US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive

The Telegraph ^ | September 12 | Tom Leonard

[PghBaldy]

Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline...

Having outlined his strategy to Barack Obama during the election campaign, Mr Kildee has now been approached by the US government and a group of charities who want him to apply what he has learnt to the rest of the country.

Mr Kildee said he will concentrate on 50 cities, identified in a recent study by the Brookings Institution, an influential Washington think-tank, as potentially needing to shrink substantially to cope with their declining fortunes.

Most are former industrial cities in the "rust belt" of America's Mid-West and North East. They include Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Memphis.

[PghBaldy]

Obama hates inner city youth!

[Spktyr]

I wouldn’t disagree with razing De-Riot, but Memphis???

[torchthemummy]

Most are former industrial cities (run into the ground economically by Democrats) in the "rust belt" of America's Mid-West and North East. They include Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Memphis.

Fixed it!

[Dr. Sivana]

I wouldn’t disagree with razing De-Riot, but Memphis???

Yeah, I think they want to raze some homes on the south side, high upon a ridge ... approximately 1/2 mile from the Mississippi Bridge. Too many abductions and domestic disputes.

[PghBaldy]

I live in Pittsburgh. There are places that could use bulldozing, but not my neighborhood.

[Stentor]

Will only succeed in finally killing the inner suburbs of the big cities and spreading the rot to the small cities. You can see it all over Pennsylvania now.

[Glenn]

Pittsburgh is doing just fine, thank you.

They roll up the streets at 6PM unless there is a game.

The outskirts are where the trouble is, now and then.

I love the place.

[wardaddy]

major parts of Detroit, Cleveland, Memphrica and jackson come to mind

[PghBaldy]

As long as her is killing the babies the elderly and infirm... Is this man nothing but death and destruction?

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

Yeah they can have Memphis... If we (TN) can get rid of it I think the whole states crime stats would drop by 20 to 30%...

[timestax]

US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive

Take Cincinnati, please

[VOA]

“Most are former industrial cities in the “rust belt” of America’s
Mid-West and North East. They include Detroit,...”

I’ve heard radio reports that the suggestion to bulldoze about half
of Detroit proper has been floated (by government officials?)
Even a National Public Radio radio I heard in the last 2-3 months
on corruption in the Detroit public school system...and that the
population of Detroit has been HALVED during the last 60 years.

Myself, I favor Rush Limbaugh’s time-honored approach, e.g. to failed
states like Albania: Don’t touch it as it decays; leave it alone as
a massive, objective and visual lesson about the dangers of one-party
politics and control.

Seeing how Detroit has been mentioned, I must post a link to the
great “Fabulous Ruins of Detroit” website.

http://www.detroityes.com/home.htm

[lowbridge]

But what about Graceland?

[PghBaldy]

Pittsburgh has half its 1950 population. Loses people every year I think. Plenty of old people too.

[torchthemummy]

So many idiotic comments on this site:

Seems like a lot of Republican and Conservative Democratic states. Oh and these are state which include hundreds of cities. See how funny stats are. You have a list of cities with the highest poverty that supports your arguement that Democratic policies are the cause of poverty and I have some state stats that say something completely different. Yet the sample size in my stats are a lot higher. States are usually larger than cities and may be more indicative of a trend than the relatively small size of a city when compared to a state.

This twit has no conception of urban vs. rural populations let alone how the ratio of major urban area reps per 1,000 vs. town reps per 1,000 allows the former to be completely one-party (Dems) and corrupted while the smaller town reps tend not to be $ corrupted since they actually can be seen in their daily lives by many of their constituents (and thus asked, "So what's with this ____"). Also the $ spent per resident in cities is an outrageous multiplication vs. rural towns and yet of course the cities produce less-productive citizens and many welfare recipients.

[School of Rational Thought]

I will suggest again, as I did when this article was originally posted months ago, that it is interesting to Google Earth a city like Detroit. There are huge swaths of vacant land. Look on Detroits east side as a good example.

Of course all the vacant building are not identifiable as such.

