DETROIT: A Drive Through The City's No-Go Zone - America’s Urban Disaster 

Detroit is an example of what the rest of America is becoming without a vibrant middle class. The rich and the poor.

Detroit was a great place to grow up. I still have fond memories.

WOW! Do I know THAT neighborhood. That was my grandmother's house at 20:16! My mom grew up in that house! There were two other houses between her house and Tuxedo to the left, which you passed a couple seconds earlier. They're gone now, it looks like whoever owns my grandmother's house bought the empty lots and put that driveway in. They've kept the place up nice, unlike just about everything else in that neighborhood. When I was a kid that lot at the corner of Nardin and Elmhurst was empty and there were a couple of billboards there. What a shocker to see her house on a video! Thanks for posting THIS!!!!

Born and raised in Michigan, metro detroit. Suburbanite. I’ll tell you’ve I’ve been all through out detroit and the most beautiful parts are where there’s the most damage. The history behind why. What happened and the come back is just why detroit is so great. So many people from the communities are building it back up.

you can really feel the sad, soulless vibe when viewing all those broken down neighborhood homes. it almost gives off some sort of a sentimental feel to it as well.

I was born and raised in Detroit. From 1954-1968. Detroit was a beautiful place to grow up in. Until the riots...Those families who could get out, did just that. All through the years thereafter, I watched as Detroit was destroyed. The street that I grew up on is barren land now. Most of the houses are gone. You'd never know that families raised kids in a beautiful, wonderful neighborhood back in the day. Schools were top notch back then. We received a quality education. Most of us went to church back then. What happened? Well I could tell you but a lot of people would say that I was out of line speaking the truth. You're impressed with downtown Detroit? That's the only place that has been renovated. The only time people actually go there is usually for sporting events. Or sometimes a concert. Maybe a trip to the casinos. But not often. Safety is a major factor in that decision. Sadly, the suburbs are being affected by the same thing that brought Detroit to its knees. People can debate all day long about that statement but the proof is in the pudding. I'm sad and angry about what's happened to my hometown. In this case the old saying "You can never go home again" is a reality. All we have is our memories now.

Detroit must have been amazing in the 50s and 60s. Thanks for the tour.

My dad worked at General Motors most of his life. He started when I was 7 or 8 I don't remember exact age. Towards the end before his plant closed down I was in my lait 20s. After he worked there about five years our lifestyle changed we went from beat up furniture to really nice furniture along with a new color TV. Both my parents are dead but I have great memories of them from my childhood and what a great time we had together.

I’m not even from Detroit or the US but this makes me so sad. Those houses were once beautiful, loved homes. I feel bad for the people who have to watch their hometown turn into this.

Detroit is a gem, like a faded movie star. You can still see her past glory, but magnificent in her scars and wrinkles.

My daughter and son in law lived there for a couple years. I never felt unsafe. And the buildings - the architecture is amazing. The area that is broken down is so sad. I actually would like to visit again. There is an AMAZING book store there.

Hello, California native here. I grew up in San Diego, lived in Portland for 2 years, and then finally LA for 8 years. Bought a home and moved to Detroit in 2022. Yes, it’s still not the safest city and it’s not quite what it was during its prime… but it’s heading in the right direction. Having only been here for 2 years, I can say that I’ve witnessed a lot of change and things are happening everyday that reflect its progress. I hear many people saying it will never be the same again and they’re right. I think Detroit is headed somewhere greater than it has ever been before. The spirit of the city and its people are palpable and contagious. Detroit is a city of cycles, up and down but it’s the gear of America that keeps on grinding - always rising to the occasion to innovate and evolve from its mistakes. The name Detroit has been maligned for far too long. However, success does not exist without failure and vice versa. To put things in perspective, today Detroit is out of bankruptcy, its Moody rating went up 2, and it is in the black. I hope this inspires other cities in America like Oakland. It all starts with small steps! Pick up that trash! Peace and love.

So many of those derelict homes would be so amazing to save. They are wonderful architecture. Love all of the older brick homes.

My mother's family were from Detroit. She grew up (in the 30s/40s) in a 2 story brick home similar to some you showed except it had a fully covered deep porch and more lawn. It was a beauty and my grandfather was proud of it and the neighborhood he lived in. In the early 60s my grandfather was part of 'white flight' and crankily moved into the suburbs. In 1973 my mother and I flew out to see him and he took us for a drive to see the house/neighborhood Mom grew up in. I had seen pictures and it was shocking how trashed the houses were after just a few years! It was dangerous too and the numerous young men in the streets made it clear we were not wanted. It made Mom cry to see how they had destroyed EVERYTHING.

