The New Urban Detroit, is it for all or just some?

A friend of mine, Daniel Aldridge, made a recent post regarding the significant increase in rental rates in some of the newer developments in Detroit and the related negative impacts that this is having on existing residents and businesses in these communities. His question to the greater audience, is this the Detroit that you want to see. I think this is a great topic for discussion because the challenges and opportunities that face Detroit are similar to the challenges and opportunities that face America. There are those who embrace the future and are planning for a multi-cultural interconnected world and some who are concerned that the world is moving to fast and is focused on ignoring or getting rid of the existing population who was there when it wasn’t popular. I think it’s an interesting topic for debate and later I plan on doing an article on the interesting connection and intersection between Rural America Trump world and Urban America Persons of Color world. But I digress and shift back to the topic at hand, is this the Detroit that we should want?

I have a slightly different perspective on a topic such as this. A lot of people in our urban cities like Detroit fear the influx of new residents and the developments that are targeted for this consumer base. In spite of this fear, here are some things for people to consider:

1. Cities, like businesses, are competing for consumers to “buy” their product. You have to build residences that will attract consumers when the current available stock doesn’t appeal to their purchasing preferences. Areas like Downtown, Midtown and the New Center area have been under-developed as the former business and commerce base moved out from these former buildings. Additionally, Detroit suffered a lack of newer critical mass commercial, residential and retail-tiered development. You had pockets but lacked the contiguous density necessary to spur spin-off and feed itself in a cycle of continued economic, social and residential activity. These developments that Detroit is getting and benefiting from are in part, at the expense of over-developed inner-ring suburban communities and exburbs that are losing their millennial populations to the desire to move to urban density cores.

2. Minority populations, such as African American, Latino American and Asian American communities are spreading out their migration patterns, so you don’t have and probably won’t achieve the density of packed urban cores with a singular minority super majority population. Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, looked at numbers from the 2010 to 2014 American Community Survey and found that

a. 39 percent of African Americans live in the suburbs,

b. 36 percent live in cities,

c. 15 percent live in small metropolitan areas, and

d. 10 percent live in rural communities.

That’s a noticeable shift from 2000, when

· 41 percent of African Americans lived in cities,

· 33 percent lived in suburbs,

· 15 percent lived in small metro areas, and

· 11 percent lived in rural communities.

In 1990, 57 percent of blacks lived in central cities, and 95 percent of blacks in the Northeast, Midwest, and West lived in metropolitan areas, according to Census data. That has slowly been changing. Today, the majority — 52 percent — of African Americans in the nation’s top 100 metro areas live in the suburbs of those regions, according to Kneebone. In 2000, the majority — 55 percent — of African Americans in the 100 largest metro areas lived in the big cities that anchor those regions. Taking this back to Detroit and Michigan, the African American population. According to the 2014 Census Bureau the state of Michigan has the 13th largest Black population in the United States with 1,527,259 African Americans making up 15% of the state total. Only an estimated 532,861 live in the city of Detroit (34.89%) while an estimated 577,684 African Americans live in Wayne (221,605), Oakland (195,720), Macomb (108,873) and Washtenaw (51,485) Counties outside of Detroit (37.82%). The Latino American community (485,972 Latino Michigan residents, had an even starker migration trend. Only 53,980 (11.11% of the total Latino population in Michigan) live within the city of Detroit and 133,134 Latino Americans (27.4% of the total Latino population in Michigan) lives in the four county Southeastern Michigan region. The era of “packing” African American and Latino Americans into Urban Cores, for population and voting factors is disappearing and these formerly “land-locked” populations are taking up residence outside of their normal living patterns. The population loss requires an equally balanced approach to attracting replacement residents, with an increase in taxable income and net positive impact on the tax revenue collected from formerly dead land that’s not generating taxable income.

3. Some may argue that local Governments should provide land, development cash and other hard capital support to let the majority population have the opportunity to develop these projects. Others believe that this is happening now, that a Dan Gilbert is getting direct cash from the city, county or state to develop properties in Detroit or persons like him in similar urban cities get similar advantages. That was part of the case during the 1940’s through early 1980’s but after almost 40 years of supply side economic theory, an overall reduction in governments’ ability to raise revenue and the decline of the contributory tax class that’s necessary to grow replacement revenue, cities aren’t in a position to provide financing or capital support for these development projects. The only thing cities like Detroit have in their arsenal is land and economic package of tax credits, tax exempt zones and tax incremental financing to support these projects. African American and other minority business interest have to come into these projects with financing or the ability to secure financing. Now this is an area where banks and financial institutions of color must play a role in identifying and providing financing support for those who wish to develop these projects. People like Gilbert and others are bringing millions of personal financing, business financing and institutional relationships to help purchase these buildings, pay for the renovations or build the new development from the ground up. I can value the believe that the development opportunities are slanted against African Americans or others of color, but there are many prior and current developments that have been completed within core urban areas like Downtown Detroit, Midtown, and similar areas around the country.

