Detroit needs a Katrina

So, I was talking with my co-worker about Katrina and New Orleans and the revitalization that has taken place since that fateful storm a few years ago, and she took the unpopular position that really, it did a lot of good for the city to wipe away a lot of the problems the city was having. Abandoned buildings, no federal funding, etc etc... and I think Detroit needs a big ass hurricane to wipe the slate clean. It's not mean. Sometimes mother nature needs to clean house. Take things out with some volcanoes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods and the like.... Detroit needs a natural disaster.

The auto industry is a wreck, the city is a shithole. It is. Housing market is a joke. Jobs are scarce and becoming scarcer.

Just out of curiosity, I searched realtor.com for houses for sale that cost less than $10,000.
In New Orleans? = one
In Detroit? = 1,664 listings.

How about $5,000 or less, for a three bedroom house? There are 567 listings.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Detroit_MI/beds-3/price-na-5000/type-single-family-home

I can't believe it myself. There are 108 listings for homes in Detroit for $1,000 or less.

A four bedroom 3,500 square foot house? $1,000.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2236-Hendrie-St_Detroit_MI_48211_1088510157

Homes with descriptions like, "HOME IS TOTALLY BURNT. USE CAUTION WHEN ENTERING."

Holy shit, three bedroom houses for $100, $50, $1.

ONE DOLLAR. YOU CAN BUY A HOUSE FOR ONE FUCKING DOLLAR.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3015-Monterey-St_Detroit_MI_48206_1105609311

I know there must be some BS in the fine print, but wow.

The median price of a house in Detroit is $7,500. Really.


Some more interesting stuff.........


About the 1967 Riots
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_Street_Riot

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit

Decline in Detroit, Time Magazine - Oct 1961
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1882089_1850973,00.html

More photos
http://onlyndetroit.com/
http://www.corvus-group.com/detroit.html

More about the auto industry
http://wsjclassroom.com/cre/articles/09jan_auto_whathappened.htm

And some dude even wrote a book about it.
http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Urban-Crisis-Inequality-Princeton/dp/0691058881