Yep, guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I grew up in inner city Baltimore in the 1960s. Guess you had to be there to realize what a beautiful city it was. Now, it is largely unfit for human habitation (black or white).
And to the poster who said that black neighborhoods have been destroyed, too — blaming it on things instead of people — sorry, but I have to disagree. It was people who wrought the destruction. In the case of our cities, black people. Unless, of course, you’re saying that a bunch of nasty whites moved into black inner city areas and turned them into sewers. If so, show me the whites who destroyed Detroit.
Riding the Amtrak north out of Baltimore (whatever the station there is called), you can see “housing” that I wouldn’t put a dog into.
I grew up in New Orleans during the same period and think much the same about that city. It seems that both cities have squandered John McDonogh's generous gifts.