Introducing Detroit

Tell any American that you're planning to visit Detroit, and then watch their eyebrows shoot up quizzically. They'll ask 'Why?' and warn you about the off-the-chart homicide rates, boarded-up buildings with trash swirling at their bases, and whoppingly high foreclosure rates where homes sell for $1. 'Detroit's a crap-hole. You'll get killed there.'

While the aforementioned attributes are true, and although the city does waft a sort of bombed-out, apocalyptic vibe, it's these same qualities that fuel a raw urban energy you won't find anywhere else. Artists, entrepreneurs and young people are moving in, and a DIY spirit pervades. They're converting vacant lots into urban farms and abandoned buildings into hostels and museums. Plus, they shred a mean guitar in 'the D.' Very mean.