From the Detroit Free Press:

Michigan's economy may have continued to tank the past 12 months, but metro Detroiters feel better about the region and more optimistic about the future than they did a year ago.

About 1,500 metro Detroiters interviewed by the Gallup polling organization as part of the second year of a three-year quality of life study gave the area improved marks for a variety of issues that drive resident attachment to a place, which is considered one indicator of economic growth.

The study -- which surveyed residents in the Detroit metropolitan statistical area of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Livingston and Lapeer counties -- cited three main factors that emotionally attach residents to the area: openness (how welcoming a place is), social offerings (fun places to gather) and aesthetics (physical beauty, including parks, playgrounds and green space).