A couple of thoughts today:
The first is of an opportunity, which may or may not come to fruition.
Mike Duggan is the Mayor of Detroit. He has a great opportunity to start real reform, in conjunction with the city (hopefully) receiving bankruptcy protection. Its a chance for a clean start. Although change will be slow, Duggan needs to show real results in a relatively short amount of time. His best bet will be with the police force. If he can find money to cut response time and increase neighborhood presence he will win the trust of the residents.
The second is a certainty in my mind.
Downtown Detroit will not fail. It will be renovated piece by piece until it is a viable market without massive subsidy. Dan Gilbert went all in and he will personally see to it. Its not goodwill, its business. His empire has become "too big to fail" -- if Detroit fails, Dan Gilbert will lose a fortune. He will not let this happen. He will continue to personally subsidize retail and development until critical mass is reached. Then he will profit enormously from all of his cheap buys.
[Edit]: Also really looking forward to Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown Detroit episode, which airs this Sunday. Really curious to see where he went and hear his take:
Preview