On the one hand, our nation’s capital, enshrined in the Constitution but with no vote in Congress. On the other, our nation’s murder capital, home of the bankrupt auto industry and itself likely to face bankruptcy.

The District and the D share troubled politics, failing schools, high crime rates, great cultural scenes, and an abundance of sports teams. Both are obsessed by one dominating local business.

I’ve lived in Detroit (all right, it was a western suburb) for 20 years. I love Detroit. I love cars and the people who make them. I also love Detroit’s dogged determination to slog through this mess. In the last 12 months, all of us in Michigan have felt extreme anxiety about our jobs, our family’s jobs and our property values.

Now I’m moving to Washington, where it hardly ever snows, where I am paying enough annual rent to buy four Detroit houses, and where my husband and I can get by with one small Saturn Astra. It does seem traitorous. But I am looking forward to urban living. And it’s appealing, now that our nest is empty of baby birds, to strip back our possessions to what we can fit into an  loft in Capitol Hill. (I’m finding it’s not actually easy to execute, but it is appealing in concept.)

The District and The D will  take these two cities, great and once-great, compare and contrast them, explore and examine them. May the best city win.