Survey: Business Leaders Believe in Detroit’s Comeback

Eighty-four percent of national business leaders are confident that Detroit will once again become a great city following its bankruptcy, says a new survey released today by Troy-based Kresge Foundation.
2596

Eighty-four percent of national business leaders are confident that Detroit will once again become a great city following its bankruptcy, says a new survey released today by Troy-based Kresge Foundation.

“There is a new narrative emerging in Detroit post-bankruptcy, and I believe our study reflects that,” says Christine M. Jacobs, spokeswoman for the Kresge Foundation.

Jacobs says the survey included business leaders’ attitudes and opinions toward Detroit, and their views on a city’s ability to recover from an economic downturn, and what makes cities attractive to business leaders.

She says the top incentive that attracts business leaders to a city, according to the study, is low tax rates. Other attractive attributes include good public transportation, low crime, racial and cultural diversity, low cost of living, effective local government, and economic opportunity for all.

The survey “seeks to capture lessons of what’s worked and what hasn’t worked in Detroit — and share those key lessons with others engaged in reinvigorating urban communities,” Jacobs says.

She says business leaders surveyed included executives at mid- to large-size companies with influence over their companies’ global, high-level decisions. The surveyed leaders all work for a global company with at least 250 employees, and are involved in contracting, purchasing, sales, or related functions. The survey was conducted anonymously via an online surveying method.

The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America’s cities through grants and social investing.