Michigan’s House Is on Fire, But Detroit’s Growth May Be the Bucket of Water

• Population growth is both the problem and the solution. As Doe framed it, “long-term population stagnation is the gasoline,” making talent attraction and retention not just a tactic, but the core economic strategy. 
• Vibrant, walkable communities and strong job pipelines are both essential to attracting talent and building a competitive economy. 
• Detroit is trending in the right direction but scaling that growth statewide will require faster policy action, more housing availability, and sustained investment. 

Detroit’s growth story is gaining traction but translating that momentum to statewide impact will require sharper coordination, clearer priorities, and sustained action. 

That was the premise of the “Growing Detroit, Growing Michigan” session at the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference. Framing the urgency around population stagnation and economic competitiveness, moderator Dennis W. Archer Jr. of Sixteen42 Ventures set the tone early: “Our house is on fire.” 

Detroit has now seen its “third year in a row of growth — 5,000 additional residents this last year,” Archer said. But panelists were clear: momentum alone won’t get Michigan where it needs to go. 

Hilary Doe pointed to population growth as both the challenge and the opportunity. 

“Long-term population stagnation is the gasoline,” she said. “It’s the real existential challenge … because we haven’t been as successful as we want to be in keeping our young folks, connecting our people to opportunity, inviting others to come and join us.” 

At the same time, Detroit’s trajectory is shifting and is serving as the “bucket of water” for Michigan’s house fire, according to Doe. 

“The arrow on our GPS was pointed in the wrong direction for a long time, and it’s pointed in the right direction now, but that doesn’t mean you arrived at your destination,” Doe said. 

Across the conversation, one theme dominated: talent attraction and retention. 

Jared Fleisher put it bluntly: “We are competing and we have to sell [our city and state].” Yet, right now, he added, “people are not buying our product.” 

So what do they want? A vibrant urban environment. 

“They want a vibrant urban environment … bars, restaurants, public spaces, entertainment,” Fleisher said — an approach that underpins Bedrock’s strategy and Fleisher’s larger argument that “place attracts talent, talent attracts business.” 

Detroit is already seeing early proof points. Fleisher noted that greater downtown added 10,000 residents over the past decade and now ranks No. 1 in “stickiness,” a measure of how people engage with the city. 

Rachel Stewart pushed the conversation further, emphasizing that place alone isn’t enough. Job pipelines matter just as much. 

“One of our biggest opportunities as a region and as a state is attracting entry-level jobs,” she said, pointing to declines in fields like marketing and the need to rebuild local career pathways. 

She also highlighted untapped potential in university partnerships, sharing that building one-on-one relationships with students makes it easier to recruit. 

Still, Stewart reinforced the power of place from a recruitment standpoint. 

“In the past, Detroit wasn’t a selling point,” she said. “Now, we take them to our Detroit store, show them the Hudson Building, and ta-da, they’re moving in two seconds.” 

Fleisher agreed he debate itself is misplaced: “We engage in a false dichotomy … A young, educated person wants to be in a vibrant place with a job.” 

Despite alignment on strategy, panelists were clear that policy and execution need to catch up. 

Doe pointed to retention incentives and relocation programs as high-return opportunities, noting that one new household can add $190,000 annually to the economy. 

Stewart highlighted two immediate barriers: talent incentives and housing supply.  

“We really have, if not an affordability issue, an availability issue,” she said, warning that limited housing is already pushing people farther from city centers. 

Fleisher called for faster action on large-scale investment efforts, stating: “If Michigan is serious about growth, let somebody donate a … billion dollars to grow the … city and state.”

The conversation closed with a shared understanding: growth cannot happen in silos. 

“You can’t recruit talent without place. You can’t grow population unless we have transit to connect communities, and we can’t attract employers if communities don’t feel vibrant and inclusive,” Archer said. 

Detroit has momentum. The question now is whether the state can align policy, investment, and execution to scale it. 

As Doe put it: “When we do things, it works.”