Detroit - the Industrial City

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Right after the stock market crash of 1929 and already other issues, Detroit, as well as the rest of the world, was hit with the Great Depression. The Great Depression lasted a decade, and pushed Detroit further down the path of deindustrialization. Since Detroit’s heavily depending on the automobile industry and its industrial makeup, it was one of the earlies to feel the effects of the Great Depression. Approximately 223,000 workers were jobless and out walking the streets of Detroit by the winter of 1931-32 (Woodford, 2001). Since so many people being jobless, this meant that those people where also not spending, therefore not giving to the economy of the city. Furthermore, with high rates of racial tension and the downfall of Detroit’s economy due to the Great Depression, a massive riot broke out. Detroit’s “savage race riot of June 1943, which left thirty-four dead, hundreds injured, millions lost in property damage and man-hours of work, and a city torn apart” (Widick, 1972). This left an ugly stain on the city, with so much destruction and death, but it also brought into the light the living conditions of black people into the light, eventually providing opportunity for them to move out of the crowded conditions they lived under. Although after the riot Detroit faced a period of racial calm, it did not mean that the city was saved and returned to its highest condition. The declining economy was still an issue. Between 1950 and 1980 the number of city residents employed in manufacturing jobs dropped 68 percent, reflecting the cumulative effects of plant shutdowns, factory relocations and work force reduction in the plants that did remain open (Darden, 1987). With such loss of the working residents and the decline in city revenue, it added up to series fiscal problems for the city of Detroit. The downfall of Detroit and its deindustrialization had a massive negative effect on the city, but attempts were still made to improve.

Detroit Today

One can see that in the 21st century, Detroit continued to change. One change that occurred was that reconstruction of Detroit followed majority of the middle-class population into the suburbs, and developed there. By 2012, “only six percent of the taxable value of real estate in the tri-county Detroit area can be found in the city itself, while ninety-four percent is out in the suburbs” (Gallagher, 2013). Since the middle-class population shifted back to the suburbs of Detroit, the logical thing to do was increase urban development in that area first, which set Detroit into reconstruction. This had a ripple effect on Detroit and once the suburbs were doing well, that momentum pushed into downtown Detroit too. Within the ‘greater downtown’ area, “3,012 new or renovated housing units were developed from 2010 to 2014, an increase of roughly 16 percent” and a “13 percent jump in retail establishments in that area from 2013 to early 2015” (Spivak, 2015). With the increase of urban reconstruction in the downtown area of Detroit, the city started picking up its pace again. The population of the city also increased. In 2012, “Detroit remains among the top twenty cities in terms of population” in America (Gallagher, 2013). The growth of the population density shows that city is definitely improving. Detroit today includes the urban development and reconstruction of the city.

Aside from the urban redevelopment, social and political factors of Detroit now have changed as well. The government is pitching in to provide aid in the educational systems of this city. Starting in the year of 2016, “any graduating high school senior who is accepted to one of Detroit's five community colleges won't have to pay a dime for tuition” (Lobosco, 2016). This can help improve Detroit’s job market and be the ticket out of the unemployment and underemployment line. Another recent improvement of Detroit, would be its crime rate levels. As of 2015 “by the Detroit Police Department, crime continued to decline in Detroit in 2015. Overall, violent crime fell in Detroit 7% last year from 2014, and is down 11% since 2013.” (City of Detroit, 2016). According to the statistic of the Michigan government, we can see a slow but progressive downfall of the crime rates of Detroit. After all the damage and downfall the city went through, Detroit is still alive and holds hope. Kenneth Morgan, a Gulf War veteran, said “I figure if I can fight for my country, I can definitely fight for my city.” (Lawrence, 2015). Although Detroit may seem dead and a lost cause to the outsiders, the residents in that city still hold hope. The future of this city is uncertain, whether that be a good one or a bad one, it always has room to change.

Over the years of Detroit's history, it has seen some drastic changes. The city was very different before it became an international trading centre and an industrial city. It changed once again after the Great Depression deindustrialization of the city occurred. The racial tension, job loss and the downfall of its economy left a massive indent on the city. Detroit made a comeback in the 21st century urban development and building the city back up. Although it may not as amazing of a city it used to be in its prime, the city of Detroit is alive, and its people have hope and keep fighting for it.

Works Cited

Clossick, Jane. "The Industrial City." Atlas of Cities. Ed. Paul Knox. Princeton: Princeton UP,

2014. 72-87. Print. 25 Nov. 2016.

Darden, Joe T. Detroit, Race and Uneven Development. Philadelphia: Temple University Press,

1987. Print. 26 Nov. 2016.

"Encyclopedia of Detroit." Detroit Historical Society: Frontiers to Factories. Detroit Historical

Society, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

Government of Detroit Michigan "2015 Crime Statistcs." City of Detroit. N.p., 2016. Web. 29

Nov. 2016

Lawrence, Wayne. "Taking Back Detroit." National Geographic. National Geographic, Apr.

2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Lobosco, Katie. "Detroit Makes Community College Free." CNNMoney. Cable News Network,

22 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

Roberts, Robert Ellis. Sketches of the city of Detroit : state of Michigan, past and present,