Earlier this week, the Detroit Lutheran Synod asked me and a fabulous colleague of mine, Nadia, to come help them think about a possible new ministry start in this funky little arts district around Wayne State University. What I cannot get out of my mind, howeve, is on either side of the two freeways that surround this area, I saw some of the most ravaged city neighborhoods I have ever encountered. On one side was block after block, miles of vacant, abandoned, and often burned out buildings that at one time made what I can only assume was a beautiful neighborhood. On the other side was downtown Detroit, which despite the new ballparks, the beautiful old skyscrapers of downtown now appear largely abandoned.

Please pardon my ignorance; in traveling to many cities around the country and living in urban Minneapolis myself, I have never seen anything like this. We certainly did not see the whole story, but it was so strange to be as comfortable as I was in this arts district knowing that a few blocks away there is a neighborhood for which I don’t even really have words to describe. Nadia and I talked a bit about this and she discusses it on her blog here. How is it that a city with all its real estate, infrastructure, and community just become abandoned in this way? The brief explanation we received was that this is largely a result of “white-flight” in the sixties, but I would love a more detailed description of what happened. Can anyone make any recommendations? Thanks.