Quote:
Originally Posted by Prezrezc
Speaking as a Metro NY resident, I'm happy for Detroit.
They need someone with the testicular fortitude to seriously kickstart that town back into contention.
Of course it makes sense to start from the ground up...literally...and tackle the area's chronic deficiencies piecemeal; but this can only bode well for the future.
Out of curiosity, I'd like to know if and/or how diversification plays a role in all this. It certainly worked to a degree in Pittsburgh going from mining to biomedical et al., and Houston going IIRC from oil to medicine.
What has Detroit focused on to compensate for the auto exodus?
|
Basically the way I would put it is the region as a whole leveraged the auto tech sector known locally since the 90s as Automation Ally along with abundance of cheap space downtown during and after the great recession in a public-private partnership with Universities, the city & the Detroit business community to create an environment that helped incubate and grow high tech companies.
In 2011 Metro Detroit created more jobs in the "tech sector" than Silicon Valley driven by strong hiring by Ford I found a couple articles from the time I saved including one from SFGate about how the big 3 were wooing Silicon Valley talent.
Anyways that's the long and short of it the recession was so deep and painful for the city and state that the region was able to come together in ways that 30 years ago would have been inconceivable to help diversify and grow the economy while the auto industry was booming. The analysis is still that we are heavy on the auto despite continued economic growth now despite the ending of the 7 year model updating cycle last quarter for the first time ever and an expected general slowing of the growth we've seen.
One of the big questions being asked right now with the length of the recovery so far is Michigan ready for another recession and the answer is not as ready as it could be. Which is better than what happened after the 90s when despite all the tremendous wealth created during the "Automation Ally boom" (which was no joke Oakland County was strutting around bragging how it was richer than Orange County, CA) but ended up turing into the "one state recession" by the mid 2000s. Ford and the brilliant restructuring Alan Mulally pulled off which besides allowing it to avoid bankruptcy but has also been a real driver of efforts to keep the region competitive in an era where with all of the disruptions Detroit could continued to lose big pieces of its economy to the south and west. As for the future its great to see Ford building a huge new engineering center in downtown Dearborn along with improvements to the surrounding area to create a campus and R&D environment so as to continue to compete for talent. But there are still unaddressed issues such in education and transit and there is no consensus on what to do.
The hope I see for future economic growth is using the regions geography its position as the most important border crossing in the US and its position directly in-between the other 2 big great lakes metros Chicago & Toronto along with the auto industry and assets left from its legacy to become a center for logistics.
There are decade plus old plans to achieve this goal the Gordie Howe Bridge and the "Aerotropolis scheme" turning the I-94 corridor downriver and especially the area between Metro & Willow Run airports into a center of R&D, logistics & aerospace industry. Metro Airport is one of Deltas biggest hubs dating back from Northwest days which itself was a auto legacy and is the main connecting hub for Deltas China service because of its north central location and the earths curvature.
I think however with these avenues of growth open and regional cooperation still the order of the day there's at least no reason to think Detroit will die but as the "aerotropolis" project has shown good leadership is needed to succeed. Detroit has been lucky with Duggan in that he has been able to leverage state resources and get the support of the Republican governor while running what seems to be a clean administration. The foreclosure problem caused by high taxes needs to be addressed it is very well be the reason Detroit didn't grow in population last year but as long as the county would most likely eventually go broke without the extra funding but waiting for revenue to come in from growth while turning owners into renters is hurting the recovery.
I had saved a few articles because back in the day about the tech driven recovery and how in raw numbers it compares pretty well to the bay area, not a essay or anything but the economy of Detroit is always viewed as rusty or or the like but its more of a blue collar white collar split where the working class has struggled and as most production moved from region the economy is solidly driven by the white collar HQ staff and industrial labor is specialized requiring CAD skills at the least in actuality Metro Detroits GDP ranks below Singapore and ahead of Rome to put in perspective. But with a slightly lower than national average % of the population not having a degree or training there are many that is stuck in the service industry with little prospect for advancement.
