713,000

[rustic2]

I am extremely disappointed in Bing's reaction.

Sure, there is a lot of money and pride at stake, but nothing says "denial" more clearly than, "This can't be right" and, "We're gonna challenge these numbers."

This has been the reaction to every census since at least 1980. If they devoted as much energy into making things right, into improving safety and services, as they do to huffing and puffing at news like this, things might turn.

I believe 713,777. Just look around! Recent estimates were probably inflated.

Undercounting has been a hot-button issue for decades, and the Census Bureau goes to great lengths to get an accurate number despite the obstacles many throw in its way. They know this could come back to bite them if they're not on target.

While there are good things happening in the city and good people in Detroit government [[and a lot of bad ones; I won't rehash recent history), the net result is that thousands of people have voted with their feet. Challenging the census amounts to wishing it were not so, but these leaders have got to accept it and move on, and do things like improve the police department and bring the city's expenses in line with revenues and other such changes that have been talked about ad nauseum but in fact have only gotten worse.

I am a Detroit believer and am generally skeptical of arguments that blame "the victim mentality" and "the welfare state" for urban woes like Detroit's. But, sorry, this just pisses me off, it is not time to play the victim, it's time to deal with reality.

OK, Bing's only two years in office and we can't expect miracles. But unless things change, and soon, we're going to be talking about another 25-percent drop [[that's 535,000) in 2021.

[Magnatomicflux]

I havn't read the whole thread so I'm not sure if this local comparison has been made or not.

If the census numbers are right Detroit lost 238,270 people. Windsor and LaSalle of 2006 [[216,473/27,652) had a combined population of 244,125. So we have only 5,855 more people in these two places then Detroit has lost? That's nuts! According to the Windsor Star's numbers, Detroit has basically lost one resident, every 22 minutes for the past decade. Wow.

Do they count homicide numbers when they do these? Not saying Detroit is so bad it would seriously alter the numbers, I'm just wondering.

It's weird for me, living a such a smaller city, to think that 700,000 people is a bad thing. I would think it'll make the City easier to manage, but I don't know jack about how it all works. Obviously this is a horrible problem.