Not long ago if you read through Free Press or turned on the local television news, the stories you read were not typically uplifting or gave you little hope for the future for Detroit.

Today it seems that you can’t open any type of media without being bombarded by positive Detroit stories. I am by no means saying there are not still issues that need to be addressed or problems that exist. There are stories of real estate investment, new businesses opening in the city, other businesses moving to the city. Stories of large scale neighborhood planning, home values rising and constant stories placing Detroit in the national spotlight for good reasons.

Individuals read about all the good happening and then visit the city and still have complaints. The public schools are atrocious, lack of parking, neighborhoods are still unsafe. I heard a recent complaint about the about of blight and abandoned buildings. “I thought they were tearing all these homes down”, he said.

We have reached a time in society where everyone wants knowledge and results now. They have a question and they “Google” it. The internet gives us instant access to nearly any question we can imagine. If you need to get a hold of someone you can connect with them through endless social media apps, text message, email, or even an old-fashioned phone call. Heavens forbid that someone is unable to get ahold of you in less than 5 mins. or give an immediate response.

This mentality has carried through into many people’s expectations on Detroit’s renaissance. They hear new housing is being built or an existing building is being renovated and they think they will be able to visit it in a couple months. NO! An announced project has to go through many steps prior to construction, which by itself can take a year or more often times. Steps to correct Detroit Public Schools will take years or even a decade to correct the endless problems and years of corruption. The city is making large strides at removing the blight but at one time over 80,000 blighted properties were counted within the city and scheduled for possible demolition. That is a daunting task that cannot be completed in short window of time.

I want Detroit to soar in the coming years, decades and centuries, probably more than most. However, people need to learn patience understand that the obstacles and the storied past Detroit is digging out from is something nearly unprecedented. These things will take time, you will see progress and just need to realize that these projects get completed in measurements of years not days or months.001