The Motor City's engine is dying.� Detroit's population shrank by more than 25% in the last decade, according to Census statistics reported in the New York Times. The city's population fell to 713,777 in 2010, a drop of almost 240,000 residents.� That's 100,000 more than Katrina-ravaged New Orleans lost.
Detroit was obviously hit hard by the long-standing problems at the�Big Three automakers� and a general shift in the manufacturing base. But isn't�the city�making a comeback, as Chrysler's Eminem commercial would like you to believe?�
It's true, industry is not dead in the Motor City.� General Motors is profitable again and Chrysler's operations are improving. But as Daniel Gross points out in the accompanying�clip, no matter how strong the auto recovery proves to be, jobs will never be as plentiful.� In a cruel irony for citizens, Detroit has become too efficient for its own population.
The question is what to do with what's left of Detroit.
One answer: Tear it down. "With more than 20 percent of the lots in the 139-square-mile city vacant, the mayor is in the midst of a program to demolish 10,000 empty residential buildings. But for many, the city already seems hollowed out," the NYT reports.�
Detroit is�not the only place dealing with an oversupply of housing.� The Census Bureau also shows that 18% of all Florida homes --�more than 1.6 million properties --�are vacant.
Beyond tearing down homes, Detroit might be better-served by attracting immigrants with the inticement of cheap housing and the chance at a better life.
What do you think?� Is immigration the way to stop Detroit from shrinking?
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