There are 48 “vacant” office buildings in Detoit, which to say the least is most of them.

Note that the Obama adminstration would not allow GM to consolidate itself in the City of Warren (where their tech center is) and forced GM to stay in Detroit. GM is one of few major businesses in Detroit.

[Sarajevo]

I vote for New Orleans, Washington, and San Fran (starting with pelosi’s house).

[tcrlaf]

“entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic “shrink to survive” proposals”

This isn’t new, and it’s basic tenent of today’s SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST/GREEN Eco-Moron, to help stop the mythical ‘Global Warming’.

Bulldoze the old neighborhoods, and FORCE people in to Higher Density Housing (Think a Cabrini Green-style Soviet Housing Block), where it becomes easier to ‘provide services’, and lowers the amount of Carbon release caused by commuting.
(ie., It’s easier to CONTROL YOU.)

Here is an example of the leftist propoganda regarding this, from a website called “Green Playbook”:

“Compact and mixed-use neighborhood design is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In many places, overcoming public perception of negative implications of density is the most critical aspect of supporting green neighborhoods. To do so, it helps to highlight the benefits and share supporting statistics and concrete examples.

What is Mixed Use?

Mixing uses means allowing shops, services, amenities, jobs and homes to be located within easy reach of one another, often on the same parcel and in the same building.

Benefits:

* Community building: The opposite of single-use zoning, it helps minimize the need for automobile travel and creates a more vibrant community.

* Energy use: Mixed-use areas are excellent opportunities for district energy systems (where a central plant supplies heating and cooling to groups of buildings). Businesses and residences tend to need these services at different times, which maximizes efficiency of the systems and making for an attractive business case in many instances.

Conisiderations:

* Business impacts: To smooth the transition of a neighborhood from single-use to mixed-use, local government may need to manage business impacts on residential areas by limiting hours when noisy activities can occur, controlling access to parking, or other measures.

* Affordable housing: To maximize reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, planners should evaluate whether people who work within walking distance or good transit destinations will be able to afford the housing that will be built. If not, it’s worth exploring whether incentives, regulation changes, or other measures would support an optimum match.”

Obama is following the Radical Socialist/Enviro-Nazi playbook, to a tee.

[GeronL]

Maybe Oakland or Detroit.

How about we try some freedom?

[GeronL]

better than google:

Youtube:
abandoned detroit

[nathanbedford]

Having outlined his strategy to Barack Obama during the election campaign, Mr Kildee has now been approached by the US government and a group of charities who want him to apply what he has learnt to the rest of the country. Is this how the system works in the Imperial presidency?

Contrive to get the ear of our Illustrious Leader and you get your scheme imposed throughout the land by fiat. Intrigue Adolf Hitler in your conception of fascist art and,blitzschnell a monument will be built. Why do we do this with a top down approach? Cannot cities control even the structures on their own turf? Some academic comes up with a plan (which actually sounds good to me), get the ear of the president, and the full catalog of resources and money of the federal government is employed to restructure every majority African-American city from Washington.

Is this how our hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars are being doled out by this administration? Are all of the people who have the president's ear earnest academics, or are they black nationalist opportunists? How do we know? Is there congressional oversight? If there is congressional oversight is vitiated by our system of one-party rule?

Who draws the lines where these sections will be bulldozed? If the local planning boards do it, are they in effect only rubberstamps of the bureaucrats from Washington who control the purse? If so, what has become of the rights of local residents to democratically vote in or vote out their representatives who normally draw these lines?

The questions go on and on. The point is not whether the idea is a good idea or bad idea. The point is that the whole system is spinning out of control, in the dark, and corruption, ego tripping, and mismanagement are the inevitable handmaidens of this lack of control and transparency.

[x_plus_one]

Kansas City has already lost over 100,000 in the inner city in the past ten years. The change is refreshing. More green spaces and less blight. It’s not so much a gentrification as a cleansing.

[avenir]

Pittsburgh is doing just fine, thank you...The outskirts are where the trouble is, now and then.

