A Positive Story [Detroit Pushes Back With Young Muscles - NY Times]

[hamtown mike]

And you gotta love how one can spin statistics in their favor. Only 6,000 people live in downtown proper. 3,500-4,000 college graduates in the city center of a major city is hardly impressive.

That's scary. But even more frightening the statistics said a 59% increase in college educated. So if you had 2 college educated people living in the city, a 59% increase would mean that you now have 3 college educated people living in the city. [[not a simple 59% of the people are college educated)

Numbers can say anything you want them to.

[lilpup]

No, not the region - the CITY. The 'suburb' downtowns you dismiss were built as separate cities, not suburbs. Those 'suburb' areas that have managed to maintain their historic downtowns are not backwards.

[BrushStart]

That's scary. But even more frightening the statistics said a 59% increase in college educated. So if you had 2 college educated people living in the city, a 59% increase would mean that you now have 3 college educated people living in the city. [[not a simple 59% of the people are college educated)

Numbers can say anything you want them to.

Well, my girlfriend and I both live downtown and we each have doctorates, so who is that third college-educated person now? [[*sarcasm*)

In reality, there are between 350-500 people in my building alone, of which I'd guess 60%+ have at bachelors degrees or higher. So, there's probably around 200 college educated people on my block. What's that comparable to, an entire subdivision in Birmingham?

[bailey]

Originally Posted by hamtown mike
That's scary. But even more frightening the statistics said a 59% increase in college educated. So if you had 2 college educated people living in the city, a 59% increase would mean that you now have 3 college educated people living in the city. [[not a simple 59% of the people are college educated.)

Numbers can say anything you want them to.

Well, my girlfriend and I both live downtown and we each have doctorates, so who is that third college-educated person now? [[*sarcasm*)

In reality, there are between 350-500 people in my building alone, of which I'd guess 60%+ have at bachelors degrees or higher. So, there's probably around 200 college educated people on my block. What's that comparable to, an entire subdivision in Birmingham?

Isn't that irrelevant if you are the only 200 in the CBD and if that subdivision in Birmingham is one of many? The question I have when it comes to these CBD numbers is how many of these college educated folks live in buildings that existed 10 years ago? If Brush lives in a building that was empty 10 years ago and now has been rehabbed and now has people in it, what relevance is there that there are more college educated people there if there was NO POSSIBILITY for ANYONE to live there earlier? It's great that 100% more people live at the Carlton than in 1999, but what does that really tell you? I think maybe a better number to look at is the percentage overall, not what the year over year percent increase is...especially as against other cities that have likely hit a "critical mass". I mean are we to somehow think NYC is experiencing a "brain drain" because Detroit had a higher percentage increase of college educated folks into a tiny area of the overall city?

A better stat that would have left fewer people smirking would be something like "there are X% more people living in the CBD as there is x% more residential there than 10 years ago and of that x% of people x% are college educated...which is an encouraging sign" Instead they went with something that just sounds phony because it's a number that tells you nothing.

[xD_Brklyn]

Django, thanks. Wouldn't have guessed the Miami but you're probably right. The place has changed quite a bit from its New Miami days, particularly, all that natural light.

[BrushStart]

bailey, I'm not disagreeing with you that the 59% figure used in the article is a useless indicator, but I think the point is that the overall number of young, educated people is greater than before. Now, you're correct in asking "greater compared to what?," but the fact is that the author didn't use that statistic because it probably wouldn't have been as flattering to our fledgling progress.

In reality, the number of young, highly educated people living in greater downtown is growing, but I'm certain the overall number is still small compared to other cities that have been steadily binging on a diet of yuppies for years. You may question at what rate it is growing [[which would be nice to know), but I think what you have to take away from this is that Detroit is finally grabbing onto the trend. Yet, I'll admit that we downtowners are still a pretty elite group, and by elite I mean limited in number. However, we are tightly concentrated geographically, so it does give one the feeling of being in a diploma-rich environment.

[iheartthed]

bailey, I'm not disagreeing with you that the 59% figure used in the article is a useless indicator, but I think the point is that the overall number of young, educated people is greater than before. Now, you're correct in asking "greater compared to what?," but the fact is that the author didn't use that statistic because it probably wouldn't have been as flattering to our fledgling progress.

In reality, the number of young, highly educated people living in greater downtown is growing, but I'm certain the overall number is still small compared to other cities that have been steadily binging on a diet of yuppies for years. You may question at what rate it is growing [[which would be nice to know), but I think what you have to take away from this is that Detroit is finally grabbing onto the trend. Yet, I'll admit that we downtowners are still a pretty elite group, and by elite I mean limited in number. However, we are tightly concentrated geographically, so it does give one the feeling of being in a diploma-rich environment.

It would be interesting to see how downtown's share of the region's college educated residents has changed over the past decade.

[Wesley Mouch]

...It would help, at least, if we could move from the historical default of "hostile distrust" to "healthy skepticism"...or better yet, to "pragmatic cooperation".

As my friend, John Galt once famously said.... "Get the hell out of my way".