A realistic, yet hopeful manifesto from Detroit's Vanessa Miller that could apply to Flint:
"Some call Detroit the most modern City in the world — a prediction of the future of all cities based on the fact that more cities are losing population then gaining. Between 1950 and 2003 Detroit lost half of its population (-50.2%) while the surrounding areas grew 171.3%. We are losing people at a rate of about 2 people per day. Ten years ago Detroit's average income was half that of the suburbs, and in 2002 26.1% of Detroit's inhabitants lived below the poverty level.
"However, I see a different city every day I walk out my door. I want to show a different picture of what has been left behind in modern Detroit and the people who are here making a difference.
"Things like my neighbors walking their dogs, and people helping each other at the bike shop don’t make national headlines. But together not only can we make this city the place we want to live, we can show the world that even though some left, what remains is strong, young and putting up a fight."
A realistic, yet hopeful manifesto from Detroit's Vanessa Miller that could apply to Flint: