Detroit's Population -- declining more slowly

[BankruptcyGuy]

These are estimates, and I'm not sure how the estimates work in the new development downtown.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...ows/634577002/

I agree 100% with this quote from the Mayor

“At this point it’s about the schools,” Duggan said. “We have got to create a city where families want to raise their children and have them go to the schools.”

The improvement of DPS, or the creation of other options for parents of young children, are an imperative if the city wants to continue to grow. Young residents will bite the bullet on many things, but sending their kids to bad schools is simply not one of them.

[Nektye]

The improvement of DPS, or the creation of other options for parents of young children, are an imperative if the city wants to continue to grow. Young residents will bite the bullet on many things, but sending their kids to bad schools is simply not one of them.

Has anyone heard any chatter/rumors about private school options in the works? I know it is a stopgap that will only cater to wealthy residents and not fix DPS, but if the theory is more middle/upper class residents are moving in will yield more tax dollars and better services, it would definitely help.

[iheartthed]

I don't agree with the mayor here. Improve the schools for the kids who are there now, especially since Detroit has more tax revenue than in recent years, but that isn't going to fix Detroit's population-loss issues.

The city needs to figure out how to attract to Detroit people who are not from Michigan.

[Jakewayj]

I don't agree with the mayor here. Improve the schools for the kids who are there now, especially since Detroit has more tax revenue than in recent years, but that isn't going to fix Detroit's population-loss issues.

The city needs to figure out how to attract to Detroit people who are not from Michigan.

You aint gonna get anyone from out of state with kids to move to Detroit with the public school system the way it is right now.

[Richard]

It is good to see the bleeding is slowing.

Other cities get by with public schools,charters and religious private schools but the public school system remains the same and it seems like the charters and others are just there because they can operate from outside of the thumb of the public school system.

It is not really solving the problem,personally I think that unless we rewrite the book on how and the amount of power the school board has we are always leaving a large amount of potential behind.

Mayors always say this and that but they really do not have the power over the school board,they are really in essence working as a private institution financed by the taxpayer,not only in Detroit but every other city in the country has the same situation,it stopped working long ago.

What is even worse is that most school boards find millions to build shiny new offices to work out of while the kids struggle for pencils,they should be working out of an outhouse until the students needs are met then think about indoor plumbing.

Until we find that solution we will keep picking who will succeed and who will not and that is not the objective.

[EGrant]

Toss in all the people claiming their parents' address in the suburbs and Detroit might be in the positive....

[Ray1936]

You aint gonna get anyone from out of state with kids to move to Detroit with the public school system the way it is right now.

Schools are not a factor for me, but I ain't coming back anyway. Except maybe to visit. Just sayin'.

[coracle]

You can have the best schools in the country but they mean diddly squat if your child can be shot through the head at any moment in your home while he's in bed! Life is safer in the suburbs.

[Colombian Dan]

The further away from the last census..the less accurate the estimates are...Same case prior to 2010... all indications showed a slow slide.. in reality was a crash.. The neighborhoods are almost deserted.. The only reason to visit for me is Chick's bar on Warren Ave....

[MrMichigan]

The city needs to figure out how to attract to Detroit people who are not from Michigan.

Agree 100%. Refugees from all regions, immigrants from every country, please move to Detroit.

[ABetterDetroit]

Concentration on the amount of warm bodies is pointless.

Work on raising the per capita income and lowering the unemployment rate and if that’s successful the population problem will take care of itself.

[Király]

It's a state problem. Education funding should come from 100% from the state, not from the local municipality. British Columbia figured this out a century ago, when local communities were built and went bust on the forestry and mining sector. Equal funding for all schools in the province meant kids in a copper mining community still got a decent education when the price of copper went down.

Michigan cannot continue to turn its back on communities that have fallen on hard economic times and let them fend for themselves insofar as education for children goes.

[DetroitSoldier]

You can add a +3 to that population number, as my family just closed on our home on the East side today. Plenty of hurdles living in the city, but we love our new neighborhood and the good people of Detroit. Its nice to officially be home for the first time in almost 8 years!

[Bham1982]

Agree 100%. Refugees from all regions, immigrants from every country, please move to Detroit.

You realize who is in the White House, right? There will be far fewer immigrants headed to MI, and refugee counts have basically been slashed to zero.

Until this country removes its incredibly incompetent and self-destructive "leadership", you can forget about immigration.

[Bham1982]

It's a state problem. Education funding should come from 100% from the state, not from the local municipality.

Except it does, more or less. In fact, poorer communities like Detroit get more school funding [[as they should).

The demographic challenges in Detroit proper have almost nothing to do with education. First, basically no city center has "fixed" public education, yet places like NYC, DC, Boston, Seattle, SF are all booming, and second, we have school choice in MI, meaning any Detroit school child can [[in theory) attend almost any public or charter school in the state.

[Colombian Dan]

Except it does, more or less. In fact, poorer communities like Detroit get more school funding [[as they should).

The demographic challenges in Detroit proper have almost nothing to do with education. First, basically no city center has "fixed" public education, yet places like NYC, DC, Boston, Seattle, SF are all booming, and second, we have school choice in MI, meaning any Detroit school child can [[in theory) attend almost any public or charter school in the state.

Detroit more closely resembles: Jackson MS, Birmingham AL, Baltimore MD, Memphis TN, New Orleans LA.

