Detroit: Dystopian Paradise

I have a fascination with abandoned buildings and generally desolate, eerie places. I find them beautiful in a chilling, stilling way that makes one pause to reflect.

I've always been a tad morbid, but not negative. In the silence I see hope, the idea of new beginnings, of building something better. Detroit seems to embody so much of that (from the 'Paris of the Midwest', to a sprawling post-apocalyptic drug mecca, to being largely reclaimed by nature -- a center for urban farming to take root and artists to flourish); it's hard for me to even comprehend such a place exists in one of the wealthiest nations in the world. America is such a bizarrely polarized country, or so it seems to my outsider's perspective. I've only ever been to the country briefly, once, many years ago. I went to upstate NY and I have to say it was creepy as hell in its own right. I'd love to go back but can't convince anyone in the family to drive me...

Some links to further excellent photographs and articles:

http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2013/01/detroit-dave-jordano/

http://sararemington.blogspot.ca/2011/09/detroit-rock-city.html

http://laughingsquid.com/escape-to-detroit/

http://www.63alfred.com/thewalls.htm