Would Downtown Detroit be better now if New Center and the Michigan Central Station had been built within the downtown area, or as an extension of it? I understand that the building the latter downtown would've involved some complex logistics, but let's assume for the sake of argument that they figured out a way to basically do it.

Honestly, I've been thinking about this question every time I walk up Second Street. Although today it seems absurd to consider Grand Boulevard as a far off location, New Center was essentially the Southfield of its day, built at what was then the outer edges of the urban area. In fact, Joel Garreau, author of the landmark book Edge City, cites New Center as perhaps the first example of an "edge city". Clearly, the builders behind New Center picked the location with the automobile in mind, arguing that downtown was too expensive and crowded.

We've seen the good GM has done for downtown since the company relocated to the Renaissance Center. Just imagine if the GM HQ had been there the whole time! Undoubtedly, it would've saved at least a few buildings and historic businesses.

Michigan Central Station definitely would've been better served downtown. That whole office/hotel space above the main floor would've been fully utilized back in the day, whereas in Corktown, they never did find tenants for the topmost floors even during the 1920s. Plus, it would've dropped business travelers closer to where they actually had to go and encouraged commerce downtown.

As it stands, New Center and Michigan Central Station mark the beginning of the exodus from downtown. By the 1940s and early 1950s, Time and big magazines were already noting the obvious lack of investment in Detroit's central business district. To us, Grand Boulevard and Corktown are all part of the "inner city", but historically there was a clear distinction between those neighborhoods and downtown.

Seen through this lens, Southfield and Troy are the logical progression of what began roughly 100 years ago. Since the automobile, it's hard to find a time when we weren't trying to escape Detroit.