There are many reasons to love Detroit. The city is special to those who love the grit of the Rust Belt. Without Detroit there is no automotive industry. There is no assembly line. And there is the undeniable truth that the city has suffered through blight and white flight.
When the question came up on the Geography subreddit of Reddit about what world city has the most wasted potential. Many pointed to Detroit.
The Reddit Spark: Defining “Wasted Potential”
There’s no criteria in the Reddit thread as to what defines “wasted potential.” Here’s what those who named Detroit said in support of their choice.
I would say Detroit, it was one of the richest Cities in the world in the last century and now it’s blocks of abandoned buildings. Granted it is currently having a moment with the downtown getting gentrified.
The Counter-Argument: Resilience and Regional Growth
A counter argument is Detroit as a metro area retains a major world-hub airport while the population of the region grew by over a million people in the last seventy years…