(Huge disclaimer that I may be wrong in my understanding here) > Wasn't Detroit's problem that it was too dependent a small set of labor-intensive businesses i

(Huge disclaimer that I may be wrong in my understanding here) > Wasn't Detroit's problem that it was too dependent a small set of labor-intensive businesses in one industry that have been in a long term secular decline (as foreign competition as increased) while simultaneously becoming more automated? From my understanding, the Strong Towns folks would say that because Detroit spent years going into maintenance debt, and replacing it's financially productive areas with unproductive areas, it was unable to survive a downturn. In contrast, New York, suffered several different financial downturns, but was able to constantly reinvent itself as some other industry town. Though I think Strong Towns would also say that single reliance on any one industry is not considered "strong" either.