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I struggle with the Cleveland comparisons. Nothing against either, but Cleveland is hilly and on a lake, and Detroit is flat and on a river. Cleveland has narrower main streets, Detroit had the wider radiant avenues. Detroit has a bigger skyline in terms of quantity and feels larger, while Cleveland is dominated by two towers, one of which is significantly taller than anything in Detroit. Cleveland has some semblance of mass transit, Detroit doesn’t. Nothing against either, they just don’t feel that similar to me.
Honestly, of the list, to me Detroit feels like a larger version of St. Louis more than anything. Both river cities, both have large cultural institutions, deep pocketed foundations and charities funding projects locally. They are the hubs of their subregions, and very wealthy suburban communities that have been, at times, at odds with the central cities.
It's interetsing that Cleveland is winning handedly here, but in the thread asking which city is most similar to Cleveland, Detroit was not the winner.
I vote Cleveland. Both cities were industrial superpowers in the 1st half of the 20th century. Both went through major declines since then. And both have very promising futures!
Its metro area has been shrinking for a longer period of time, and at a faster rate. It might want a few pointers from Detroit in that regard.
It also has grown its economy during a decades-long period of overall population decline by growing its workforce age population and jobs specifically. Pretty impressive by any measure.
Simple population numbers never tell the whole story.
Culturally I think it has more in common with Chicago than Cleveland. Its culture tends to be more brash, boisterous, and fast paced. Cleveland is a lot more more chill and laid back. Clevelanders are known to have a self deprecating sense of humor about our city. I don’t think that’s as true of Detroiters or Chicagoans. They take themselves a lot more seriously.
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