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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Detroit: End of the American Dream or Hope of the Future?

    Detroit is a shrinking city, with just 700,000 residents in a place designed for two million.  Many who still live there want to leave. But instead of trying to restore the Silicon Valley of the Jazz Age to its time of industrial greatness, civic leaders have another idea.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Detroit is a shrinking city, with just 700,000 residents in a place designed for two million. Many who still live there want to leave. But instead of trying to restore the Silicon Valley of the Jazz Age to its time of industrial greatness, civic leaders have another idea. The Detroit Future City report is hugely ambitious: showing a greener, healthier and more prosperous city — at Detroit's present size. Can the symbol of post-industrial ruin become a model for re-inventing not only Detroit but other failing cities in the Rust Belt, Florida and California?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Detroit: End of the American Dream or Hope of the Future?
    1. 0:00Egypt's Defense Minister Warns of State Collapse
    2. 7:57Detroit: End of the American Dream or Hope of the Future?You’re reading this
    3. 42:52President Obama Launches Immigration Reform Push
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

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      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mark Binelli

      Rolling Stone

    • KCRW placeholder

      John Gallagher

      Detroit Free Press

    • KCRW placeholder

      Toni Griffin

      Detroit Future City

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Detroit: End of the American Dream or Hope of the Future?
    1. 0:00Egypt's Defense Minister Warns of State Collapse
    2. 7:57Detroit: End of the American Dream or Hope of the Future?You’re reading this
    3. 42:52President Obama Launches Immigration Reform Push
    Back to To the Point