Quote:
Automation Alley Report Shows Strong Tech Growth In Region Post-Recession
March 27, 2014
CBS News Detroit
The figures showed metro Detroit was No. 2 behind Chicago in the Midwest when it came to technology industry businesses and technology industry employment. Nationwide, the Detroit area was No. 4 in tech industry employment, behind Chicago, Dallas and Boston. In tech industry businesses, Detroit was No. 5, behind Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Boston.
The numbers defined the tech industry more broadly than just IT. Figures included advanced automotive, advanced manufacturing, chemicals and materials, IT, life sciences, and related technologies like commercial equipment.
The figures, crunched by Lansing’s Anderson Economic Group, also were analyzed for intensity of tech industry employment compared to the rest of the regions’ economy. By that score, metro Detroit trailed only Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas. In terms of concentration of tech companies compared to the overall economy, Detroit was second only to Minneapolis in the Midwest and trailed only Silicon Valley and Minneapolis nationwide.
|
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/03/...ost-recession/
Quote:
Detroit auto, tech firms woo Silicon Valley talent
Ryan Flinn and Jeff Green
Bloomberg News
March 24, 2011
Expertise in cloud computing, mobile software applications and energy management are in demand in the Motor City as automakers replace car stereos with Internet radio and gasoline engines with motors powered by lithium-ion batteries. Technology job postings in the Detroit area doubled last year, making it the fastest-expanding region in the country, according to Dice Holdings Inc., a job-listing website.
"There's a war for talent out there, and it's only going to get worse," said Jim Bazner, vice president of human capital solutions at MSX International in Southfield, Mich., which helps automakers find specialized employees. "There are hundreds of jobs, and all the automakers are hiring."
....
Ford and General Motors Co. are rapidly hiring graduates from local universities as fast as they can. There just aren't enough of them.
"If we filled every opening that's been posted or recruited just in the Lansing area, we'd be able to hire out all of our graduates three times over," said Garth Motschenbacher, who helps place computer-science graduates at Michigan State University. About 70 percent of the school's 54 students scheduled to graduate in May have jobs lined up, he said. "The number of students has not kept up with the opportunities."
|
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/art...nt-2388370.php
Quote:
Report: Metro Detroit A leader in Tech Industry Growth
By Andrew Kidd, The Oakland Press
POSTED: 03/28/14, 9:11 AM EDT | UPDATED: ON 03/28/2014
The Troy-based technology business association and business accelerator detailed its 2013 Technology Industry Report at the Detroit Marriott in Troy on Thursday. The report, which compares the Detroit Metropolitan Area with 14 other technology hubs throughout the U.S. including Silicon Valley and Chicago, was compiled by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, LLC.
The report detailed that tech industry employment in Metro Detroit was up 15 percent from the previous year’s study, while Silicon Valley shows a 4 percent drop. Detroit’s technology sector added more than 30,000 jobs with 242,520 tech industry jobs in 2011, up from 210,984 jobs in 2010.
No other analyzed region had a greater technology industry growth than Metro Detroit in this same period, surpassing Silicon Valley’s technology sector, which lost 10,000 in this time frame.
Michigan also leads the nation in the advanced automotive industry with Metro Detroit’s employment concentration six and a half times the national average, according to the report.
|
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/20140...ndustry-growth
Quote:
Metro Detroit on par with Silicon Valley in tech jobs
Lauren Abdel-Razzaq
The Detroit News
Feb. 12, 2015
Detroit — The southeast Michigan region is on par with famed Silicon Valley when it comes to jobs and employers working in the tech industry, according to a report released Thursday by Anderson Economic Group.
“You have a technology industry in Metro Detroit that is the equal to all of Silicon Valley in terms of jobs, number of employers and the number of occupations identified,” said Patrick Anderson, principal at the research firm.
