the city. Any feedback is appreciated.

[Detroit Off Topic]

Does anyone know how long it takes to recieve notice on graduate admissions from WSU urban planning?

[Detroit Photo of the Day]

Southwest Detroit is the next happening place, and everyone knows it. There are all kinds of speculators buying vacant land in my neighborhood and other nearby neighborhoods. Everything isn't all rosey, but it's getting better. A few months ago, a house around the corner was firebombed. I figured that the thing would sit there and rot away for years, but they are actually fixing it up. The same goes for a two family flat on the next block over that burned. There are three houses on my block that were vacant and are now getting fixed up, which, especially in this economy, is amazing. Houses here 10 years ago were selling for $20,000 and it was so dangerous that people were scared to go out of their houses, even in broad daylight. Today houses are selling in the neighborhood of $100,000, and you don't really hear too much talk about lack of safety amongst residents.

There is still a lot of gang activity here, unfortunately. I don't know about other neighborhoods in southwest Detroit, but my neighborhood has seen a huge increase in gang activity in recent weeks. Last night a house up the street got bombed out and graffitied. Two nights ago they torched a garage in the alley behind my house. It's just something that comes with the territory, I guess. As long as you don't bother them, they won't bother you. The police are working the neighborhood and trying to crack down on that stuff, but there's only so much they can do. It's a way of life for many people here, and I'm not sure how to break that cycle.

On the upside, the Vernor business district is the closest thing we have to a thriving retail strip in Detroit. I'm told that the level of traffic on Vernor is about the same as it was in the 1920s. Obviously there were more pedestrians back then, but it's not doing bad at all.

Overall, southwest Detroit is gaining people. Every other area outside of downtown is still bleeding residents, so I think that says a lot. I don't think anyone really knows how many people are living here because there are so many illegals, but it'll be interesting to see what the census says in 2010.

Now, if only we could do something about Matty's power/land grab. If there's any one thing that can destroy the renaissance, that would be it. He's buying land left and right, and from what I heard at the last bridge meeting in early December, he's got his teeth sunk into the new bridge to Canada already.

[Detroit General Development]

Let me know if you have any questions regarding Wayne State's Planning Program. I'm just finishing up my master's degree here right now (in planning).

[Detroit General Development]

I moved from ypsilanti to oregon in august for an americorps job. It's been awesome but my heart is in Michigan and it's really exciting to see all of the projects going on in Detroit. I am applying to WSU for grad school and I hope that I get in because Detroit is awesome. Oregon is great, but Detroit has soul and history that cannot be offered anywhere in the west. Ever since I moved to Oregon I have been telling everyone how awesome Detroit is, but they laugh at me and tell me that Detroit is nothing but a dirty slum and Michigan is due for collapse. I think otherwise. I look forward to bringing new thoughts to the Michigan planning world and hopefully will find a job in Detroit after planning school. P.S. - Nothing is better than Detroit sports! GO TIGERWINGSTONS!