Having fallen to near-bottom according to most indicators of urban vitality, Detroit is now facing the possibility of bankruptcy. But there are still reasons for optimism, writes John Ibbitson.
Although the number of vacant homes in Detroit has doubled since 2005 and the crime rate is the worst in the nation, Michigan still has billions of dollars of investment flowing in from the government and private foundations financing research in new technologies at state universities in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Lansing. As well,
"Michigan remains a global leader in automotive-technology research, with a large pool of highly skilled engineers. The challenge is to use that resource to reinvent America's manufacturing base, and to make sure that enough of the jobs that flow from that reinvention remain in Michigan to restore the state's economy, along with a more confident sense of its future."
The goal must be to diversify Michigan's economy, especially by investing in renewable energy, something Ibbitsen believes the Canadian province of Ontario should be emulating.
FULL STORY: Detroit is in crisis, but it hasn't given up
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research