There are a number of background stories submitted under #detroit. Basically, Detroit is on the edge of bankruptcy, and the city council is demagoging to deflect blame from themselves, on whose shoulders many of the cities financial problems lie. Not to say they caused the problem. Obviously, there are many complex reasons why a city like this takes such a massive nose dive, but they have been obstructionists in every attempt to come up with a solution to the problem. They finally have to pay the piper, and they don't like it. A few of the members have decided that if they're going down, then they're taking the city with them. Some city leaders have gone so far as to say: This is white-on-black crime. This is white supremacy. Before you can take over our city, we will burn it.
Personally, I love it. There are tons of artists and breweries, great architecture, unique restaurants, etc. Sure there is a lot of abandonment, but that adds to the open space. The crime is overstated quite a bit in the media, as you might expect. In the city center crime is pretty low. I've lived here for more than five years, and I've never had a problem beyond someone stealing an iPod out of my car (and where couldn't that happen?). I don't think its surreal, but then its my everyday reality, so its hard to say. Most people that aren't familiar with Detroit are blown away by how cool it is when I show them around town, or at least they're amazed by how far it beats their expectations.