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I will agree with many here, Grand Rapids will not become Michigan's primary city anytime soon. However, it does have the highest growth of major metros in Michigan. But that isn't enough.
My father and my grandparents settled in G.R., and it has always been kind of Michigan's second city. I think it will remain there for several decades to come, depending on how Detroit swims out of its quicksand, which they seem to be doing slowly.
I just read something saying Detroit could possibly post a gain in population soon. Id like to see if that could happen. I doubt we'll continue to lose people in high # anyway. The population loss recently was like 3,000 that's a good thing compared to the last 5 or yrs
If I recall correctly last time around Detroit was vastly overestimated. The 2009 estimate had the city at near 900,000, then the count came out at 714,000. So it is reasonable to believe that Detroit may end this decade near 600,000.
Detroit could very much be the Washington DC of the middle part of this century. People had basically written off DC when the economy tanked in the late 70s/early 80s (and the most recent recession) along with "white flight' and overall racial unrest. DC's population up through the 70s was at or above 750K. By the year 2000 it had fallen all the way down to around 575K, a loss of around 25% of residents. As of 2015 DC's population sits at 672K and is adding a healthy 2%-3% a year currently. One can see similarities between the two cities and how they've gone about reinventing themselves.
Not a great comparison. Plenty of cities went through bad times in the 70s and 80s including NYC. Literally almost every big American city lost population due to white flight and racial riots. D.C. still had a federal government to rely on though. Detroit did not.
If I recall correctly last time around Detroit was vastly overestimated. The 2009 estimate had the city at near 900,000, then the count came out at 714,000. So it is reasonable to believe that Detroit may end this decade near 600,000.
Estimates were coming off of the worst economic decade in history for the state of Michigan as well in 2010. This decade is far better. Based on past trends I would think estimates would be closer to accurate.
Not a great comparison. Plenty of cities went through bad times in the 70s and 80s including NYC. Literally almost every big American city lost population due to white flight and racial riots. D.C. still had a federal government to rely on though. Detroit did not.
Not really. An overwhelming majority of those working for the federal government in DC can/do live in neighboring Northern Virginia or Maryland. Of course DC has always had the government going for it in terms of physical presence, but it did not have other types of commerce going for it back in the day and more/less still doesn't as only about a third of DC residents work for the government in some capacity.
Detroit may be declining but Grand Rapids is still much smaller, not even anywhere close to a major city. Detroit as someone else mentioned holds almost 50% of the state's population in its metro area. It will be the dominant city in Michigan for a very long time.
If I recall correctly last time around Detroit was vastly overestimated. The 2009 estimate had the city at near 900,000, then the count came out at 714,000. So it is reasonable to believe that Detroit may end this decade near 600,000.
Actually 2009 was one of the last years they really made an effort to count every single person and pushed the census hard. Many people live in the city but don't want to be counted because their address says somewhere in the burbs because of high insurance rates. Lastly, like last year or 2, they have been trying to come up with a plan to lower city taxes & insurance rates. Word is next yr some neighborhoods will receive lower taxes. We will see. That would help Detroit a lot because contrary to belief there are people who want to move back but taxes, insurance & schools are still a problem
No, because Metro Detroit also has about 40-45% of the state's population and it is because of Detroit that it is that way. If you go to the CSA, it is more like 55% of the state's population, give or take.
Also, as mentioned, Detroit has nowhere else to go but up. so, even if it improves slowly, but surely, I have a hard time seeing Grand Rapids overtaking Detroit. Keep in mind that Kent County, where Grand Rapids is located, still has about 80,000 less people than the city of Detroit. So, unless Grand Rapids pulls a Jacksonville or Indianapolis, I don't see that happening. Even then, Metro Detroit is so far ahead, that it would be tough to say that Grand Rapids is the premier city in the state.
Not only that, Detroit still has geography on its side. The Detroit River is a major waterway. Although water played a big part in how Grand Rapids grew. However, from what I've read, the river doesn't have as much commercial value. Detroit, however, still has commercial value with its river. And Detroit, being next to Canada, handles are large share of trade between the USA and Canada.
My Dad lived and taught at Cass Tech in the mid to late 50's. I'm not sure if it was considered part of the Detroit Public Schools at the time or not. He brought me back to his old stomping grounds in the late 70's, and it was definitely "inner city". However, I understand this school is flourishing today. Good to hear that.
I have always had an affinity for Detroit, probably due to my dad's history there. He originally was from Grand Rapids, and his home was raided in 1920 when he was just one year old by US government officials who were suspicious of communist activity since his parents had been legal immigrants from the Ukraine. Yes, sound familiar today?
But Detroit was once a great city, and so was Flint. I am disheartened by events of the past 2-3 decades, but I am heartened by a "somewhat" comeback for Detroit. Nothing would make me happier than to see this city get back atleast to some semblance of a major city, not just a major metro.
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