Ms. Lutz’s store is on a block of Midtown that is patrolled by Wayne State University’s police department. In a city where the average response time to the highest-priority 911 crime calls is nearly an hour, Ms. Lutz says she has phoned Wayne State’s emergency line and had an officer inside her store in 90 seconds.

Detroit’s unreliable public services encourage a do-it-yourself culture that is especially intense in the business community, which has a small-town vibe. “We all help each other,” said Erik Nordin, 46, an artist and one of the owners of the Detroit Design Center. “Your street’s not plowed? You call a friend with a truck and get dug out.”

Twenty years ago, the streetlights along the West Vernor Highway, a busy corridor filled with shops largely run by and for the neighborhood’s Latino population, operated reliably. Now, vast stretches of the strip are dark at night, scaring off customers and providing cover to vandals. City officials estimate that nearly half of Detroit’s 88,000 streetlights are broken.

Vernor’s merchants banded together seven years ago to create Detroit’s first — and so far only — business-improvement district, overseen by the Southwest Detroit Business Association. After an exhaustive fund-raising push, the group broke ground this month on a $6.4 million project to provide a 2.3-mile stretch of the district with new sidewalks, landscaping and streetlights.

The new lights’ LED bulbs reflect both environmental concerns and pragmatism. “There’s no copper in there,” said Theresa Zajac, the association’s vice president. “There’s nothing for the scrappers to strip.”

The flip side to Detroit’s obstacles are the opportunities it offers. “The cost of entry is very small compared to other cities,” said Vittoria Katanski, the executive director of Hatch Detroit, a local development nonprofit. “You’re able to afford almost anything you can envision.”

Detroit has more than 50 programs to nurture fledgling ventures. For young technology companies, there is TechTown, an accelerator that offers work space and mentorship. Invest Detroit makes loans of up to $500,000 to retail businesses. FoodLab Detroit brings together the city’s food entrepreneurs, while D:Hive offers training and support services in a range of fields. Detroit Creative Corridor Center works with those in the design and advertising industries, as well as with small manufacturing firms.