Detroit has always been the future in the US. Detroit pulled this country into the age of the automobile. The state that Detroit is in now is where the rest of the country will be if we stay fixed in our auto dependent economy. The other part of this equation is that we have given away all of our manufacturing jobs to the lowest bidder.
Watching the local news is like near future sci fi. Most of the commercial advertisers are for chains of GoodWill thrift stores and ambulance chasing lawyers.
Detroit has pulled out all the stops to stop the free fall that it's been in for some time. There are casinos, right in down town. As far as I can tell, it hasn't helped all that much. It just attracts the people that can least afford it to the tables. I overheard a man talking to his wife about his casino winnings, and mostly losings, he was dressed in hunting gear. Perhaps that is how he will put food on the table after losing so much money.
What struck me most as I crossed the border into Michigan was how wild the highway vegetation was. Money for roadside beautification is long gone. So is highway clean up judging by the amount of truck retreads and other miscellaneous debris that lined the roads.
Detroit has gone to seed in many places but it is still beautiful and proud. I think it will lead us once again to a better more sustainable future. There is already talk about opening a factory to produce batteries for electric cars. There is so much manufacturing infrastructure here that can be had for cheap. I hope that other businesses will realize this sooner rather than later.