NYC, Boston, Seattle, SF are in a whole different league when compared to Detroit.

[MrMichigan]

Concentration on the amount of warm bodies is pointless.

Work on raising the per capita income and lowering the unemployment rate and if that’s successful the population problem will take care of itself.

I respectfully disagree. Bringing in a ton of fresh faces and ideas is key to revitalization. I don't care if they're below the poverty line, as long as they're ready to work and driven, positive things will come of it.

[mwilbert]

Except it does, more or less. In fact, poorer communities like Detroit get more school funding [[as they should).

The demographic challenges in Detroit proper have almost nothing to do with education. First, basically no city center has "fixed" public education, yet places like NYC, DC, Boston, Seattle, SF are all booming, and second, we have school choice in MI, meaning any Detroit school child can [[in theory) attend almost any public or charter school in the state.

You are correct. The state provides the vast bulk of the funding for Detroit schools, and while there may be some degree to which Detroit's schools are so unusually bad that they discourage some people, bad city schools are pretty usual. It is perfectly possible to raise kids in the city, but people who focus on school quality as a major factor in their location decision are not going to use the DPS in any case, not now and not in the next couple of decades I would guess.

That is in no way to suggest that we shouldn't try to figure out ways for more children in Detroit to attend better schools without travelling vast distances, but if you think fixing the schools is required for the city to improve or to stem the tide of falling population, abandon all hope now. Fortunately, it almost certainly isn't necessary. Unless you are one of the weird people who can't acknowledge that anything has changed, it should be apparent that all the improvement that has already occurred, along with the massive slowdown in the loss of residents, happened without the DPS improving at all. There are about 126 million households in the US and only about 35 million of them have school-age children, which leaves 91 million households who aren't personally and immediately concerned about school quality.

[Bham1982]

Detroit more closely resembles: Jackson MS, Birmingham AL, Baltimore MD, Memphis TN, New Orleans LA.

NYC, Boston, Seattle, SF are in a whole different league when compared to Detroit.

I agree 100%, but my point is that even the "superstar" cities haven't fixed urban public education. The schools might be better than in Detroit, but SF public schools still suck [[compared to the burbs). If SF can't fix its schools, it's unlikely Detroit will do so anytime soon.

Good schools don't seem to be a necessary ingredient for thriving cities.

[mwilbert]

You can add a +3 to that population number, as my family just closed on our home on the East side today. Plenty of hurdles living in the city, but we love our new neighborhood and the good people of Detroit. Its nice to officially be home for the first time in almost 8 years!

Congratulations!

[Lowell]

The income tax crackdown on new residents from the suburbs who are living in Detroit but declaring their addresses and census counts in the burbs could tip things into the plus column. If they have to pay their city taxes they will likely change their census locations to Detroit.

So I disagree with Duggan. Yes schools are essential long run but in the short term insurance reforms tops the list of immediate attention. Get that in line with the metro and Detroit's population will soar.

Duggan was on top of this, even proposing an independent insurance solutions, but seems to have lost interest.

[mwilbert]

The income tax crackdown on new residents from the suburbs who are living in Detroit but declaring their addresses and census counts in the burbs could tip things into the plus column. If they have to pay their city taxes they will likely change their census locations to Detroit.

So I disagree with Duggan. Yes schools are essential long run but in the short term insurance reforms tops the list of immediate attention. Get that in line with the metro and Detroit's population will soar.

Duggan was on top of this, even proposing an independent insurance solutions, but seems to have lost interest.

Auto insurance also has the advantage of being much easier to fix than school quality.

[Jason]

My interpretation is that they looked into the city insurance and found it legally and financially impractical, and then shifted focus to getting rid of no fault insurance, which failed in the house last fall. I don't know what he's doing about it now, but it's absolutely a huge problem, along with the high property tax.


If you have a choice between living in a single family detached house in the city, and a single family detached house one mile away in the suburbs, and the suburban cost of living is lower and the quality of life is higher, then it's very easy to not choose Detroit.

Right now Detroit wins vs the suburbs in areas that the suburbs can't directly compete at, which is urban living around downtown, and residential neighborhoods with strong senses of place and community.

[ABetterDetroit]

I respectfully disagree. Bringing in a ton of fresh faces and ideas is key to revitalization. I don't care if they're below the poverty line, as long as they're ready to work and driven, positive things will come of it.

This statement I am with you 100%.

My point is if Michigan does not get some things straightened out in our economic conditions the people that are “ready to work and are driven” will move to Colorado, the Carolinas, Arizona, Oregon, Florida, Georgia etc... I have seen it all before and it could happen again.

People starting out on the lowest economic rung doesn’t mean they are not intelligent. When and if they see more opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their family with something as simple as moving to another state they will do it.

This state MUST be competitive against other states or it will bleed people and nothing else besides competing and winning some will stop it.

[SammyS]

I respectfully disagree. Bringing in a ton of fresh faces and ideas is key to revitalization. I don't care if they're below the poverty line, as long as they're ready to work and driven, positive things will come of it.

Doesn’t high unemployment generally mean a bunch of folks ready to work, but can’t, that reside below the poverty line? Why would more be good?

I’d say we need to incentivize entrepreneurship by any means possible. Worked here before and it works everywhere else.