Cool City = Low Rent: Better Times for Detroit?

When Montreal seemed to tank after the various crises about French nationalism, some interesting things started to happen, in part because rents were low enough to encourage edgy young people to take chances with art and new businesses.

The same thing seems to be happening in Detroit, according to The New York Times. "These days the word “movement” is often heard to describe the influx of socially aware hipsters and artists now roaming the streets of Detroit. Not unlike Berlin, which was revitalized in the 1990s by young artists migrating there for the cheap studio space, Detroit may have this new generation of what city leaders are calling “creatives” to thank if it comes through its transition from a one-industry."

It's the low rent theory of urban development!