DETROIT — Consider this public relations challenge, perhaps not seen since the Edsel: At the same time that beleaguered Detroit is emphasizing its desperate need for financial support, it is pitching itself as the city of the future.

Can Detroit make the case that it can be great again, even as it asks creditors to accept less than they are owed, struggles to save its world-class art collection from auction and pleads with its residents to stop moving away?

“Detroit is a comeback city already,” Gov. Rick Snyder said recently as he announced a plan to attract 50,000 highly skilled immigrants to the city. “That’s something we don’t emphasize to the world enough.”