During the Nixon years, Detroit's business elite laid plans for the glittering Renaissance Center retail and office complex. The Ford and Carter administrations brought the "People Mover," an elevated rail loop around downtown that hardly anybody rides today.
Other presidential administrations introduced enterprise zone tax breaks and empowerment zone development grants. President Barack Obama promised to save the Motor City by saving the auto industry.
But none of it worked. Rather than becoming a showplace for the transformational power of urban policy, Detroit now stands mostly as a burial ground for good intentions — of both Democrats and Republicans.