Detroit Regional Chamber > Detroit Policy Conference > One Detroit: Richard Florida Discusses Downtown Detroit’s Future

One Detroit: Richard Florida Discusses Downtown Detroit’s Future

January 19, 2023

One Detroit
Jan. 19, 2023

Richard Florida Shares the Two Priorities Downtown Detroit Needs for Its Post-pandemic Recovery

In the past decade, the pulse of downtown Detroit has gone up and down like a rollercoaster. From a steep drop into bankruptcy a decade ago to swift twists and turns to return the city’s vibrancy, all for those efforts to be met with another huge drop— the COVID-19 pandemic. As Detroiters head into year three of the city’s post-pandemic recovery efforts, what plans are ahead? And what do the experts think?

One of the nation’s leading urbanists Richard Florida, co-founder of the Creative Class Group, sat down with One Detroit contributor, and “American Black Journal” host, Stephen Henderson after his keynote speech at the 2023 Detroit Policy Conference for a discussion about the future of downtown Detroit and how it compares to other urban cities.

Florida gives an assessment of where Detroit stands in its post-pandemic recovery today, comparing the city to other urban areas, and shares his thoughts about the ongoing shift toward remote and hybrid work models. Plus, he tells Henderson the two priorities downtown Detroit should be thinking about if it wants to recover successfully from the pandemic.