Reimagining Cities-Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop

households left, and white flight to the suburbs followed the 1967 race riots. 41 From a peak of over 1.8 million people in 1950, which was 62% of the metro area’s population, Detroit’s population declined to about 640,000 in 2024—only about 17% of the metro area’s total population. 42 Since the 1970s, Detroit has struggled to reverse this doom loop,

facing ongoing population loss, a lack of job opportunities and reduced city services. Revitalization of downtown Detroit began under the leadership of the private sector in the early 21st century, even as the city neared, and eventually declared, bankruptcy in 2013.

KEY PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVES AND DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDED:

1988

General Motors moved their corporate headquarters to the Renaissance Center on the Detroit River between 2000 and 2005, completely renovating the 5.5-msf mixed-use complex and integrating it into the pedestrian network downtown. The Ford family relocated the Detroit Lions NFL team from the suburban Pontiac Superdome to Ford Field in downtown Detroit in 2002. In 2003, Compuware , founded by Peter Karmanos, moved its headquarters to a location fronting Campus Martius Park, a major downtown urban park. Three downtown casino-hotels (MGM Grand, MotorCity and Hollywood-Greektown) opened in the mid 2000s, helping drive tourism in the downtown area and keeping gambling revenue from crossing the river to Canada. In 2007, upon learning about the new strategic plan for downtown Detroit, Dan Gilbert moved his company, Quicken Loans (now Rocket Mortgage), downtown in 2010. He acquired and rehabbed over 100 buildings through the Rock Ventures subsidiary for Rocket Mortgage companies and other tenants, investing billions of his own money without public sector incentives. He became the city’s largest taxpayer and explained his motivation for making this investment with one word: Detroit. Other businesses followed, resulting in 2.8 msf of positive office absorption in Detroit’s CBD between 2011 and 2017. This was equivalent to 11.3% of Detroit’s total CBD office inventory at the beginning of the decade. Chicago was the only Midwest market with more absolute CBD absorption (10.3 msf), but relative to inventory, Detroit’s absorption (11.3% of inventory) was substantially higher than other Midwestern markets: Chicago (8.5%); Columbus (8.0%); Milwaukee (6.9%); Minneapolis-St. Paul (4.3%); and St. Louis (4.1%).

2000

From 1988 to the present day, the Ilitch family , known for Little Caesars Pizza, developed the “District Detroit,” which includes the Fox Theater, the Fillmore music venues, Comerica Park (home to the Detroit Tigers), Little Caesars Arena (home to the Pistons and Red Wings) and substantial residential real estate. Detroit is the only metropolitan area in the country where all four major professional sports teams are located downtown and within walking distance of each other. The Ford family redeveloped and operated Campus Martius Park, modeling it after Manhattan’s highly acclaimed Bryant Park. Campus Martius is consistently ranked as one of the best urban parks in the country. The Kresge Foundation and other private sources funded the revitalization and expansion of the Detroit Riverwalk, a 5.5-mile walkway extending from downtown to Belle Isle Park, the “Central Park” of Detroit.

2002

2003

2005

2007

PRESENT DAY

41 “Anatomy of Detroit’s Decline.” The New York Times, 2013. 42 United States Census Bureau. QuickFacts. Detroit City, Michigan.

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