Rebuilding Detroit: Returning Business, Community and Spirit to the City

Detroit, MI, was once the United States’ fourth largest city. Today, it is the 18th largest with a Metropolitan unemployment rate of 11.6 percent, city unemployment rate at 20 percent, and a drifting population of just under 714,000 residents.

Detroit’s economy heavily relies on the automobile industry. In fact, Detroit is home to Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford. In 2008, the industry faced a financial downturn when gas prices and the global economic recession, caused the “Big Three” to lay off employees and therefore affect Detroit’s economy.

As the population dropped and people began to move out of the state searching for jobs, an attempt to bring people back sparked many campaigns by local governments and Detroit organizations.

One of the groups, the Detroit 300, is dedicated to stopping crime in Detroit. According to the City of Detroit’s latest reports, Detroit’s crime rate is down by 12.07 percent compared to 2010.

As the auto industry begins to recover, employment rate begins to increase, and crime rate begins to decrease, many people are hopeful that Detroit can get back on track. CNN describes Detroit as “a city in crisis–but with a potential for a big comeback”.

A Business Perspective

Peter Karmanos Jr., co-founder and executive chairman at software company Compuware and owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, Plymouth Whalers, and Florida Everblades, is also hopeful that Detroit has a potential for success.

“Detroit probably will never 'come back' to where it was 60 years ago, when it had 2 million people and hundreds of factories. Its population is down to around 700,000–in the same 139-square-mile area of space–so the challenge today is to make Detroit a viable, smaller city,” he told the Scholastic Kids Press Corps in a recent interview.

Karmanos, who was born and raised in Detroit, believes that Detroit residents must get involved to make a comeback.

“We’ve got to get people involved in every way, from starting businesses to picking up trash,” he said. “Detroit was a wonderful place to be a kid, from the parks to the libraries to the movie theaters. With the flight of people and businesses from the city over the decades, much of the city I knew as a young person is gone.”

Karmanos adds that despite the loss that Detroit has faced, it still has a potential that other cities across the nation don’t have.

“All cities have problems, but cities like Chicago, New York, Seattle and even Cleveland didn’t suffer as much loss as Detroit. But looking at the positive, Detroit has sort of a blank slate and is open for lots of new ideas,” he said.

Karmanos believes that other companies should realize that the potential for growth in Detroit is available.

“I would like for more companies to recognize that being in Detroit can make good business sense. That’s why we moved downtown from Farmington Hills in 2003. We were growing and we needed more space,” he began. “If a few more companies moved in, we’d have a much improved city,” he declared.

He also added that the auto industry is being restored which will assist in helping Detroit’s economy.

“The auto industry is turning around! It’s made an amazing comeback from bankruptcy, as General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford continue to perform very well. The companies have scaled back, brought in new blood, and they’re making cars people want to buy,” he said. 

The Soft News of Detroit

Lauren Podell is a traffic and general assignment reporter for Local 4 News in Detroit. As a Metro Detroit native, Podell believes that the media plays a big role in helping the city of Detroit.

“Not only do we want to tell (viewers) about the crime and what is happening, we want to tell them happy stories, too,” she began. “There should be a balance between hard news and soft news and every once in a while, it’s nice to show a story on a rescue, a charity, or just something happy.”

Podell’s employer, Local 4 News, has launched numerous segments to reach out and help their viewers.

“We really want to try to relate to people as best as we can. In the news on a daily basis, we know what people are struggling with and we want to hear the people’s voice. We want them to call in, tell us about issues that they are having, whether it is financial, home problems, or when storms roll through, tree damage,” she said.

Podell thinks that it also takes community involvement to help rebuild Detroit.

“Rather than people just watching the news and saying that it’s so terrible that there is crime, they should do something that is helpful in the city,” she concludes.

Community Support

Paul Bielecki is a Metro Detroit resident who works for General Motors. He thinks that Detroit has a potential for getting back on track.

“It takes financial and community support, but it’s also about businesses moving in, and attracting people to move into the city,” Bielecki said.

As an employee at General Motors he thinks that the auto industry plays an important role in Detroit’s economy.

“The auto industry has a big plate in the city of Detroit. It’s good to see us getting back on track,” he began. “But also from a community standpoint, I think that more people should take care of their surroundings, enjoy what they have, and make it a beautiful place to be,” he concluded.

Detroit’s Future

As Detroit attempts to recover from the problems it has faced over the past few decades, organizations including the Believe in Detroit campaign, a campaign to motivate people to participate in community service projects, are helping to create a better future for the city.

And as the Mayor of Detroit, Dave Bing said in the 2011 State of the City speech, “Detroit is a city of great faith and resolve. It is time to channel the spirit to develop a blueprint for our future and reestablish Detroit as the worlds’ most innovative city.”