Detroit has the same problem our areas that are “ripe for recovery” have in NJ: the working people fled, following the jobs, and as long as all that remains are government wards who can collect their welfare checks there anyway, nobody will expose themselves to the danger proximity to those people brings.
Asbury Park at the Jersey Shore was supposed to have such a rebirth, but they wouldn’t relocate the welfare locusts (and they’ve begun demolishing some of the half-finished buildings they heralded as signs of the revival 20 years ago). Parts of Jersey City HAVE had a rebirth, via gentrification and re-location.
One issue where I stand on the opposite side from my normal position is the fight over a second bridge over the Detroit river. I’m for it because in my opinion its a smart investment because Detroit is a bottleneck at the second busiest border crossing (truck freight)in the USA after Laredo.
The good it would do for Detroit would only be a side effect rather than a primary objective. Unlike high speed rail, the need is already be there and would be whether Detroit was there or not. Canada has been pushing for it for 30 years and even has their side of the river prepared with a highway extension and everything.