- Illiteracy in Detroit is around 47%. That's not a surprise. Though I was born in Detroit, I grew up in the city of Southfield which is on Detroit's northern border, just across the famed Eight Mile Road. Southfield's illiteracy rate is 24%, which is third-world-ish. It was a nasty place to grow up, but at least we could read and write our way out back then. I guess maybe we all did.
- One booming business in Detroit: demolishing abandoned homes.
- The Irish trad/punk band Flogging Molly wrote their latest set of songs in and about Detroit. They admit it makes little difference: "I don't have any answers. I sing for other people's frustrations." Just hope the songs are catchy.
- In contrast, Grand Rapids (second largest city in MI and furniture capitol of the world) was labeled one of America's Dying Cities" and they responded with a video of pretty much the whole city lip-synching "American Pie". Not sure whether that actually makes sense, but it's pretty cool.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
[Detroit] Failed City Porn
Failed City Porn: Something I haven't done in a while: Completely gratuitous stores about the degradation of Detroit.
