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MIDWESTERN MARKET REPORT
Southeast Michigan continues to suffer from rampant racial segregation. According
to the Mumford Center at SUNY Albany, it is the most segregated area in the
U.S. The City of Detroit (pop. 951,270) is more than 80 percent African American.
Among cities with a population greater than 100,000, it has the second-highest
rate of African American residency.
By comparison, the region is home to two of the top ten whitest cities in the nation: Number one, the nearby City of Livonia (pop. 100,545), which is 95 percent white; and number nine, the bordering City of Warren (pop. 138,247). For the last several decades, race politics have made redevelopment particularly challenging in the region.
Successful regional smart growth strategies require that citizens and political leaders look beyond the borders of their own communities. The racial and economic isolation in Michigan and other communities is making that increasingly challenging.
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