Ruins of Detroit
The city of Detroit, Michigan has lost 25% of its population in only 10 years. U.S. Census figures had the city's population in 2010 as 713,777. (Mayor Dave Bing is disputing the numbers.) It was 951,270 in 2000. Overall, Michigan was the only state in the union to lose population (0.6%) during the last decade, according to the Census."The Motor City" has long been that-- an industry town. With the initial explosion in automobile manufacturing, the population rose from 285,704 in 1910 to 1.85 million (at its height) in 1950. Vacant housing units account now for 22.8% of the city's total housing stock, and that's more than doubled from the 10.3% of only a decade ago. It was reported two years ago that the median home price in Detroit had dropped to a breathtaking low of $7,500.
Today, the Huffington Post re-posted a slide show of 20 images from a book called "Ruins of Detroit." The photography is extraordinarily beautiful even as it reveals a heartbreaking, devastating urban decay. Many of the images could be mistaken for those in a city that has been ravaged by war.
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ESPN's "30 for 30" is a wonderful sports documentary series. Watch as many of the episodes as you can, but don't miss the special on the life and times of Fernando Valenzuela. "Fernando Nation" is on YouTube, and I'm taking the extra step here of linking you to the first of four parts on the website so get to it. Fernando's rise to fame as pitching ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 is one of the all-time great stories about baseball's important place in the American culture, but memories are quickly fading. It's a great time to reacquaint yourself with it, and it might even help get you in the mood for the new baseball season.
posted by CM @ 7:47 PM
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