No dawn for Detroit (Grand Rapids, Saginaw: 2013, employment, to buy)

[Wonderful Jellal]

ECONOMISTS have been reading Detroit its last rites for years now. In 2007, economists Ed Glaeser and Giacomo Ponzetto explained (http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/glaeser/files/disdeath.pdf - broken link) how changes in technology destroyed the city's business model, based on the returns to industrial agglomeration. In remarks made while in Stockholm accepting his Nobel prize for work on (among other things) economic geography, Paul Krugman declared that the carmaker bail-out was at best a temporary salve, and that Detroit's car industry was doomed.
Moderator cut: shortened, copyright protection

Urban economics: No dawn for Detroit | The Economist

Tough decade ahead...
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[DANNYY]

Detroit is in need of a resurgence.

Economically I think its looking at ways it can better itself and exploring the options. I heard the Film Industry there is thriving much these days, which is good news. The Automobile Industry is there of course, but they need a more innovative way to make their area more enhanced economically. I believe Aerotropolis is a key to their future, but it seems to be moving rather slowly, hopefully it picks back up.

[Infamous92]

Originally Posted by travel guy

Atlanta could possibly be worst than detroit before it's all over with.

How so?

[Steve-o]

Detroit will rise again. Slowly, though. Detroit is tough, gritty, and although most people despise it, it is a neat city, albeit a decaying one. There is lots of projects planned for the city, the Big 3 are kickin butts and taking names later, and jobs are returning. Once Detroit gains even more steam, I think it has a decent future, as long as its residents are serious about turning it around.

[Sharks With Lasers]

As somebody who lives in Michigan, this article is completely out of whack.

First, it assumes that because employment declined significantly from 2000-10, that this will continue from 2010-20. What basis is this claim made from? Based on that logic, Detroit should have done well this past decade because things were good in the 1990s. Things aren't quite that simple.

Second, it assumes that the only industry in the Detroit area is manufacturing for the auto industry. Of course that's the dominant industry, but there has been slow diversification occurring for a long time now. That's going to continue. Job growth will be driven in other fields as well. Thinking that the only way for Detroit to do well is for people to buy cars is a bit short-sighted.

Finally, the article paints people "leaving the labor force" as hiding the true story. I'm fairly certain that given the job losses the Detroit area sustained from 2000-10, it made sense for some people to leave. But that doesn't really tell us anything about the future.

[US-Traveller]

I think Michigan is on the upswing. Educational achievement and economic activity across the board is up after years of decline. I think with the new state government and proposed reforms the state will begin to attract businesses. Michigan has a good foundation: an excellent reputation for K-12 and higher education, beautiful geography, a centralized location, excellent airports in Detroit, Saginaw, and Grand Rapids, a good highway system, and a decent housing stock with high availability. I think the question is whether the city of Detroit will be able to take advantage of this upswing. Detroit has to get the city center together in terms of crime, education, and demographics in order to attract development. Development in the suburbs in the early-to-mid 2000s was actually on par with the rest of the country, the city never reaped any benefits.

[danielj72]

It looks possible the auto industry will recover for now. While that is great news, this state needs to attract new business asap. We want to move away from being so dependent on auto manufacturing. The new govenor needs to shrink state goverment and lower taxes for business. Unions need to be de-emphasised here, as those bringing jobs to our state will be turned off by the thought of strikes, and unreasonable union demands on thier business. Hopefully auto manufacturing continues to be a big contribution to our economy, but it cant be its dominant force.

[Wonderful Jellal]

Rick Snyder, the new Michigan gov, is a hope for the state and the city, he's clearly different.Let's hope a new destiny for Detroiters.

[ocean2026]

it all sounds nice Steve show us some real evidence that jobs are returning and that more people aren't leaving.
As one business declines those that tend to support it decline - those with some funds tent to leave and many go south. Those that stay are likely to be people who can't leave.

I love Detroit's old bulidings and the Eminem Commercial was cool but where's the evidence?

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

it all sounds nice Steve show us some real evidence that jobs are returning and that more people aren't leaving.
As one business declines those that tend to support it decline - those with some funds tent to leave and many go south. Those that stay are likely to be people who can't leave.

I love Detroit's old bulidings and the Eminem Commercial was cool but where's the evidence?

I think part of the evidence is the number of new employees working downtown Detroit. Detroits decline in people and jobs was most profoundly the product of those entities moving to the suburbs. Hence, when there are signs that companies are moving jobs back from the suburbs to downtown, that reversal is evidence of a come back. Furthermore, the attitudues of younger whites in the Detroit metropolis is not like that of their fathers. Many find a lot of cool things about Detroit and frequent the city more than their parents did.

What people need to recognize are TRENDS. Trends that led to the Decline of Detroit has diminished greatly. A period of stagnation will be followed by healthy growth in a few years. However, that all assumes that the national economy will not go down the drain. Truth be told, the US is in as bad a shape as Detroit. The difference is that Detroit cannot print money.