http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...hborhoods.htmlAfter three years in a suburban house, Nathaniel Wallace bought a loft in Detroit’s midtown, where major crime has dropped 38 percent in three years.
The 32-year-old computer contractor paid less than $200,000 for the restored three-level building with stainless-steel appliances and a rooftop view of the Comerica Park baseball stadium.
“People see Detroit as the cool place to be,” he said.
Six miles north, state Representative Jimmy Womack, 58, was robbed at gunpoint July 8 near his Detroit home. He said three men stole $300 from his pocket after he refused to give them his 2011 Cadillac SRX, then laughed as they walked away.
“We’re falling apart as a community,” said Womack.
As small, safe enclaves attract residents -- midtown’s population grew 33 percent in 10 years as Detroit as a whole lost 25 percent -- cuts in police protection threaten to unleash more crime in outer neighborhoods that already lead the nation in violence. Spreading the core’s vitality may decide the fate of the near-bankrupt city.
Last year, Detroit’s 2,137 violent crimes per 100,000 people, including 344 homicides, led U.S. cities with populations of 300,000 or more, according to an FBI report. St. Louis was second, with 1,857 crimes per 100,000.
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