Lived in Windsor for 40 years. I use to go to Detroit quite often. Fantastic place I thought. I had family members who lived both sides of the border, great sports, Tigers, Red Wings, great concerts...loved Detroit 👍

I've always enjoyed downtown Detroit during every visit I've made...even that day back in 2002 when I got my car impounded at the tunnel to Canada because I was 19 and didn't declare some alcohol I was smuggling in from Canada. I spent a few hours downtown Detroit that night waiting for a ride home so I explored a bit. This was when I discovered downtown Detroit has some absolutely AMAZING restaurants. So much has changed downtown since 2002 and it gets better each year. Detroit has always been a city that prospers, hits rough patches and it always finds a way to come back. That city has too much history and too much vibrant life to ever die. It will always be a city re-inventing itself and despite its struggles, its a beautiful city with a lot of beautiful people. I always meet some of the nicest locals in Detroit when I visit the city.

The Henry Ford museum was a really cool thing to see...thanks Spoda...

I have alot of respect for you both. Instead of sitting at home and using wiki for city facts with some cool editing, you guys actually GO TO THE CITY YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! Love it!

Such beautiful homes and streets..destroyed. Hard to imagine it, let alone see it. Saddens me greatly...😢😢😢

The first half was very uplifting, then once you got further out, we see what we hear about. I pray that Detroit recovers. It seems to show signs of it, just not further out.

You two do such a great job. I've been watching a few of your productions a day for over a week now and I must confess, I'm hooked. I have learned much from your series. I like the way you present information with such nonchalant mannerism as though I'm right there with you. Thank you for all that you do.

I was born in Detroit in 54, my parents had already beat feet to the suburbs. I worked in Detroit off and on but stayed away from the areas you show. I wish the city could afford to knock all that mess down.

My mother lived in the same house (in the Winship neighborhood) from 1939 until she passed away in 2009. She never regretted it and loved her neighbors. They always watched out for her. The only break-in came after her passing. My son was living there. It was his ex-girlfriend from Ferndale who broke in with her brothers. I've never had problems living or working in Detroit.

As a Londoner it’s amazing how much space each property has

I was born and raised in Detroit from 1957 to 1975 then spent 35 plus years in California from 1976 to 1995. Moved back to Detroit in 1995 to 2002, then back to Los Angeles in 2002 to 2018. Currently reside in Las Vegas, NV since April 2018. I have such fond memories of my childhood in Detroit and it breaks my heart to see how over the years Detroit has deteriorated to a shell of its glorious self. Would not trade my life in Detroit for nothing in the world. Much Love.

I was born in Detroit and I lived there as a child in the 50s and into the 60s, when it was a really nice place to live. In those days you COULD visit Canada in a rowboat! Because of the good-paying auto industry, Detroit had the largest percentage of single-family homes of any city in the US. The winters were brutal, though.

These homes are still beautiful in their on way. Love to have seen them in their heyday. Thanks for sharing. 👍👍👍

What a shame to see all those homes in total despair. As I was watching this I was thinking at one time families lived and loved in those homes. I wish some very wealthy contractor could come in tear down those decrypt homes save the ones that can be saved because I’m sure they have a lot of history, and start developing homes and businesses and have almost like a mom and pop environment to live in and to work in and to raise your children in.

The mood, colors, and bright light of spring over all this is just the best! And the architecture is so beautiful. Wonderful bigger trees too.. all the houses you drove by must have been such beautiful homes!

I've lived in Detroit for 11 years now and I have had zero issues 🤷 I live on a beautiful street with no vacant houses. The whole city isn't bombed out and vacant. There's still good people who live here and TONS of beautiful mansions

This is just devastating for the US. We need to bring back a lot of our manufacturing and put people back to work. These homes could be cleaned up and the community could work together to rebuild it. That would put a lot of people back to work and make those homes, which could be affordable, to people working in the factories that benefit the US. Yes, the products being made here would be more expensive but taxes could be lower because there would be less people on assistance. It would be a hard road but it's a road we could drive and reach our destination.

You are showing us our country! Thank you!

What an incredibly beautiful city! It is such a shame that so many areas have decayed like this. I hope that someday it will be the city it once was.

Wow very interesting. A lot of cool buildings downtown. I would have loved to have seen what the neighborhoods were like in the 40s, 50s.

