I occasionally get asked if I had any personal ties to Detroit before Venture for America. And the truth is that I didnt beyond the fact that I think many people in the U.S. feel motivated and galvanized by the idea of a great American city beset with secular economic issues and looking to redefine itself. Now that Ive spent some time there these past months, the sense of collective identity and struggle is palpable and compelling. Everyone there is pulling for everyone else to succeed.
There are various neighborhoods in Detroit where theres a visible line between new business development on one hand and abandonment on the other. The entrepreneurs, developers, and residents in Detroit are literally engaged in a block-by-block fight to rebuild the citys economy and reclaim vacant buildings.
Historically, the U.S. Frontier was defined by a few traits:
1. Unsettled, with abundant cheap land.
2. Attractive to hardy pioneers who would claim and build new settlements and institutions.
3. Represented the future.
In late August, prior to my last visit, a friend of mine bought a 1,500 square foot apartment in Detroit in a high-end co-op building for $20,000 (maintenance is $1k+/month). The same apartment in Manhattan might have cost 50 times more. On a similar note, I had lunch with a successful restaurant owner who told me that he had explored opening a restaurant in Chicago or Detroit, and had chosen Detroit because the rent and costs of building out the space in Detroit were 67% lower. Its the modern-day equivalent of cheap land.
During my trip, I had drinks with an entrepreneur, Kevin Venner, who had just moved from Dallas to Detroit because he felt thats where the exciting opportunities were going to be. The same night, a friend told me about another entrepreneur who had just moved to town from Canada to start a bicycle manufacturing company. The pioneers are starting to arrive.
Last, Detroit is an early example of a city facing the issues that globalization will bring to bear on the whole country. Its not just manufacturing IT, legal, design, and other service industries are increasingly subject to the same forces and pressures. Detroit represents the future of the U.S. economy. What happens in Detroit, New Orleans, Providence, and other U.S. cities will ultimately determine the countrys economic course overall. If they thrive, the whole country will.
In the 1840s, the frontier was defined by a westward migration and Manifest Destiny. In 2011, the frontier is Corktown in Detroit, the French Quarter in New Orleans, downtown Providence, and other urban centers. Just as in the nineteenth century, opportunities abound for those who are willing to move, act, and stake their claim.