Watched a very interesting discussion on the Wayne State University broadcast network. Carnegie Mellon Professor of Regional Economic Development, Richard Florida, gave a very compelling analysis of the essentials for attracting talented people to Urban Centers. He asserts that the Detroit's biggest export, are its people not its automobiles.
According to Florida, trendy cities (ie NYC, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Austin) tend to keep there young intellectuals occupied with cool stuff. Arts, culture, food, mass transportation, outdoor activities, etc.
Now that I've chased the loot to Southeast MI., I can certainly appreciate Florida's argument. Downtown Detroit reminds me of the Bushwick or Brownsville section of Brooklyn in the mid-80s. Motown will have to undergo a huge metamorphosis, if it hopes retain its talented transplants.
Where does your city rank ?
The article below is a good read:
City Comforts Blog: Trendies vs. counter-trendies
Thanks. This was a good article.
Glad you found it useful.
AG: I've read about urban development, and the recent research described here. As I understand it, tax-funded pro sports stadiums don't work, and neither do casinos. What does: oddly, attracting gay men and "artisans"--a somewhat overlapping population--and college students. If my understanding is correct, Detroit voters would have helped themselves more by spending their money to develop Wayne State, rather than building a super-fancy pro sports complex.
P:
If Florida's assertions are correct, Detroit is in serious trouble. I agree that it would be best served by investing in WSU.