The emptying out of Detroit is contained almost entirely within the low-density residential neighborhoods. The downtown area stubbornly clings on in large part because density makes it easier to serve with new business and core infrastructure.
Low density is what made the emptying so contagious and the costs so unsustainable. Low density requires continual growth to pay for the long utility runs and the long service routes for everything from busses to police patrols to trash pickup. And because service erodes as buildings empty, more buildings empty. And when the remaining 20 or 30% of your population is scattered, it's very hard to introduce new businesses or retrench old ones to serve them. The erosion is almost impossible to contain without Flint-style abandoning of large swaths of area and relocation programs for anyone who remains. (Detroit has been trying similar, but it's expensive and slow.)
I don't know much about SF and the valley and I'll refrain from commenting there. But you guys know demonstrably nothing about Detroit and you may want to follow the example.
Totally true - I visited Detroit a few months back and was surprised how much it reflects its MotorCity roots. The roads are so massive in width, lot size in the neighborhoods is ridiculous and so much space is dedicated to highways with sparse exists. You can see why a local business couldn't exist - the density never gets high enough to allow a critical mass. Add to this that many of these neighborhoods are at like 20% capacity.
Low density is what made the emptying so contagious and the costs so unsustainable. Low density requires continual growth to pay for the long utility runs and the long service routes for everything from busses to police patrols to trash pickup. And because service erodes as buildings empty, more buildings empty. And when the remaining 20 or 30% of your population is scattered, it's very hard to introduce new businesses or retrench old ones to serve them. The erosion is almost impossible to contain without Flint-style abandoning of large swaths of area and relocation programs for anyone who remains. (Detroit has been trying similar, but it's expensive and slow.)
I don't know much about SF and the valley and I'll refrain from commenting there. But you guys know demonstrably nothing about Detroit and you may want to follow the example.