As referenced in the article, this reminds me strongly of Marxism, or more specifically, one the steps Marx states is along the road to communism. But instead of a violent social revolution like many expect, it's simply the people of Detroit turning their back on a system that has failed them, and instead working more communally, with a common good in mind. from the wiki:

The eventual long-term outcome of this revolution would be the establishment of socialism – a socioeconomic system based on social ownership of the means of production, distribution based on one's contribution, and production organized directly for use. As the productive forces and technology continued to advance, Marx hypothesized that socialism would eventually give way to a communist stage of social development, which would be a classless, stateless, humane society erected on common ownership and the principle of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".

I'm seeing some serious shades of that in this situation, but it's also different, which interests me. I mean, at some level it's still necessary for someone to interact with the system, and most of them do on some small level. But that interaction is reduced. Some people seem to want to "get back" to the system, like the restaurant guy who says he wants to get a license when he can afford it, but other like the people who have set up the " Detroiters Helping Each Other" storefront seem to be in this for the long haul.

Super interesting. thanks for the share.