As I entered the dinner hall at the Renaissance Center for the LiveWorkDetroit! event this past Saturday, I could not help but notice that it was packed.  Perhaps it was the narrow room layout, but it appeared there were more attendees that I expected, and there were hardly any empty seats. I asked everyone at my table to guess the attendance figure; the answers ranged anywhere from 200 to 350.  My guess was 300.

I started imagining the exponential impact of 300 young professionals moving to Detroit (note to self: make a movie titled ‘Detroit’s 300’).   Of course, the odds of getting all 300 to move to Detroit are statistically small.  Still, even if 30 people, or 10 percent, move, it will have a cascading affect!  Thirty people nearly fill a mid-sized residential building like Claridge House Apartments downtown (which the participants toured). High occupancy levels in yet another building downtown may be the tipping point for a real estate developer on the fence about investing in Detroit.  A nearly full building can convince a young entrepreneur to do a pop-up restaurant in the building’s first floor.  Thirty people spending their disposable income in Detroit may be enough to sustain a couple new jobs for people in Detroit’s neighborhoods.

It goes beyond the economic benefits (although, as Marx taught us, everything has economic implications).  More people living downtown means more people who think about Detroit’s problems on a macro and micro level and come up with creative solutions.  It means more people who will make a point of telling someone who throws a candy wrapper on a sidewalk in Campus Martius that there is a trash bin five feet away! It’s more eyes on the street, which makes for a safer environment. It’s more people bringing their parents downtown and changing their perceptions.  The truth is, every champion for this city is vital.  Each one will propel Detroit forward. It reminds me of a common saying at my company: “The inches we need are all around us”. It is the accumulation of little things that add up to a big difference, transforming neighborhoods, and cities.

I guess what I am saying is: carry on in telling everyone about Detroit.  Keep recruiting.  Keep the momentum going because each conversation is inching us closer to the city we envision.

Finally, I am proud of the leadership role the organizations I am associated with have in Detroit.  Rock Ventures is increasing the likelihood that these soon to be graduates will move to Detroit.  Whether it’s bringing more jobs to Detroit, increasing the retail presence, activating the public spaces, or rehabbing vacant buildings into apartment units.  I am also appreciative of my fellowship organization, Challenge Detroit, for convincing 30 young professionals to live, work, play, and give in Detroit.

Contributed by fellow Vadim Avshalumov