Times are tough, jobs are sparse, Detroit has been destroyed by the withdrawal of the auto industry.
It seems like the perfect time for the geeks to swoop in, set up projects/teams, buy cheap houses and re(t|m)ake the city.
It's nothing simple or easy, but I can't help but see a potential Silicon City or Startup City.
Any thoughts?
I like the OP's Utopian vision for resurrecting Detroit, I had a similar idea related to other manufacturing ventures. The infrastructure should mostly still be in tact. The only thing that is missing is the industry. The perfect fit to me is the green energy industry (solar, wind manufacturing). It's the perfect opportunity to get Detroit back on it's feet, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Throw in a tax break that both sides of the isle can live with, and there would be virtually no opposition.
Toyota had very good reasons for building their Prius factory in Mississippi rather than Detroit. It's a low tax, right to work state, with no historical tendency toward killing the golden goose.
Detroit is dead, and it's the fault of the people who live there. The only way to save Detroit is to fix the people. Good luck with that.
Claims about the infrastructure are unconvincing. If the infrastructure is sufficiently intact and if that's an actual plus so that it's worth starting a business there, then businesses would be started there. Or is the market being inefficient, and you with your oh-so-wise opinion of how things should be know better than the people who would stand to make money off of being right about your suppositions?
Here's a better idea: Let's help Cambodia get back on its feet by subsidizing its industry, they would benefit more per dollar than people living in Michigan.
Perhaps the crime factor makes Detroit a tough sell (or the snow for some).
There must be another city in the throes of economic upheaval to choose.
My thoughts are that affordable housing + a few brave companies will bring other companies, talent and VC's.
If we're going to pick our ideal city, what should it be? Maybe podunk Texas isn't going to have the best internet service. Who does, within the list of economically thirsty locations?
That's the underlying question: What city has cheap housing, good infrastructure and is friendly to tech startups?
The only downside is the weather, which isn't that bad in the winter -- certainly much better than Detroit or Boston.
Pick any two.
I think it's easy for people to poo poo on Detroit. Detroit needed to burn so something better could rise from the ashes. Change always happens when things hit its lowest point.
Thanks for the counterpoint.
Can you elaborate on this?
I started my business in Detroit and there is no other place I would choose if I did it all over again.
Stop passing old stereotypes about Detroit around and come see the city for yourself.
That being said, there are a lot of smart people in the midwest, and given the challenge of finding talent in the valley, there should be more startups in the midwest. Chicago and Pittsburgh seem to be getting there but you don't hear much from other places... Any place with good universities will have some startups, but Detroit hasn't gotten much out of U of M
