Detroit's downtown foot traffic is increasing

Data: University of Toronto; Note: Downtown defined as the central location with the highest concentration of employment in each metro area; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios

Detroit's downtown saw a bump in visitor activity between March 2023 and February 2024, per new University of Toronto data .

Why it matters: It's a sign of improvement for downtown's sluggish post-pandemic recovery .

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The big picture: Detroit's 20% increase was 12th largest among more than 50 U.S. cities studied.

• About a dozen cities saw decreases, led by San Francisco's 22% drop.

How it works: The researchers used anonymized mobile device location data to estimate visitor activity in metro downtowns defined as areas with the highest job concentration.

Zoom in: The latest figures don't account for last month's record-breaking NFL Draft .

• But the draft's success underscores downtown's upward momentum , which has been building since the city's bankruptcy exit 10 years ago.
• The Wall Street Journal last month called Detroit "America's most unlikely real-estate boomtown," highlighting Hudson's Detroit and downtown's well-rounded landscape of casinos, sports venues and historic theaters.

Between the lines: Detroit and many of the cities with relatively high recovery rates over this latest period had struggled in past years.

State of play: Cities tended to benefit from a summertime activity bump that faded as colder temperatures arrived this past winter.

What we're watching: It remains to be seen whether the NFL Draft and growing national interest in the city spark more sustained tourism.