Breaks my heart to see all the big, beautiful homes in such disrepair and falling down. The brutal Winters aren't helping, I'm sure. The museum was fabulous! Thank you for showing us

Those houses are just beautiful, imagine normal people would live there, and those houses were well maintained, what a neighborhood it could have been...

What I find more sad than the decrepit buildings are the empty lots, where houses used to be. I've heard some of them have plants/bushes/flowers, planted by the original owners, that still bloom and grow. Kind of like marking the gravesite of somebody's former home....

Was in Detroit a little over 10 years ago…stayed at the Ford Motors headquarters. Detroit was rundown at that time. Went over to Canada and it was gorgeous with all the mansions of the auto execs there.

I grew up in Detroit, went to Wayne State University in the 70's and lived near campus. Loved every minute, even though wandering very far off campus was dangerous. One of the worst areas , one that looked like your tour, is now a historic district. There are many pockets of them throughout the city, renovated homes with strong community support. I've lived in Los Angeles since 1978, and visit Detroit yearly. The changes are amazing.

I'm born an raised in Detroit still here I was born in 1982 I'm 40 years old going on 41. There's so many nice looking neighborhoods and areas you could've shown. Why always show the run down areas. Detroit as plenty of nice looking neighborhoods even Mansions. Great video though.

breathtaking homes, beverly hills eat your heart out

Pretty cool how they've developed alleyways into boulevards with open restaurants.

Thank you for leading in with the normal parts of the city.

Love watching these videos, I'm from the UK and I can just imagine the place back in the days when the motor industry was thriving. These must have been beautiful houses , so much open space as well.

I love the "Pure Michigan" sign at the beginning. Pure poetry.

What a cool thing you're doing and sharing. Thank you.

Very interesting. I like the way you show both sides of the coin. The museum might have added that Henry Ford was also an enthusiastic backer of Adolph Hitler and his policies. He provided much machinery for the German army. He was a great innovator, as well.

I wish you’d shown more of how beautiful Detroit is. We have our bad but we also have a lot of great going on.

When I was in college I worked as a tour guide at greenfield village and Henry Ford museum. The TV changes were cool. Great video.

I had so much fun in Detroit and in that alleyway over the Memorial Day weekend one year. Beautiful weather. Lots of people, lots of live music. It was an absolute blast. Detroit gets a bad rap but the downtown is so wonderful. 💜✨

that music at the beginning had me TURNT UP

It is sad to see those big beautiful homes just falling apart.

Honestly, I think Detroit is going to make a comeback. The people of Detroit are resilient and crafty. And with some solidarity I believe they will revive Detroit. Probably not back to the peak state it was once in but possibly better in ways no one would imagine. I'm proud to be a Michigander and have always had a love for our state in general. I think we can all learn something from Detroits citizens.

Those homes were once beautiful. I have a pic of my father’s house that he grew up in. It was new and gorgeous. My father was born in 1918 in Detroit. My grandfather and great grandfather owned a butcher shop, Wesley and sons. I have a pic of the front of the store with a horse drawn carriage in front. They moved to Fort Worth, Texas in the late 50’s. I was born there in 1962. My grandmothers family is still there. I would love to go there. Thank you for this tour and the museum.

Went to Detroit last summer. That city is making a huge comeback. I am an old white dude, but was treated like a family member where ever I went. City was electric. I am cheering for you Detroit.

My dad was born in Detroit in 1934, it really is a shell of its former self. Growing up on the East side, they used to be able to go for ice cream at 11 at night and sit on the porch. My grandma had so many fond memories of growing up there herself. I remember of visiting Sacred Heart Seminary for classes and seeing and seeing a classy Rolls Royce in front of one of those crappy old houses. I thought that was odd.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see at least the downtown appears to be clean and even beautiful. It's very sad to see all of the boarded up and decaying cities. I hear some of the abandoned areas have been turned into urban farms that are helping with food deserts in neighborhoods without grocery stores. I hope we can bring industry back and reinvest in our cities. We all pay the price when companies relocate and manufacture overseas. Prices may be cheaper for it but at what cost to cities like Detroit. We're better than this.

Interesting how nature has begun to reclaim some of those areas...

So many dreams detroyed. It's almost melancholic

I was in Detroit in May if 2023 for the world Championships for robotics and as a Canadian I didn't find it scary. The people were incredibly nice and we walked around a lot even at night. I took my kids to the twelfth mall, Chrysler tour and Henry Ford museum. The civil rights section had a huge impact on my kids. As multiracial kids they were shocked and saddened by the thought of how people were treated for the color of their skin. I will definitely go back.

