Highland Park,MI at one point, many, many years ago was an affluent suburb of Detroit. It went to hell quickly with Detroit after the riots in 68.
I grew up in the western suburbs of Detroit and crossing 5 Points Rd on the Redford/Detroit border was like crossing into another universe. Things start looking real bad real quick. I took a buddy from Minnesota into Detroit and that was the first thing he remarked - how crappy and torn up Detroit was and how nice the suburbs are in comparison.
Exactly.
I asked my father about it and showed him some of the HP photos I found on the web. He commented on the architecture of the buildings and said much the same. He went to the University of Detroit High School with his brother, and they remember the wave of change (and hope) that destroyed Detroit.