Robin Boyle, associate dean in the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs, says in his opinion piece that \"Detroit is simply too big for the people who inhabit it.\" As an example, in 1950, there were 1,849,668 people living in the city inhabiting a geographical area covering 138.7 square miles. Fifty years later, the population had fallen to 951,270, but the city remained the same size. \"Obviously this emptiness translates into tax revenues that are in free-fall.\" Boyle adds that city planners need to consider \"urban spatial reduction\" as the city faces immediate, serious budget issues. A photo of Boyle accompanies the story.