4. So, there needs to be an engagement and economic plan that is developed by leaders in the African American community that can address the following:

a. New residential and commercial development opportunities, including financing and land acquisition

b. Catalog and marketing the existing African American retail and commercial businesses and potential African American businesses that want to move into Detroit and the Downtown/Midtown/New Center belt. Also conduct market analysis on the new consumer markets that are moving into these areas, so that these businesses can achieve success in selling products and services to the new markets.

c. Using gentrification to your advantage strategy — Neighborhoods go through life cycles (birth, growth, maturity, decline and death). A number of Detroit communities have gone through the cycle multiple times and that’s not a bad thing. It’s incumbent on developing strategies for integrating the existing remaining population with the new inbound residents and businesses. As I have learned from my professional and personal interaction with newer persons that have moved into Detroit, they want to engage and connect with the existing population. The opportunity is there, but if the community leaders are waiting on someone else to develop the integration strategy, it will not happen. Existing community leaders, if you want to retain your existing voice, develop an action plan, connect with the new inbound constituents and build a better community together.

5. Detroit needs back-up and more populations other than just African Americans. The younger white populations moving back into urban cores are changing an 80 year migration trend among the white community, they are making a choice to move into communities of color and bring their families and children into these diverse neighborhoods. This is a great thing and a blessing to build upon. Add to this the fact that younger college educated African American professionals, Latino American, Arabic American, Asian American, Jewish American and other minority/ethnic groups are choosing to move into integrated neighborhoods, dispelling the myth of the great “white takeover” of urban communities. Cities like Detroit need this self-integration, after decades of self-segregation. Now, this can be difficult for some older African Americans to consider and it has been difficult for some older white Americans to come to grips with, but it’s happening, it’s ok and it will work out towards more positives than negatives for cities like Detroit. Conversely, the outward migration of African Americans, Latino Americans and other persons of color moving into the suburbs and exburbs is a great thing politically. After the adoption of the 1963 State Constitution, establishment of the Michigan Commission on Legislative apportionment, the submission of the Austin-Kleiner apportionment plan, the US Supreme Court ruling in the case of Reynolds v. Sims, 377 US 533 (“We hold that, as a basic constitutional standard, the equal protection clause requires that the seats in both houses of a bicameral State legislature must be apportioned on a population basis.” By holding that as a Federal constitutional requisite both houses of a State legislature must be apportioned on a population basis, we mean that the equal protection clause requires that a State make an honest and good faith effort to construct districts, in both houses of its legislature, as nearly of equal population as is practicable.”) and the Michigan Supreme Court’s order to implement the Austin-Kleiner plan, Detroit had

a. 4 wholly contained Congressional Districts (1st, 13th, 14th & 17th) and parts of 2 other congressional districts (12th and 16th);

b. 24 wholly contained State House districts and parts of 7 other State House districts and

c. 8 wholly contained State Senate Districts and parts of 3 other State Senate Districts. That was legislative power because Detroit could control 22.2% to 33.3% of Michigan’s congressional delegation, 21.8% to 28.2% of the House of Representative delegation and 21.1% to 29.0% of the Senate delegation. Currently, Detroit has

d. no wholly contained Congressional Districts and parts of just 2 congressional districts (13th and 14th);

e. 3 wholly contained State House districts and parts of 7 other State House districts and

f. No wholly contained State Senate Districts and parts of only 5 State Senate Districts. Detroit’s legislative power is gone, because it now could only control up to 14.3% of Michigan’s congressional delegation, 2.7% to 9.1% of the House of Representative delegation and only up to 13.2% of the Senate delegation.

In a nutshell, if Detroit is going to regain legislative influence, it has to take advantage of the growing demographic shift of people of color and white leaning Democratic voters into non-Detroit districts. In time, as currently drawn, the Michigan Congressional districts have 2 seats (5th and 9th) where you have a significant minority voter population, roughly 40 state house districts where you have 20% or higher concentration of voters of color and 15 State Senate districts where you have at least 20% or higher concentration of voters of color. Strategically, this is where you have to build a legislative base that can support Detroit and other urban communities, from the outside in. Detroit needs legislative partnerships from populations that have migrated to other regions of the state and can have impact on local, county and state elections. You have to change the way you solve the problem based upon the issues at hand.

Lastly, you do need the groups, activist and advocates that push for inclusion and respecting the values of the populations that have remained a part of the community as it has evolved upon it’s life-cycle. Conversely though, the fear of outsiders and nativism that some are advocating is similar to the nationalistic views of the Trump voters. The African American and to a comparable degree the Latino American communities have had a history of protectionist views, conspiracy theories and extreme skepticism of persons from outside of our community, very similar to the rural voters who have similar views about urban and suburban white elites, persons of color, Muslims or Jewish people. We have, in my opinion, an opportunity to take advantage of the inclusionary demographic push of other persons of color and white persons who are choosing to move into our communities as a way to show America a new path of inclusion while still ensuring the valuing of our core communities that have “held on” during the down times. I’m in support of the “New Detroit”, because it’s not a Detroit like we have experienced. It’s different from what Detroit was in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1960’s and it’s different from the Detroit of the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s which is a great thing for our city and our people. That’s just my view on the topic. I look forward to your feedback and debate.