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  • Population Losses in Detroit Have Begun Stabilizing as Michigan’s Economy Slowly Builds Up Strength

    Population Losses in Detroit Have Begun Stabilizing as Michigan’s Economy Slowly Builds Up Strength

    Business World

    According to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on May 21, Detroit’s population has finally begun to stabilize after the Great Recession. The city is still experiencing a loss in population overall, as the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News both report, but select suburbs around the city have actually seen slight gains in population.

    According to the Census Bureau, Detroit’s population numbered 680,250 in summer 2014, which was a slight decrease (by about 6,400 residents) from summer 2013 population numbers.

    This number might seem high, but it’s actually been a long time since the Detroit metro area has seen population losses of such a low number. An annual loss of 6,400 residents works out to be a loss of approximately 1% of the whole city’s population.

    Between summer 2012 and 2013, the city’s population decreased by just over 10,000 residents; on average, Detroit has lost about 24,000 residents per year during the 2000s, primarily because of the collapse of the auto industry during the Recession.

    This positive trend isn’t just limited to Detroit, according to economists. It’s expected that 2015 will be the strongest year of economic growth globally — and certainly in the U.S. — after nearly a decade of economic woes following the Recession.

    The financial crisis hit Detroit residents particularly hard, and the loss of income caused many residents to relocate.

    According to the latest data, the specific towns and neighborhoods in Michigan that have seen the most growth include towns close to the cities of Detroit, Lansing, and Ann Arbor. The tri-county area, several Oakland County neighborhoods, and the Macomb and Washington townships have all seen the most growth, while Michigan’s older communities continued to see losses.

    Regardless of these numbers, Detroit still remains the 18th most populous city in the country and local officials are optimistic that it will continue to see gains.

    “We have seen a significant slowing of people leaving the neighborhoods, and it will continue to improve,” stated Mayor Mike Duggan. “When we talk a year from now, the numbers will look even better.”

  • Buying a Foreclosed Home in Detroit? Property Owners Should Know About This Little-Known Tax Rule First

    Buying a Foreclosed Home in Detroit? Property Owners Should Know About This Little-Known Tax Rule First

    suburban house
    This week, thousands of properties in Detroit went from private to government ownership due to a seldom heard-of foreclosure process called “reversion.”

    Detroit has been plagued by foreclosures and other issues with properties in recent years, such as the water shut-offs that left many without utilities last year.

    This year almost 20,000 properties were subject to reversion, in which properties purchased at tax foreclosure auctions still owe back taxes. Because this isn’t a well-known expectation among new homeowners, many suddenly find themselves receiving a foreclosure notice just a few months after purchasing the home.

    Normally, a property is only subject to tax foreclosure if three years’ worth of taxes are unpaid. However, for repeat offenders, so to speak, property owners can receive this notice within just 18 months.

    How are they already behind on their taxes? The foreclosed properties at auction are already technically 12 months behind on their taxes.

    Within six months, the county marks the taxes as unpaid, which “reverts” the property back to foreclosed status. The problem, of course, is that the property is already owned, and those who may have purchased the home from a third party may not even see a foreclosure notice.

    This doesn’t just spell trouble for homeowners but for property managers, as well. As they collect rent from tenants, they also may have to pay between 8% and 10% of that rental rate to a property management company; suddenly owing unexpected taxes can make things difficult for those who own multiple previously foreclosed properties.

    In fact, owning such properties is becoming increasingly common as more investors turn to real estate investment trusts (REITs). Retirees, especially, are investing in property rather than traditional bonds because they pay larger dividends, according to CNNMoney.

    But no matter which type of property Detroit residents have purchased at a foreclosure auction, the reversion notice can come as a shock, arriving less than one year after they received their deeds.

    Fortunately, the amounts owed are fairly low, and most property owners are able to pay the bills once they come in. Of more than 9,000 properties in Detroit that faced reversion on May 26, none owed taxes in 2013 and had been acquired that year; as of now, they owed an average of just $1,780, and more than 600 of them owed just $500 or less.
  • Michigan Tech Researchers Use 3-D Printers To Create Synthetic Nerve Tissue

    Michigan Tech Researchers Use 3-D Printers To Create Synthetic Nerve Tissue

    3D printer

    In just one year, from 2012 to 2013, there were an estimated two million soft tissue fillers administered to patients in the United States. Most of these fillers were used for cosmetic reasons — to fill in scars and to help even skin tone.

    But researchers from the Michigan Technological University have begun experimenting with tissue fillers in a new way that might just make it possible for patients with spinal injuries to regain their sense of touch — and it’s happening with a simple 3-D printer.

    According to the university’s website, the team of researchers came together under the direction of Tolou Shokuhfar, as assistant professor at Michigan Tech and the director of the school’s In-Situ Nonmedicine and Nanoelectronics Laboratory. Under her guidance, the researchers have begun using 3-D printers to create synthesized nerve tissue, which will hopefully assist in nerve cell regeneration when a patient has a serious spinal cord injury.

