Pretty weighty question, I know. I saw another thread on here the other day where the poster asked how Detroit got to be the way it is today. Quite obviously the reasons are complex and should be familiar to anyone with even a basic understanding of this area's history; racial strife, over reliance on a single industry and failure to adapt, white flight and economic segregation, and lack of leadership or vision to name only a few. And although understanding how Detroit got to be in the place it is today is important, that's not the reason why I created this post.

What I wanted to start a discussion on was ideas for how the city of Detroit can begin to retool itself, and what the people who have a stake in its success [[ie everyone living in the state of Michigan) can do to contribute to that. It seems strange to me that a city with a history of so much innovation, from being the breeding ground of Edison's workshop and the modern auto industry which changed every facet of our lives and helped win World War II has been completely unable to change to meet the needs of a changed, globalized world.

I see young people retooling closed down schools and factories and turning them into movie theaters and art galleries; just look at the changes happening in Cork Town for example. And that gives me reason for hope, as big things can have small beginnings. Why isn't this sort of thing happening on a larger scale? People said New York way a dying city in the 70s and 80s, and look at it now. How can we bring a revival like that to Detroit?