It definitely has a vibrant downtown, which too many cities do not. There are restaurants with tables outside, and people walking around. And there are many wonderful parks. People do not hang around campus as much as they did back before the U of M started fretting about liability issues and chased away all street performers, especially during the art fairs, but they still hang about campus, and though they truly warped The Top of The Park from what it once was, the city still has a great summer festival compared to, well, most of the country...

Many of the culturally productive (rather than purely consumptive) people do come there, and be creative, they just often live outside city limits these days, in the ever-increasing sprawl, or in Ypsi. It's nice to see a resurgence in Ypsi, actually. I hope it continues.