In a message dated 02/07/00 14:11:23 GMT Daylight Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

> I know the focus of this list is primarily Detroit
>  but i just wanted to remind y'all that these
>  concerns are not limited to the D. 

Detroit is definately not the only city that is apparently falling to ruin 
from the inside out.  I am in the Midlands in the UK, and its interesting to 
compare Birmingham and surrounding area to Detroit (I used to live in Detroit 
as well).  Birmingham has all the same scenes of old factories and 
wharehouses falling apart.  Birmingham also has a reputation in the UK 
similar to Detroits in the states - a city with not much to it.  I think 
sometimes that Detroit is better off actually, in that at least the suburbs 
are nice, because in my opinion the whole sprawl that surrounds Birmingham is 
often worse than Birmingham itself.  Nevertheless, I love both cities, 
Detroit was my favourite place of residence in the US, and although I don't 
actually live in Birmingham, its by far my most frequently visited city.

Another interesting note about the two - Detroit is obviously well known for 
its techno and electronic music in general, as well as for its sort of 
industrial wasteland image.  So is it coincidence or maybe something more 
that Birmingham is also an industrial wasteland sort of place, as well as a 
major Techno city (I think so anyway), with quite a few big producers and 
labels based there, and a techno night going on somewhere in the area more or 
less every night of the week, which fill the spaces between a couple of major 
techno nights like House of God and Atomic Jam.

Aaron

P.S. - even the tiny town I live in, Shrewsbury, was on the tv the other 
night in a program about the decay of our industrial landmarks.  
Interestingly enough, the very first steel framed building in the world is in 
Shrewsbury (steel framed building technology being responsible for the first 
of the skyscrapers and other generally large buildings) and it is falling 
into ruin (and I do mean RUIN).  So they are probably gonna knock it down, 
but as they were saying on the tv, this building is actually a major landmark 
in the history of industry, and it would be a shame to see it go.  Of course 
no one actually recognizes this building as important, I doubt even any of 
the oldtimer locals realize the history of the building, as its just another 
falling down building.

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