Here in the UK us technobods revere this city as it is the origin of all things great in this particular genre. E.g Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Carl Craig, Derrick May, Underground Resistance, Drexciya, T-1000 and last not but least the mighty Jeff Mills.
Detroit techno was actually not very well known here for a long time.
Motor Detroit and the rising popularity of raves helped to change that somewhat. Also the DEMF, which is a free weekend-long techno festival sponsored by the city has pulled in over a million people both years.