Windsor Star calls Detroit a creative "mecca"

Cyclists, can-do spirit and a hip youth culture -- all reasons why the Windsor Star pegged Detroit as the latest American city to undergo a massive transformation from decrepit to desirable in recent years. In particular, the city's wave of new entrepreneurs speaks to a new post-industrial mindset in the ersatz Motor City.

While Detroit once attracted new residents with the promise of a comfortable factory gig, it's now seen as the new destination for creatives hungry to build their own dream jobs.

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Very few of the many new businesses sprouting up are getting outright government grants or tax breaks, said DC3 director Matt Clayson. But micro-loans, venture capital investment, mentoring, cheap work spaces, tools and equipment and help with market exposure are among the resources made available to just about anyone with a viable idea.

Philip Cooley, the owner of the wildly successful Corktown restaurant Slows Bar BQ, said Detroit was once a city that relied on large companies employing a large workforce in big factories. "How complacent we became, and we fell apart as a result," said Cooley, a 33-year-old business school dropout.