Do you know anything about Braddock? I was reading about their mayor and his passion for bringing life back to his dwindled town of 3000.

[Spktyr]

Ah, okay. I think I know the ones you’re talking about.
They’re kind of off by themselves, overlook the Mississip?

[dasboot]

“THE PLANNERS ARE COMING!!!
THE PLANNERS ARE COMING!!!!”

[barker]

.....high upon a ridge ... approximately 1/2 mile from the Mississippi Bridge.

Isn't that kinda close to the "poor side of town"?

[Dr. Sivana]

Ah, okay. I think I know the ones you’re talking about.

I was being silly, referring to the lyrics of the old Chuck Berry tune. But then I looked at Google Maps, and it looks like Marie's house may have already been leveled by the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

[driftdiver]

What the blazes gives the federal govt the idea they have ANY power to do something like this?

[Dr. Sivana]

Isn't that kinda close to the "poor side of town"?

For some, certainly. Especially if you're near the "Rivers."

[Spktyr]

“Necessary and proper,” of course.

That may have been the single largest mistake in the Constitution, with the prefatory part of the Second Amendment being a close runner up.

[ketsu]

Obama is following the Radical Socialist/Enviro-Nazi playbook, to a tee.

Obama wants America to be like Continental Europe. It's not radical per se, it's *globalist*. There's a pretty broad consensus for this type of social change across the political spectrum(including pubbies, but they won't tell you that). Planners have been advocating it since the 70's.

It's going to be interesting to see what America looks like in 30 years.

[Dr. Sivana]

San Fran (starting with pelosi’s house)

I'd rather start with Sotomayor's house. Whoever has Souter's seat should get his house Kelo'd until the decision is overturned.

[Lancey Howard]

All that’s left is a place dark and lonely.
A terraced house in a mean street back of town.

[driftdiver]

I’ve seen quotes that several of the Founding Fathers predicted the abuse of that clause. Can’t remember who or where though.

[driftdiver]

Is it any surprise really? For decades economic policy has forced jobs from the rural areas supporting many of these cities. Then they’ve forced the businesses to close or relocate.

They are forcing people to move to areas of high population density just to have a job.

[Uncle Miltie]

0bummer:

Destroy Cars.

Destroy Cities.

Destroy Banks.

Destroy Wealth.

Destroy Jobs.

Destroy Health Care.

Destroy EVERYTHING!

[tcrlaf]

I’ve been following the Radical Socialist Eco-morons for 30 years now, and it’s the same old playbook, only now, we have put the real LUNATICS IN POWER...

The International Communist/Socialist movement, and the Radical Environuts, are ONE AND THE SAME, and have been for several decades, now.

In 1986, Gorbachev said that Environmentalism would be the Vehicle for Socialist “Change”.

In 1989, after the Fall of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, Hans-Jochen Vogel, Chairman of the West German Social Democratic Party, stated at The World Socialist Congress, “We must embrace Environmentalism, for Socialism to survive.”

The entire “Global Warming” debate evolves from this quote, 20 years ago.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Radical enviros went from being Pro-Environment, to Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Christian, Anti-Conservative, Pro-Gay, and Anti-American (Especially Anti-REAGAN)

[nathanbedford]

I expressed my views on the federalism aspects of this yesterday in a different context in this reply:

Barney Frank Considers Cramdown Law (real headline)

Cramming down mortgages means that the contract between lender and borrower is altered ex post facto to deprive the lender of the security bargained for. In essence, the bank loses its priority rights to the property which have been hypothecated as security for the loan and the bank is reduced to the status of a general creditor and thus defenseless to the whim of the bankruptcy judge.

So we have the government monkeying with the right of parties to make a contract. The government interferes with the right to make a contract and it does so ex post facto. This is reminiscent of the Obama administration forcing the bondholders in the Chrysler deal to give up their security to favor the unions which had contributed heavily to Obama's campaign.

Manifestly, banks are going to charge more to make loans which are unsecured.