You drive thru outside Detroit in the middle of the day chum, and even the trees look scared!!

Growing up on the doorstep of Detroit I am familiar with much of what you show. And I appreciate your courage. It makes me wonder if in your journeys have you ever been threatened or have you ever felt threatened?

This looks like almost every major city in America . We gave manufacturing away to other countries . We killed the middle class American dream . We the people stand for ?

Born and raised and still live in Detroit. Thanks for this vid. You've shown me a few things that I didn't know existed. Funny thing is, the bad areas you showed actually look really good now. You should've seen those same areas 15 years ago! OH BOY! Most of those empty lots had old houses or buildings on them that had burned completely down or fallen in or over , or just mounds of trash. Those areas look great now! 😅 Thanks for the vid!

HI joe i'm Paul from the Uk , i was in the states last year and i couldnt believe my eyes at times i done a road trip with a friend we drove from Boston across to San Francisco then on down the coast road to LA , the things people see on TV about America is nothing like the real America , we went though down town Detroit i was so sad to see beautiful building just wasting away , if they were here in the UK they would be worth 2 million at least ,,, and as i drove across i see so much hardship,,,, i was glad to come home but will be back in a year or two ,,,,great vids

Detroit can be saved! Our government ( both parties) would rather nation build then help our fellow Americans. Detroit, Gary, Indiana, Flint, Michigan were powerhouse cities not that long ago.

I was born and raised in Detroit, and I still think it’s a beautiful wonderful place! All the burned out buildings bring me a peace

I’ve watched two uploads, from my perspective, it’s an almost history lesson about what was, and where it is now, greatly appreciated, because like I said, most places like this, I would never drive through, just like Flint, Michigan, the police there tell you don’t stop at stop signs in certain spots ,that is scary as hell, and I know Michigan is beautiful. Just like I know Detroit is ,Thank you ever so much.👍🏻👍🏻✌🏻💕,

Love the look of the old houses and duplexes.

Reagan's Cadillac! At the Ford museum! LOL, love these videos, great camera and camerawork! Keep up the good work!

Wonderful video! The contrast between downtown Detroit and the urban decay in the suburban area you drove around was quite jarring. I know not all of Detroit suburbia is like that, but it is poignant to see nonetheless. To think those crumbling houses were once lived in by families who no doubt took pride in their homes and yards... Very sad. I enjoyed your traipse around the Henry Ford museum. But of all the amazing things in there, I was most taken with that drawing of Washington done by a schoolgirl in 1800. I bet when she drew that, she never dreamed it would end up in a museum over 200 years later! The "Wienermobile" was a hoot 😁

Thank you for this candid view of Detroit. My parents and grandparents all lived there at one time not too far from downtown. I was born there but left when our parents packed us up in the mid 60's. I've never visited. My parents talked about the multiple generation families that lived in those houses....damn shame. The auto industry should do more to clean up the mess since they are the ones that drew all those people there.

Interesting thing about the GM headquarters: It was built by Ford, not as a headquarters, rather a very large campus to be used by many offices, of many companies. The transfer to GM was a lot later.

My hood for 30-years. Rough times for many of us. I'm still proud to say I'm from Detroit.

I live in SE Michigan and go to Detroit often for events. I just spent a week there for the Grand Prix. I had a great time and stayed in Mexican Village. All of the people I encountered were very friendly. Every city has blight and rough neighborhoods. Detroit is going to revive itself.

I was born and raised in Detroit in 50,60 was great. It is a shame

It was so bad you were speechless😂 I grew up about 20 miles northwest of Detroit in Pontiac. Both places were nice in the sixties and early to mid seventies. Everyone who wanted to work could at that time. You could get a job right out of high school, buy a house, raise a family, and send your kids to college, all with one job. Then the auto worker jobs left, partly due to company greed, some of the problem due to a few lazy union workers that spoiled it for everyone, and then there was the oil embargo coupled with smaller, cheaper, more fuel-efficient cars out of Japan. The area never recovered.

I worked in Downtown Detroit for decades. Rule #1 - stay out of the neighborhoods after dark, Rule #2 - do not go to gas stations after dark.

If they were to give me one of those homes, I would fix it up really good. I love those old homes, the architecture, the incredible history!! Beautiful1

My whole side of my dads family is from Detroit and I grew up about 20 minutes from it in a city no one hears of 😂 I love spending time in Detroit though, it’s awesome to have a big city close and having Canada just across the water is so awesome

Saddest sight imaginable. Once one of our great cities. Now a disaster.

