DETROIT — Inside the historic buildings that give Detroit its character, pressure on the city’s businesses is becoming harder to ignore. At Pure Detroit, where Brandon Haugabook works part-time in the landmark Fisher Building, he sees rising costs squeezing businesses and leaving customers with less money to spend. His work teaching drama to children through nonprofit groups offers another view of the strain, as arts organizations contend with funding cuts and uncertainty.

Across both worlds, Haugabook hears a familiar refrain: People are fed up.