Five years after Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, the city is starting to recover economically through efforts to fill vacant homes and rebuild the once-desolate downtown.
Japan, witnessing depopulation on a massive scale due to its aging society and low birthrate, could use Detroit as a model for revitalizing fallen communities, experts say.
The iconic Midwestern city, known as the hometown of General Motors Co. and the birthplace of Motown Records, has suffered a decadeslong trend of depopulation, including a major exodus in the late 1960s after racial tensions exploded into clashes in the streets. When it declared bankruptcy, the city was saddled with nearly $18 billion in debt.