Detroit has a lot to offer, from the beautiful riverside parkland in Bell Isle to the vibrant creativity of the Heidelberg Project and the electronic music festival just getting underway as we left. We enjoyed delicious ribs and mac and cheese at Slowe’s BBQ, scrumptious batatas from The Batata Shop, a boisterous Tigers Game, and the open space that gives Detroit a more relaxed feel than such over-crowded cities as New York and Boston. Most of all I was impressed by the people we met, people who combined that Midwestern friendliness with drive and determination, building non-profit organizations and starting businesses, convinced of a path to a better future.
And yet Detroit is struggling. The City Council President shared with us a heartbreaking story in which he lost his own brother after EMS failed to arrive promptly. Someone else mentioned that even the mayor couldn’t get a cop to his house during a break-in. We came across numerous traffic lights that were simply out, stories of way too many children’s funerals, and this is only the beginning.
An emergency manager has been appointed by the Governor of Michigan to take over governance of the city, pulling the rug out from under the new council by district system and undermining democracy. Detroit is in a fiscal crisis, with a deficit of several hundred million dollars, facing deep cuts to already overwhelmed city services, the potential sale of the city’s greatest assets, and possibly, perhaps likely, a bankruptcy that will break promises made to retirees in terms of pensions and healthcare.
And yet Detroit is struggling. The City Council President shared with us a heartbreaking story in which he lost his own brother after EMS failed to arrive promptly. Someone else mentioned that even the mayor couldn’t get a cop to his house during a break-in. We came across numerous traffic lights that were simply out, stories of way too many children’s funerals, and this is only the beginning.
An emergency manager has been appointed by the Governor of Michigan to take over governance of the city, pulling the rug out from under the new council by district system and undermining democracy. Detroit is in a fiscal crisis, with a deficit of several hundred million dollars, facing deep cuts to already overwhelmed city services, the potential sale of the city’s greatest assets, and possibly, perhaps likely, a bankruptcy that will break promises made to retirees in terms of pensions and healthcare.
The emergency manager was sold as a promise for a better future. Some felt that any change would be a step forward. However, the emergency manager’s first task is to straighten out the city’s short-term financial situation, and many we spoke to question whether he will make any serious attempt to address the underlying challenges Detroit faces, challenges which will continue to threaten Detroit’s finances well into the future if not properly addressed.
I, personally, am a firm believer that a city like Detroit cannot cut its way to prosperity. Further reduction of city services through budget cuts will only hasten the decline of Detroit’s neighborhoods. And selling Detroit’s water supply may mean increased rates and decreased access to water, a recipe for disaster. Detroit needs investment not cuts. Investment in downtown and midtown, but also investment in its poorest neighborhoods. Investment in its people, newcomers and long-time residents alike. Detroit’s neighborhoods and residents need investment not only from the City of Detroit, but also from the State of Michigan, and from the many institutions within Detroit, be it Quicken Loans, the Kresgee Foundation, or local universities and hospitals.
There has been an uptick in investment in downtown and midtown. After decades of population and business loss in Detroit, Quicken Loans and its family of companies have been buying property and creating incentives for employees and interns to live downtown. Detroit Venture Partners has dozens of tech start-ups locating in Detroit, and Wayne State University is building an environment that will lead students to live and consume on and around campus. Model D magazine is highlighting stories of local entrepreneurs in order to encourage young people living in the suburbs to move in to Detroit. And yet, with these tales of excitement and opportunity come fears of gentrification, the drawing of public and foundation resources away from the city’s poorer neighborhoods, and the creation of a divide, with growing prosperity in downtown and midtown accompanied by growing despair in Detroit’s other neighborhoods.
I sincerely hope that those with resources and a commitment to Detroit will not allow this divide to continue. I hope that Dan Gilbert has the vision to see that a “two cities” reality is not sustainable in the long-run and that in order to revive Detroit, investment must reach way beyond the downtown/midtown corridor. I would love to see the Quicken Loans family of companies, together with other new companies moving downtown, put in place local hiring and training practices in order to create opportunity for the current residents of Detroit. I hope that investors will support small business growth throughout the city, discovering unlocked potential in diverse neighborhoods that may be low income, but could still use a grocery store or a coffee shop. We saw one such small business in the Motor City Java House, started by Alicia George, who we met during our food entrepreneur session. We saw an example of efforts to close this divide in Wayne State University Law School’s law clinic for small businesses throughout the city. Representatives from Wayne State University’s economic development department mentioned that the university had taken some steps to source its needs locally, but that there was room to do much more. Model D magazine spoke about beginning to focus more on telling success stories from within Detroit’s low-income neighborhoods. I believe that Detroit needs these efforts to grow bigger and stronger, and to be a priority, not to take a backseat to other concerns. I hope that Focus Hope does not have to suspend its machinists job training program in September for lack of funding, as is expected, and that others follow in the footsteps of the Neighborhood Services Organization, developing low-income permanent housing with supportive services for the chronically homeless. I would like to see resources flow to organizations like the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Building Movements Project, and Detroit Action Commonwealth so that they can continue to stabilize neighborhoods and build local capacity.
