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Very interesting. I sometimes wonder why Detroit, with all that available, inexpensive facilities and infrastructure, doesn't advertise itself as a center for e

Very interesting. I sometimes wonder why Detroit, with all that available, inexpensive facilities and infrastructure, doesn't advertise itself as a center for engineering talent. Why aren't people who need such things doing it in Detroit, where it's cheap? > engineering, the key to tech- and knowledge-based industries. To take one phrase and make a larger point: Engineering provides us with information and the tools to use it. Using knowledge (from our goals to our understanding of the world) generally is the province of the sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts (to th extent an artist works with data).

eliben 11y ago
> Very interesting. I sometimes wonder why Detroit, with all that available, inexpensive facilities and infrastructure, doesn't advertise itself as a center for engineering talent. Why aren't people who need such things doing it in Detroit, where it's cheap? What is cheap? Isn't personnel the main cost is tech/engineering companies? This is about convincing folks to live in Detroit
- rjsw 11y ago
  There used to be a fair number of engineers in Detroit, they can't all have moved away.
- hackuser 11y ago
  > This is about convincing folks to live in Detroit The engineers are already there. Per the article, Detroit has the third highest concentration of engineers.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    But are their engineers that are un-/under-employed, and specialized in currently in-demand fields ("engineers" not being interchangeable widgets) there? Because, if not, talent that firms need isn't going to be cheap locally. So, what's the draw?
vkou 11y ago
Because you'll have a hell of a time convincing people to move to Detroit? If you're not going to be shackled to the Bay area, why not pick... Pretty much anywhere else? If you want cheap, why not Pittsburgh? Or Portland? Engineering wages in both are quite low.
- hackuser 11y ago
  Detroit has a higher concentration of engineers, per the article.
dragonwriter 11y ago
> Very interesting. I sometimes wonder why Detroit, with all that available, inexpensive facilities and infrastructure, doesn't advertise itself as a center for engineering talent. Why aren't people who need such things doing it in Detroit, where it's cheap? As I understand it the main reason is: AFAIK, what's cheap in Detroit is labor, particularly unskilled labor, and disused facilities that may require substantial remediation to serve their original purpose, and may be more expensive to turn to new purposes than building fresh somewhere else. What's not cheap in Detroit is the things that firms that need engineering talent need, including engineering talent.
oscargrouch 11y ago
I also wonder why a country that has such a high interest from foreigners wanting to live in it, dont create a special immigration policy, where it would accept highly educated workforce, as long as they are willing to live in places like Detroit, so those sort of cities could be eventually recovered.. Something like grant citizenship, but only if they accept to not migrate to anywhere else for lets say, 10 years. The government would then choose particular spots that could possibly get back from the dead, like Detroit.
- sirkneeland 11y ago
  A nice idea, but in US politics, what should be two discrete issues (attracting skilled labor and managing the inflow of unskilled labor) have somehow become hopelessly intertwined. One is regularly held hostage to the other whenever an attempt is made to resolve it. (This is a gross oversimplification of course, but that's why this post is the length of a paragraph and not a 300 page book)
  - oscargrouch 11y ago
    Yes, im sure a idea like this this would need much more work, and research, to see even if its reasonable, then if it would be considered to be possible, a lot of little details would need to be solved, to make things really work out. Im sure this is a very tricky issue.. But if the US government would be really willing to do something like this, which i think is really unlikely in reality, they might sophisticate ideas like this further down, and maybe get experiments like this to work well, and solve some hard problems along the way. You would be basically, importing "human energy".. Also of course, maybe start small, and try to attract locals from other regions first, making some things easier, like credit.. anyway this is getting out of control here.. heh, stopping now before is too late.
- beachstartup 11y ago
  because the people who live in those kinds of areas are the least likely to want a bunch of foreigners around.
- rdl 11y ago
maxsilver 11y ago
> I sometimes wonder why Detroit, with all that available, inexpensive facilities and infrastructure, doesn't advertise itself as a center for engineering talent. They are trying. http://opportunitydetroit.com/ http://opportunitydetroit.com/ But so is almost every other small / medium / large city in the Midwest. It's hard to stand out by trying to use a "me too" branding.
- hackuser 11y ago
  Detroit has advantages that the others don't: A higher concentration of engineers, cheaper land and facilities, more available infrastructure (a city built for millions has (750,000?) residents), low cost of living, etc.
rdl 11y ago
It's Detroit the City which is fucked. The suburbs are fine, and where the engineers live.