Metro Detroit had more than 171,000 technology occupation jobs in 2013, compared to San Jose’s almost 180,000 jobs, according to the report. This region was home to more than 224,000 employees working for businesses in the technology industry, compared to San Jose’s 300,000 in 2012. Metro Detroit had more technology industry establishments in 2012: 7,160 to San Jose’s 7,061. And this region produced 9,428 graduates with degrees in the STEM subjects in the 2012-13 school year, compared to San Jose’s 5,284.
“There should be the same sense of excitement here as in Silicon Valley,” said Anderson. “Clearly the numbers show in multiple sectors that the Metro Detroit area is one of the best areas in the United States.”
The annual report, which was released Wednesday during a presentation with Automation Alley and compares data from 15 cities across the country, looked at a strict definition of technology sector jobs: including automotive, manufacturing, chemical and material, information technology, life sciences and related or other technologies. It also broke down the fields by jobs available.
Unsurprisingly, southeast Michigan ranks first in the number of advanced automotive industry jobs and the number of engineering technology and engineering-related degrees, Anderson said.
|
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...-hot/23304425/
Edit* I know diving into the economic situation of the city and region is a bit far from the topic at hand but besides getting driven crazy back in like 2014 when the municipal bankruptcy was taking place and a lot of people were ready to declare Detroit a 3rd would country it seemed like while at the same time the area with downtown as the heart had beaten out Silicon Valley in tech job growth 3 years before and the trend wasn't slowing down for Detroit but other cities were coming out of recession still leaving Detroit in the top 5. When thinking about the City's history with the Ren Cen which because of economic factors, poor planning & a lack of friendly pedestrian access with downtown, poaching tenants from other downtown buildings was the result furthering the districts decline.
The Hudsons Tower itself is residential and last time i checked occupancy rates were in the upper 90s downtown and midtown with a projected demand for 10,000+ units over the next 5-10 years, earlier this year there was a lot of talk before the Hudsons and Monroe Towers were finalized how there was a desperate need for new class A office space with only 2 buildings having enough contiguous space to move in a new large company. In downtown Detroit unlike its fellow roaring 20's brethren Chicago and New York (#3, 2 & 1 for skyscrapers constructed in 1920s) there weren't many large apartment buildings built while now most of the major Deco skyscrapers outside of the financial district have been at least partially converted into residential & or hotels downtown is still under retailed.
About a decade ago Gilbert had rolled out a concept of a "big bang" style of development where retail and residential would come in as one no chicken or egg while the city would add infrastructure to increase curb appeal, parking & pedestrian\bike friendly infrastructure. There was no big bang seemingly until some time around last spring or summer but the ever increasing pace of development is almost feeling like what it should be for Detroit and its economically powerful metro area & satellite cities at least for the past year - year 'n a half but honestly without any boosterism the Hudsons and Monroe developments essentially complete the redevelopment of Campus Martius but in a way no one would have expected back in 1997 or 2002.
A model looking down at C.M. from the N.W. I love how the Monroe tower will tier its way down exposing Cadillac Tower as much as possible but blocking the windowless side with the elevator shafts. While phase 2 transitions very well to the character of bricktown while adding density and height.
The outline for the next push in redeveloping the greater downtown area is centered on Brush Park & Eastern Markert in the east comprised of mainly residential with some mixed used, the District Detroit in the west & northwest going from what we know will be 5 distinct neighborhoods a mix of entertainment, commerce & residential over 50 blocks. The Podium of the Hudsons is the biggest ? so far a automotive museum also rock n' roll, a "shopping court area" & also event and office space The Monroe Tower is heavier of office however phase 2 has a sweet residential component & the Quicken Loans H.Q. will be expanded.
It'll be sweet to see a simmilar view from Midtown or New Center especially if the Illitch's do end up building infill over the parking lots in front of Comerica Park.
Prev
Thanks for that complex and highly intellectual analysis. We've all been wondering what can bring Detroit back, and you've solved it! Someone with big balls will surely get a forest of tower cranes rising. 
Linear Mode