Of course this will be justified by the fact that the government has poured $1 trillion into the banks and therefore government is morally justified in taking the security advantage away from the banks. Once the government insinuates itself into these affairs there is virtually no end to the concessions it feels justified in demanding.

For example, if the government is providing health insurance called Medicare and fat people are driving up the cost of health care because they get diabetes, the government is now proposing to make fat children attend fat camps. The government is also considering taxing sugary drinks. Ultimately, the government feels justified in telling the elderly that their health care costs too much and they must die. Once the government provides a benefit it can extract virtually any condition (read: penalty) it wants, even on people who themselves do not receive the benefit -like the Chrysler bondholders.

When the federal government has the potential power to incarcerate fat kids in fat camps it is time to consider whether we as a people should return to a government which is limited to express powers listed in article 1 section 8 of the United States Constitution. It is the departure from the authorized powers which starts the chain reaction which leads ultimately to fat camps, death panels, toilet bowls that will not flush, deficits which cannot be curbed, debts which cannot be paid and a currency soon to be as worthless as Confederate scrip.

[Spktyr]

Wikipedia had this to say about it:

“The clause provoked controversy during discussions of the proposed constitution. While Anti-Federalists expressed concern that the clause would grant the federal government boundless power, Federalists argued that the clause would only permit execution of power already granted by the Constitution. Alexander Hamilton spoke vigorously for this second interpretation in the Federalist Papers as part of his argument for why the federal government required powers of taxation. At this time James Madison concurred with Hamilton, arguing in Federalist No. 44 that without this clause, the constitution would be a “dead letter”. At the Virginia Ratifying Convention, Patrick Henry took the opposing view, saying that the clause would lead to limitless federal power that would inevitably menace civil liberties.”

Looks like Patrick Henry was right. Again.

[driftdiver]

oy vey thats depressing,

i really wish I could see another alternative. If we don’t take back washington from the corrupt communists I don’t see many other alternatives.

[Spktyr]

There are always alternatives.

Enough is enough.

We are not here to subsidize your clueless business plans or reward your failures.

[ketsu]

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Radical enviros went from being Pro-Environment, to Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Christian, Anti-Conservative, Pro-Gay, and Anti-American (Especially Anti-REAGAN)

You're confusing people who want to bring Europe to America with commies. There's a big difference.

[driftdiver]

Thanks for digging that up. I don’t fault the founding fathers though, they did a fantastic job. I fault the baby boomers for falling asleep at the helm.

[driftdiver]

and thats one reason my wife wants to move to Texas. Florida isn’t bad but we have too many New Yorkers bringing their liberal ideas here.

[barker]

LOL

[Spktyr]

Yeah, but now we need to revise the old document to take into account the abuses and experience, plus close some loopholes.

However, a ConCon now would result in a document that looked like the Politburo got together with Rand’s Looters and came up with their wish list. We’d have no right to arms for self defense, but hey - we’d have a right to a big screen TV (which could only receive government approved channels), the right to a ‘free’ abortion, the right to a ‘free’ government car, the right to... well, you get the idea.

Hence why every day I am more and more convinced that there is no way to save the US and it needs to be allowed to flush itself down the toilet to learn a lesson. Without Texas attached.

[thecabal]

Welfare Clause, baby. That which gives them control over everything in the universe.

[Nachum]

The list, ping

[driftdiver]

I think the old document is fine. The problem is the culture of entitlement. I’m not speaking of the welfare entitlement that rots us from within. I’m speaking of the elected officials who think they are entitled to a lifetime position.

Term limits and end the gerrymandering. Force turnover and eliminate the established power base these fools have. In any rational environment people like Pelosi and Reid would be employed gathering the shopping carts in Walmart parking lots.

[altair]

It's going to be interesting to see what America looks like in 30 years.

No, it's not. Any more than it has been "interesting" to see the direction California has gone in the last 30 years. 29 years ago, we were casting our Electoral College votes for President Reagan. Since then, it has been down hill all the way and I feel very sad to see what has happened to the state I grew up in and used to enjoy living in.