eliben 11y ago

rjsw 11y ago
There used to be a fair number of engineers in Detroit, they can't all have moved away.
hackuser 11y ago
> This is about convincing folks to live in Detroit The engineers are already there. Per the article, Detroit has the third highest concentration of engineers.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  But are their engineers that are un-/under-employed, and specialized in currently in-demand fields ("engineers" not being interchangeable widgets) there? Because, if not, talent that firms need isn't going to be cheap locally. So, what's the draw?

vkou 11y ago

Because you'll have a hell of a time convincing people to move to Detroit? If you're not going to be shackled to the Bay area, why not pick... Pretty much anywhere else? If you want cheap, why not Pittsburgh? Or Portland? Engineering wages in both are quite low.

hackuser 11y ago
Detroit has a higher concentration of engineers, per the article.

dragonwriter 11y ago

> Very interesting. I sometimes wonder why Detroit, with all that available, inexpensive facilities and infrastructure, doesn't advertise itself as a center for engineering talent. Why aren't people who need such things doing it in Detroit, where it's cheap? As I understand it the main reason is: AFAIK, what's cheap in Detroit is labor, particularly unskilled labor, and disused facilities that may require substantial remediation to serve their original purpose, and may be more expensive to turn to new purposes than building fresh somewhere else. What's not cheap in Detroit is the things that firms that need engineering talent need, including engineering talent.

oscargrouch 11y ago

I also wonder why a country that has such a high interest from foreigners wanting to live in it, dont create a special immigration policy, where it would accept highly educated workforce, as long as they are willing to live in places like Detroit, so those sort of cities could be eventually recovered.. Something like grant citizenship, but only if they accept to not migrate to anywhere else for lets say, 10 years. The government would then choose particular spots that could possibly get back from the dead, like Detroit.

sirkneeland 11y ago
A nice idea, but in US politics, what should be two discrete issues (attracting skilled labor and managing the inflow of unskilled labor) have somehow become hopelessly intertwined. One is regularly held hostage to the other whenever an attempt is made to resolve it. (This is a gross oversimplification of course, but that's why this post is the length of a paragraph and not a 300 page book)
- oscargrouch 11y ago
  Yes, im sure a idea like this this would need much more work, and research, to see even if its reasonable, then if it would be considered to be possible, a lot of little details would need to be solved, to make things really work out. Im sure this is a very tricky issue.. But if the US government would be really willing to do something like this, which i think is really unlikely in reality, they might sophisticate ideas like this further down, and maybe get experiments like this to work well, and solve some hard problems along the way. You would be basically, importing "human energy".. Also of course, maybe start small, and try to attract locals from other regions first, making some things easier, like credit.. anyway this is getting out of control here.. heh, stopping now before is too late.
beachstartup 11y ago
because the people who live in those kinds of areas are the least likely to want a bunch of foreigners around.
rdl 11y ago

maxsilver 11y ago

> I sometimes wonder why Detroit, with all that available, inexpensive facilities and infrastructure, doesn't advertise itself as a center for engineering talent. They are trying. http://opportunitydetroit.com/ http://opportunitydetroit.com/ But so is almost every other small / medium / large city in the Midwest. It's hard to stand out by trying to use a "me too" branding.

hackuser 11y ago
Detroit has advantages that the others don't: A higher concentration of engineers, cheaper land and facilities, more available infrastructure (a city built for millions has (750,000?) residents), low cost of living, etc.

rdl 11y ago

It's Detroit the City which is fucked. The suburbs are fine, and where the engineers live.