Detroit’s roughly the same size as Berlin (measured by metro area population). It’s got a lot of cheap real estate, some of it spectacularly grand. It’s got abandoned factories. It’s got great cultural history (mainly on the music front). So … let the young bohemians come and the boom begin, right?
Uh … no. I’m moderating a panel at the Techonomy Detroit conference titled “Is Detroit the Next Berlin?” but I just don’t buy it. Sure, I’m rooting for Detroit’s revival. And the revival seems real, although still in its early stages. Studying and learning from the struggles and successes of other cities (as WDET did with its series on the Detroit-Berlin Connection) is never a bad idea. But the notion that Berlin could be a model for Detroit strikes this outsider as wrongheaded and a bit dangerous. It is an aspiration bound to be thwarted.
A number of people have floated the idea of saving Detroit by attracting hipsters, a sort of Hail Mary Brooklynization strategy. Justin Fox pokes a number of holes in the idea. While Detroit has better immigrants and big businesses, it lacks Berlin's infrastructure and cultural capital. In short, Berlin is a national capital, while Detroit is a company town.
One-Way Street 
A company town built around a product that destroys our urban living and environment.
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Yes! After years of adapting our cities to cars, urban planners are working furiously to undo it all.
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