Entrepreneurs feed Detroit's extreme makeover

[LuckyTheDog]

Henry Ford and Margarita Barry don't have much in common, but they do have this: Both have aspired to create jobs in Detroit.

Barry, 26, grew up in their shadow but always saw another side to Detroit: an artistic and rather edgy one. So last year, she launched I Am Young Detroit, a website devoted to Detroit news and events. With new funding on the way, she'll be adding a handful of full-time and part-time positions this spring. Detroit, she says, is a great place to start a business. Real estate is cheap, and "there are so many people out there with talent, primed and ready to get back to work."

Plenty of savvy entrepreneurs are discovering the same secret. Viewed in one light, the decline of Detroit's auto industry is a tragedy for the people who depended on it. On the other, the destruction has freed up an awful lot of creative energy and resources for those willing to take a gamble. According to the Kauffman Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship, the rate of new business formation per 100,000 adults nearly doubled in Michigan from 2006 to 2009, before leveling a bit in 2010.

More: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-03-09-column09_ST_N.htm

[leveymg]

1. Detroit is one of the most affordable cities to live in America now.

It's also one of the most ethnically diverse and interesting. The city and its people deserve to arise from the ruins.