Others say things like
“What is important to mention is the way in which profit-making ventures – in some cases the very manufacturing firms that devastated the local economy – seek to exploit the image of de-industrialization, rebrand it as grit and determination, and use it to sell products at a mark-up.”
And so, as the year draws to a close, it's worth revisiting the article "Detroit: the bankrupt city turned corporate luxury brand" that ran in The Guardian in May.
The idea of saving Detroit does not just carry a socioeconomic connotation to it, it also carries a deeply racial one, recalling a painful, segregation-burdened past ... As much as outside investment and an alternative narrative are needed to get the city back on its feet – and raise its desperately low tax base – some argue companies using the city’s brand may be getting more out of it than they are giving back.
It's worth taking a moment to revisit this story as we head into 2015—and consider what is truly requisite for the city and her people moving forward.
