The "Motor City" has been so dominated by its public sector unions that, under pressure from the teachers, Kwame Kilpatrick, the self-described “hip-hop Mayor," turned down a philanthropist’s offer of $200,000,000 to fund charter schools. But now, the crime-ridden city, faced with the decline of the big three automakers, the nations second highest unemployment rate and massive budget deficits, has announced plans to cut property taxes and charge a fee for garbage pick-up. But what’s more promising is that Kilpatrick has bucked the public sector unions to privatize some of the city’s snow removal. The mayor explained, "You need a core team of people in city government to do snow removal. But you don't need these 92 or 98 people on your staff all the time. Why? Because it's not snowing right now.” Is this, asks Josh Hendrickson writing for Tech Central Station, the beginning of a Detroit revival? It’s not clear, but if Kilpatrick sells off the Department of Public Lighting, a famously failed operation, you’ll know that something hopeful is starting to stir in Detroit.