I did include Detroit Renaissance but I'm not sure they are the ones who can make that happen. Part of the problem is that while they tried to be innovative by bringing in outsiders to lead DR [[Paul Hillegonds then Doug Rothwell), both who brought the kinds of skills that should translate into action [[a former Republican House leader and former head of state EDC under Engler), DR's ideas haven't managed to capture a broad base of support. They have all of the key business interests behind it but in Detroit, that hasn't been enough. Clearly, their efforts haven't been broad enough to lead to regional action.

Compare what's happened in Detroit over the past 10 years versus Grand Rapids. While GR is smaller and less racially divided than Detroit, it does suffer from many of the same problems that grip Detroit and SE Michigan, just on a smaller scale - racial tensions, urban underclass, sprawl, regional infighting. Yet, the city and region appear to have coalesced behind a vision of a core city leading a region towards greater prosperity. Leaders from all sectors have embraced a common and consistent vision for the city and region and have translated that into action.

GR is now one of the national leaders in green building and it's one of the few urban cities in Michigan that's seeing significant investment in renovation and new construction. They are also seriously talking new transit systems in the city and suburbs. I posted an article here about one of the outlying suburbs working with the local transit agency to create a transit-oriented development zone to be served by a dedicated transit line going into downtown GR. Can anyone imagine that happening here in SE Michigan? We should be looking at how GR managed to create this consensus and what steps they took to get there. They are doing something right and nothing we're doing in Detroit or SE Michigan comes anywhere close to that.