Detroit Flight

Wow--over 25% of Detroiters have left this decade.

In 1950, Detroit was the fifth-largest city in America, behind New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and it was in the top 10 as recently as the 1990 Census. Now, Detroit is likely to fall to 19th, behind Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio.

The numbers add new urgency to Mr. Bing's campaign to align the sprawling city's finances and geography with its shrinking population—a process the mayor acknowledges is taking more time than he envisioned. For more than a year, the mayor has been working on a restructuring plan that would end some municipal services in sparsely populated areas. At the same time, the city is working to attract young, educated residents to help stabilize neighborhoods.
 
"We are going to continue to lose population unless we continue to make cultural changes," Mayor Bing said Tuesday. "We have got to make sure that our neighborhoods are safe, that they are growing, that we have good housing stock and make sure that people have the right services. All those things are very important at maintaining population."

 And it will fall further, too.  20% of the city's housing is vacant.  That is 80,000 homes, not counting ones torched.