0 -w1 8B DETROIT From Page 5B are addressing the same concerns. "I don't think anyone has it solved." A changing demographic Not only does Greater Downtown differ economically and racially from the rest of the city, many argue that there's a lack of integra- tion within Downtown. The Black, working or middle class population and the white, wealthy newcomers are hardly mixing. Some even say these new firms, and the people they bring, are the harbingers of gentrification. Williams is one person that argues that gentrification is occurring in Detroit. The controversial concept is defined as the buy- ing and renovating of houses and stores by affluent people in a rundown urban center, raising property values but displacing poorer residents as they've gradually priced out of these neighborhoods. Williams proposed a ,4ew sort of gentrification called "cultural dis- placement." This phenomenon is reflected by the strain occurring with the chasm between the affluent white demographic and lower income Black demographic. Retailers in Greater Downtown are increasingly catering to a white, educated and mow wealthy demographic. Lunch spots in this area used to be $5 or $6 for a meal, but now customers are expected to fork over around $10. Even Smith, of UpTo, said his apartment building changed. When he moved in three years ago, it was a mix of families, elderly folk, Blacks and whites. Now, it's entirely young and white. And rent has increased, too. "It's very noticeable how the demograph- ics has shifted toward young white profes- sionals," Smith said. This type of interaction is creating "a Detroit of old and a Detroit of new," Williams said. Williams lived in Midtown asa University student when he participated in the Semester in Detroit program. Ina city that's more than 80 percent Black, he often socialized with white people. "By being based in Midtown and Wayne State, I felt like I was in a part of Detroit I did not know growing up," Williams said. "I felt like I was in the same bubble that Ann Arbor represents that is shielded from dif- ferent communities challenged socially and economically." Indeed, Smith, of UpTo, said his Detroit was a "contained community" of young peo- ple who work at QuickenLoans, Blue Cross Blue Shield, law firms, nonprofits or start- ups. Just about everyone is working on com- munity projects. "We go out and I know people everywhere we go," Smith said. "It's awesome. I love the community." Foley wrote in his blog last year that tech startups, microbreweries and vegan cupcake stands are not going help the city. "That's not gonna do anything for the old lady who goes to church on Sundays," he said in the interview. However, Thomas emphasized that better- ing Detroit schools, police and other public goods requires cash. And that's only going to come through property and income taxes. "I used to have arguments with Michael (Williams)," she said with a small laugh. "He was trying to shape that thesis of gentrifica- tion, and my argument would always be but what's the alternative? Detroit was being emptied out, completely abandoned. The quandary is that in spite of what people might see as cultural displacement or discomfort, the fact is that Detroit was suffering." The split of Detroit, into old and new, into decades-old storefronts and shiny new start- ups downtown, might be a necessary evil to rebuild the city and give it the funds it needs. But Williams is still hopeful Black and white, rich and poor, college educated and not, will converge. He said Detroit is the place where itmust occur. "We offer an opportunity that allows us to shift our thinking and our spirit on how we define our community," Williams said. "You have different, mixed communities coming together in a space. If we hone the power of that, it is a potential to seize on the challenges of Detroit and do it better than ever before." Back downtown, in Dan Gilbert's M@ dison Building, University alum Reid Tatoris works as the co-founder of Are You A Human, a service that aims to make the process of typ- ing out words in an image before logging into a webpage fun. Many of his employees live in the city. For Tatoris, the decision to live and work down- town was a no-brainer; he said Detroit was the most interesting place he had ever lived in. "It's not comfortable yet," Tatoris said."We don't have a Target or a Starbucks on every corner. It's kind of like a scavenger hunt,look- ingfor barsor coffee shops.Butwhenyou find them, they're some of the most unique places you'll ever see in the world." He opened in Detroit because he wanted to help rebuild the city. He said he has bad days all the time while growing his startup, but the exhaustion is ameliorated just from looking out his window. "We think to ourselves, 'Maybe this day was bad for us, but for this community we're part ofit was agood day,'"Tatoris said. "I find that really motivating."