Varying Levels of Distress and Service in Detroit

"While Mayor Dave Bing said no community would go without essentials including police, fire, emergency services, and trash collection, the healthier parts of the city would have services – such as economic development and tree trimming – that more-blighted areas would not.

The announcement represents the first action by Mayor Bing's Detroit Works Project, a task force launched nearly 14 months ago to create a long-term plan for the city. With the Detroit population now at 713,777 – more than 1 million less than it was in 1950 and 25 percent less than it was a decade ago – there is widespread agreement that the city needs to take dramatic steps to regain even part of its past prosperity."

Neighborhoods will be classified as either steady, transitional or distressed.