However, Detroit needs investment not only from city government, non-profit organizations, and private sector companies, but also from the State of Michigan. Many in Detroit are frustrated with the role the state has played in this most recent crisis, constraining their ability to tax, reducing revenue-sharing by hundreds of millions of dollars, and then blaming Detroit for failing to balance the books. Furthermore, rather than lending a helping hand in a time of crisis, the state has chosen to override the democratic process by appointing an emergency manager that answers to no one but the governor, especially problematic considering that the state government is largely white and Republican while Detroit’s government is largely African-American and Democrat. For Detroit to be successful long-term, it needs not only equitable community economic development, but also effective, efficient, and accountable local and state governance. The emergency manager system was rejected by the people of Michigan in a state-wide referendum before the state government decided to impose it regardless. Perhaps Detroiters will join together with residents of other cities led by emergency managers and believers in democracy across the state to change the course of Michigan politics in coming years. I look forward to seeing how myself and others on our trip and back at HKS can support these efforts.
- Hannah Weinstock, Class of 2014
I, personally, am a firm believer that a city like Detroit cannot cut its way to prosperity. Further reduction of city services through budget cuts will only hasten the decline of Detroit’s neighborhoods. And selling Detroit’s water supply may mean increased rates and decreased access to water, a recipe for disaster. Detroit needs investment not cuts. Investment in downtown and midtown, but also investment in its poorest neighborhoods. Investment in its people, newcomers and long-time residents alike. Detroit’s neighborhoods and residents need investment not only from the City of Detroit, but also from the State of Michigan, and from the many institutions within Detroit, be it Quicken Loans, the Kresgee Foundation, or local universities and hospitals.
There has been an uptick in investment in downtown and midtown. After decades of population and business loss in Detroit, Quicken Loans and its family of companies have been buying property and creating incentives for employees and interns to live downtown. Detroit Venture Partners has dozens of tech start-ups locating in Detroit, and Wayne State University is building an environment that will lead students to live and consume on and around campus. Model D magazine is highlighting stories of local entrepreneurs in order to encourage young people living in the suburbs to move in to Detroit. And yet, with these tales of excitement and opportunity come fears of gentrification, the drawing of public and foundation resources away from the city’s poorer neighborhoods, and the creation of a divide, with growing prosperity in downtown and midtown accompanied by growing despair in Detroit’s other neighborhoods.
I sincerely hope that those with resources and a commitment to Detroit will not allow this divide to continue. I hope that Dan Gilbert has the vision to see that a “two cities” reality is not sustainable in the long-run and that in order to revive Detroit, investment must reach way beyond the downtown/midtown corridor. I would love to see the Quicken Loans family of companies, together with other new companies moving downtown, put in place local hiring and training practices in order to create opportunity for the current residents of Detroit. I hope that investors will support small business growth throughout the city, discovering unlocked potential in diverse neighborhoods that may be low income, but could still use a grocery store or a coffee shop. We saw one such small business in the Motor City Java House, started by Alicia George, who we met during our food entrepreneur session. We saw an example of efforts to close this divide in Wayne State University Law School’s law clinic for small businesses throughout the city. Representatives from Wayne State University’s economic development department mentioned that the university had taken some steps to source its needs locally, but that there was room to do much more. Model D magazine spoke about beginning to focus more on telling success stories from within Detroit’s low-income neighborhoods. I believe that Detroit needs these efforts to grow bigger and stronger, and to be a priority, not to take a backseat to other concerns. I hope that Focus Hope does not have to suspend its machinists job training program in September for lack of funding, as is expected, and that others follow in the footsteps of the Neighborhood Services Organization, developing low-income permanent housing with supportive services for the chronically homeless. I would like to see resources flow to organizations like the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Building Movements Project, and Detroit Action Commonwealth so that they can continue to stabilize neighborhoods and build local capacity.
However, Detroit needs investment not only from city government, non-profit organizations, and private sector companies, but also from the State of Michigan. Many in Detroit are frustrated with the role the state has played in this most recent crisis, constraining their ability to tax, reducing revenue-sharing by hundreds of millions of dollars, and then blaming Detroit for failing to balance the books. Furthermore, rather than lending a helping hand in a time of crisis, the state has chosen to override the democratic process by appointing an emergency manager that answers to no one but the governor, especially problematic considering that the state government is largely white and Republican while Detroit’s government is largely African-American and Democrat. For Detroit to be successful long-term, it needs not only equitable community economic development, but also effective, efficient, and accountable local and state governance. The emergency manager system was rejected by the people of Michigan in a state-wide referendum before the state government decided to impose it regardless. Perhaps Detroiters will join together with residents of other cities led by emergency managers and believers in democracy across the state to change the course of Michigan politics in coming years. I look forward to seeing how myself and others on our trip and back at HKS can support these efforts.
- Hannah Weinstock, Class of 2014
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