Tune in to hear Richard Florida’s interview on NPR’s Morning Edition. On the table for discussion – Detroit, specifically the post-automotive era. Richard offers a relatively hopeful vision of how this city might pull out of its economic misery by attracting innovative start-ups and creative people to run them. Listen to the broadcast here.
What do you think Detroit could do to improve its future?
April 21st, 2009 at 7:44 pm
my suggestion would be ro recognize and support the groups in Detroit that are already working on this – “Detroit Make it Here”. the Russell Industrial Centre, the creative corridor project, Renaissance Detroit to name a few.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:01 am
Detroit needs to find a way to subsidize more industries that support everyday needs(i.e. retail, entertainment, bar, restaurant, grocery, services) to build in Detroit. Detroit needs to find a way to attract people into the city for longer than a hockey game or concert, but who would live in a city lacking the basics like a grocery store, a coffee shop, a dry cleaners, a convenience store, etc.? There can’t just be one or two either, they need to be conveniently spread throughout the city in order to encourage apartment/condo housing development.
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Detroit needs strong leadership to reconcile the divergent interests and needs of the inner core and outer periphery. Like so many other city-regions in the United States, Detroit suffers from the paradox of two regional identities – an inner core characterized by high levels of crime, unemployment, poverty, and a number of other liabilities – and an outer periphery characterized by a considerably higher quality of life and better outcomes. As Richard pointed out in the NPR interview, the suburbs of Detroit don’t want to be associated with the inner core. In this regard, the lack of collective identity is translating into a lack of collective ownership for regional issues. In order to galvanize the kind of support necessary for an effective economic re-tooling initiative, Detroit needs a strong unifying force that can bridge the gap between its fragmented inner core and outer suburbs. As Paul suggested, there may be some opportunities for Detroit to leverage or even strengthen the mandate of some of the organizations that already have a strong presence in the area.