Being from the lost city of Detroit has coloured my opinions on US development. This pretty much confirms my belief that it was the city that committed suicide, as is the case with Flint and Saginaw. Nevermind that I haven't spent a lot of time in Detroit since I was a toddler, and even really been to the other two, but my encounters with the city make me think of European cities.
Particularly the ones that were bombed to shit during World War II. At least there was the Marshall plan for Europe. The US isn't as kind to its cities. One can come up with all sorts of glib reasons for why US cities are messed up, but I think Strong Towns pretty much has the problem figured out.
Still, the US hates its cities for some reason. They would prefer to see unprofitable development as to having people live in population dense areas. Is this divide and conquer? Keep the people apart and alone so they are easier to manipulate?
Anyway, Urban3 is a consulting company that helps cities better understand the economic impact of development. They have worked with many American cities to better understand and visualize the costs of development, and uncover which properties are productive, and which are not. Some municipalities have been willing to share that information, and it has provided a fascinating glimpse into the financial problems caused by sprawling car-centric suburban development. https://www.urbanthree.com/
The bottom line is that the current US model of sprawl is not sustainable.
