Revitalizing Detroit: Is There a Role for Immigration?

Over the past 50 years, Detroit has suffered from a spate of problems associated with urban decay culminating in its filing for bankruptcy in 2013, the largest American municipality to do so.

In this paper, author Steve Tobocman poses the question, "How can immigrants help to revitalize Detroit?" Tobocman suggests that within a broad economic development policy, immigrants can contribute to the revitalization of Detroit's economy -- a position supported by Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder. Immigrants can make a difference in the following ways: first, as new immigrants tend to be younger and have a higher-than-average fertility rate, they will help reverse Detroit's aging and declining population; second, attracting highly skilled immigrants will expand the pool of knowledge-based human capital;  third, as immigrants are more connected to the global economy, they can help to improve Detroit's trade relations abroad; and fourth, immigrant entrepreneurs will move into struggling neighborhoods to revitalize these areas. Tobocman argues that the biggest challenges facing Detroit is its image, which has kept immigrants out of the city center where they are most needed, and ensuring that services and resources needed to support new residents keep pace with any potential population growth. Finally, he reviews some of the initiatives that have been established under the banner of Global Detroit, an organization that Tobocman leads, to attract and support immigrants.

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