Response to class discussion about "Niki's Window"

Today's class discussion about "Niki's Window" made me look at the essay from a different perspective. When I first read Herron's essay I agreed with him completely and although I still do agree with him on many things, I think he was a little overdramatic about some things. As someone pointed out in class today, you can't just leave every historic building empty. If Detroit did leave all of the buildings as they were then they would just be a waste of space and Detroit would eventually be empty. I agree with Herron when it comes to recognizing the history of the city but I also agree with everyone arguing that you must rebuild the city to keep it going. I think a good compromise would be that if the historic buildings are redone than the owners should recognize the history of the building and encourage their patrons to learn about it. The owners could do this by posting old pictures and articles about the history of the building or area. Also, these small companies are helping out the city financially. Even though the city doesn't benefit that much from these companies, every penny counts with Detroit. Another great point made in class was that Herron had no right to act as though Detroit is the only city with these kinds of problems. Every big city has similar problems and it wasn't right to point the finger at Detroit and make us look worse than every other city. I really enjoyed today discussion and I'm glad it helped me see "Niki's Window" in a new way.