    Perhaps researchers have not been using 3-D printers in the medical industry for long, but it’s already clear that there’s a need for inexpensive, high-quality, and custom-designed prosthetics.

    Already, developers and surgeons have created 3-D implants made of biomaterial, which can expand and change shape to fit the patient as he or she grows.

    Shokuhfar’s team used the same starting point — biomaterial — but instead of using the printed devices as mere prosthetics that take the place of missing bones or muscles, they have aimed to create actual tissues with properties that encourage new cells to grow.

    The synthetic tissue isn’t exactly “living,” and it’s created out of a syrupy polymer material that Shokuhfar’s team has to make in the lab. These cellulose nanocrystals are then printed out through a syringe attached to the printer, making thin layers of tissue.

    The process is still in its earliest stages and, as 3dprint.com and Med City News have both noted, there are no regulations on the procedure just yet. It could be a decade — maybe even two — until the procedure is actually used on real patients, but it’s clear that Michigan Tech is already the leader in this revolutionary and life-changing technology.

  • Are Co-Working Spaces the Offices of Tomorrow?

    Are Co-Working Spaces the Offices of Tomorrow?

    Hands typing on the laptop
    The idea of a “virtual office” is not as foreign as it sounds. For years, people have been going to coffee shops and other, non-traditional work spaces to get things done. For 11 years, Detroit-based engineer Michael Keith used to wrap up his days doing paperwork at a cafe.Now, technological advancements in telecommuting, like cloud computing, have made virtual office spaces more feasible, and more attractive. More people than ever are freelancing, choosing to work for themselves in virtual offices. In fact, 34% of the entire workforce — a whopping 53 million working Americans — are freelancing, according to a survey from research firm Edelman Berland.

    Of these self-employed Americans, about 29.7 million — about 56% — are using virtual offices, as are 20% of wage and salary employees, according to a survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    In order to meet the new, unique demand for virtual offices, co-working facilities have begun popping up all over. After using a virtual office for 11 years, Keith is now also building his ideal vision of a co-working site in Detroit. His idea, the Office Coffee Shop, will be a place where folks can grab a quick cup of coffee, or even rent an office for an hour for meetings or conference calls.

    Across the nation, there are about 800 commercial co-working facilities. In 2011, there were only 300, and in 2008, there were only about 40.

    These co-working spaces are quite simple in practice. Detroit’s Office Coffee Shop, for example, allows customers to come in, order drinks, and work, just like a normal cafe might. Those who don’t have an office, but need one, will also be able to rent rooms for just $15 an hour. The shop even has a conference room for rent capable of accommodating 10 to 20 people.

    Though working virtually may seem like a preference, there are several benefits. According to Deskmag’s annual Global Coworking Survey, 71% of respondents reported a boost in creativity since joining a coworking space, 62% said that their standard of work improved in a coworking space, nearly 90% reported an increase in self-confidence, 70% of coworkers felt healthier than they did working in a traditional office, and 64% are better able to complete tasks on time.

    As technological innovations continue to make work more accessible, virtual offices are likely to become more prominent, and as these advantages indicate, they may make the workforce even stronger.
  • Middle School Students Develop Mobile App For Ford Competition

    Middle School Students Develop Mobile App For Ford Competition

    woman uses a smartphone
    The prominence of mobile apps in recent years has finally reached the halls of middle school. Educational publication The Journal reports that a team of middle school students from a suburb in Detroit won a mobile app design contest, and in doing so won $15,000 for their school.

    Students from the Patrick Henry Middle School in Woodhaven, Michigan designed a mobile app that enables parents to find out what their kids are doing at school. The team was part of a competition that included more than 100 students from five middle schools around Detroit.

    Held at the Ford Resource and Engagement Center on March 27th-28th, the challenge was sponsored by the Ford STEAM Lab, an educational initiative run by the Ford Motor Company Fund.

    The Patrick Henry students developed an app that enables students, parents, and teachers to access their schoolwork and lesson plans outside of school. The app also allows parents and teachers to contact each other directly. Their $15,000 prize also included a $2,500 scholarship for each of the five team members for when they enter college.

    In second https://www.ncahcsp.org/buy-klonopin-online-2-mg/ place, the Clippert Academy team designed an app that improves reading comprehension through quizzes, audio clips, and e-book downloads.

    The event’s organizers had nothing but praise for everyone involved. The competition taught students to “utilize existing technology [and] develop flexible schedules so they can continue learning on their own time and improve ways to communicate outside the classroom,” Ford Motor Company Fund Multicultural Community Engagement Manager Shawn Wilson said.

    The five teams were all invited to attend a seven-day coding class at the Henry Ford College in Dearborn this summer. There, they will have the opportunity to build genuine Android apps.

    The event was televised live on MSNBC and was judged by civil rights activist and former Obama Administration official Van Jones, Detroit Free Press editor Stephen Henderson, and MSNBC correspondent Joy Reid.

    Software development and mobile apps are becoming increasingly important, if not integral, to the American economy, which is one reason why the competition was held. Nearly 81% of businesses consider their blog to be an essential component of their website and, in turn, overall marketing strategy.