I'm not too concerned about Spike Lee's comments. He's bitching the the place is getting nicer and that it wasn't nice when poor minorities lived there. He perceives that the city is doing a better job protecting the area now, when in reality there's less crime because there's less poverty. But it's not like the people there got richer, they just got replaced.

As to the Downtown\Midtown Detroit now vs. 2001 argument, it's a world different.

I started working in Downtown in 2011, and even the change since 2011 is amazing. The Campus Martius to Hart Plaza area is buzzing with foot traffic. Business are opening up. A 10 story parking garage has been built. Retail is starting to return. Towers are being renovated for residential space. Rent is soaring as supply struggles to keep up.

Now it's time to see positive trends in the neighborhoods.

If Duggan keeps his promises, 2014 will be the year that the bleed stops, and future years will be the start of an upward trajectory.