All I see are once beautiful large homes in disrepair, I can see the beauty of the house and craftmanship. Probably a very high-end neighborhood where those bigger houses are, just makes me think how grand it all was.

The Henry Ford museum is on my bucket list. Enjoy the vids. Enjoy the cool weather, it is hot here already.

You know what I noticed most on his drive around the neighborhood? Some homes were kept in pretty good shape with cars and life going on inside despite what was happening around them. It was like a tornado came through and fell some, but left others untouched. Kind of wonder how that happened, and why no one bothers the good ones because of all the crime. (that museum was awesome). Thanks.

Well,well sad but true.Once was...... booming,full of live.But birds is singing that's bring hope!!!????. Thanks for another greate video.All the best from UK and Poland.Keep doing greate job.Stay positive 😁👍

Just so people know, this video missed 2 sculptures: Spirit of Detroit, Joe Louis fist and also some other things like: Heidlberg Project, Belle Isle, Riverwalk, DIA (home of the Diego Rivera Frescos), Science Center (with IMAX) and Detroit Historical Museum...If you take Woodward Avenue (the first mile of paved road in the country) down into Highland Park, you can also see the very sad, decaying National Historic landmark that is the factory where they built the model T using the first assembly line.

Lived in Detroit in the late 70’s. Unions, poor management and foolish politicians got the control they wanted (leverage and money for free). Said then, it will turn into a sewer. Didn’t take long. Now, they need fewer police, to protect the blight. So sad, technology took the jobs the unions said were irreplaceable. Feel so sorry for the many who get caught in the middle with no other options.

I am a Detroit resident and it's not like they put in these videos

Man that museum had some absolutely amazing stuff !

This is just the third video of yours I've watched. The first two, it was always just streets upon streets of derelict places. Then we get to this one, and it was so random how there would be 1 to 3 still maintained structures scattered throughout 20 derelict ones. Kind of different from the other ones I have seen (Gary, IN & Cairo) where all the damaged & abandoned ones just all seem to be together, and the maintained ones seem to mostly be together. Wild seeing this.

As a European who only knows the airport of Detroit (which by the way is probably the best hub airport in the US), I am shocked to see what parts of the city look like. I would not have guessed that. What also puzzles me is how you see rows of decaying houses, but then there are pretty good looking cars parked between them. Where are the people driving these cars? They certainly don't live in houses that sure were once beautiful but now look like a good sneeze anywhere near would turn them into a pile of rubble.

There must be enough used brick in Detroit to built a four lane brick hi way around the world...maybe even twice.

Much of the rot and decay you can not see, when you posted the downtown "drone" skyline section realize that only 25% of those buildings have people working in them, many are unusable due to theft of utilities (Wiring, pipe & plumbing fixtures) This is why you see some new buildings being built

I lived in Detroit 50 years. I never felt unsafe. Life is what you make it

Native Detroiter here: you've put up a pretty great video tour of Detroit and while its true there sure are areas full of decay, there are also neighborhoods within the city of great beauty: Palmer Park, East English Village, Boston-Edison and others. No one making these videos ever seems to seek those areas out and document them, why?

Boating rules in the river are a little tricky. In general you can boat anywhere in the river if you don't anchor or stop at a dock.once in a while the coast guard will pick up a suspicious boat that drifts into American waters. Things were much more relaxed before 9/11. You could drive over to Canada and wouldn't even be asked for I'D. Just where you were going and for how long.

I remember when Detroit was boomin. It was actually a nice city at one time. It still had a small bad area but for the most part it was nice.

I used to deliver for Sargent Appliance and often went to neighborhoods like this is in Detroit. Very often I would deliver 800lb fridges and ranges, 2 sets of laundry upstairs and down. Another full kitchen in the basement and not even get a tip from these rich bitches in the suburbs costing $50,000. Then we would deliver a $300 stove to a street with more burned out houses than livable. There would practically be the whole neighborhood waiting for us waiting for their Grandma to get a new stove and gave us white boys hugs and asked us to come back for dinner. Detroit is love not just death. P.S. I just can't, it's heartbreaking and bringing me literally right back to those same exact streets @15:00

This place is nice and clean compared to Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland looks like an Apocalypse. Love your videos.

Not bad so far, watching now. Ok now I see wow we. Oh boy. I've been to the Henry Ford museum in 1990's very informative and injoyable.