Unemployment and poverty rates in metro Detroit rank among the nation’s highest.

The jobless rate hovers around 14%. Annual earnings, new mortgages, and home prices keep falling.  And with the exodus of middle-class families the city’s population dropped from a 1.8-million high to just over 700,000.

Nearly One Quarter of Housing Units Vacant in Detroit

MetroTrends’ October Spotlight dives into the troubled metro area, sharing new data on jobs and housing and taking a hard look at the challenges they present. Two key problems emerge: restructuring the economy now that the post-auto industry has shrunk and addressing the disconnect between the city's large footprint and its dwindling  populace.

In the struggles of the once-mighty industrial giant hides a chance at a leaner, greener future. The city must make that transformation – or one like it – to survive.

Read more from Randy Rosso, “In Wake of Detroit's Disastrous Past, Envisioning Greener Pastures.”