Detroit is a gutted city, a cautionary tale, a tapestry of ruin. Or: Detroit is the comeback kid, a wise investment, a city that will return to greatness. What happens next in the country’s onetime industrial capital is a story that cannot yet be written; no crystal ball can accurately predict the future of the largest U.S. city ever to seek bankruptcy protection. What we know is this: Many smart, talented, tenacious people are attempting to make the city a modern powerhouse. And many of them call Michigan Law home. The state’s governor, the city’s new mayor, and the emergency financial manager all earned degrees from the Law School, all around the same time. Alumni who are entrepreneurs, education experts, nonprofit leaders, even urban farmers are hoping to contribute to the revitalization of the city in ways large and small.

Law Quadrangle • Spring 2012

With an array of stories in the coming pages, we hope to paint a picture of the incipient revitalization of Detroit. Or perhaps stitching together a quilt is a more apt comparison, as the stories highlight a city that is made of patches of despair and hope, of blight and grandeur. Some patches are threadbare; others contain impeccable embroidery. Whatever the metaphor, know this: Michigan Law alumni, faculty, and students are vital to Detroit’s future.

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