The Decline of Detroit

An ailing patient - the decline of Detroit, “Motor City” of the USA Page 1 of 68
Table of Contents
Volume I.................................................................................................................................. 3
1. Contemporary Detroit: a metropolis of contradictions......................................................... 4
2. An ailing patient — the decline of Detroit, “Motor City” of the USA..................................... 5
2.1. The economic transformation of Detroit....................................................................... 5
2.1.1. A brief view of Detroit’s history from 1701-1948................................................... 5
2.1.1.1. A French enclave as the beginning.............................................................. 5
2.1.1.2. 19th century and Detroit’s role as a city of manufacture............................... 6
2.1.1.3. Beginning of the new era of automobile production...................................... 6
2.1.1.4. The ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ during WWII..................................................... 7
2.1.2. Economical rise of post-war Detroit...................................................................... 8
2.1.2.1. Boom of the automobile industry ................................................................. 8
2.1.2.2. Severe problems faded out and deferred..................................................... 9
2.1.3. The 1980’s: problems intensified........................................................................ 10
2.1.3.1. The United States in a globalized world...................................................... 10
2.1.3.2. The effects of a saturated U.S. market....................................................... 11
2.1.3.3. The clever competitors: Imports from Asia and Europe and their success. 11
2.1.3.4. The lethargy of the clumsy American car industry...................................... 13
2.1.4. The downfall and prospects of the Automobile Industry in Detroit......................14
2.1.4.1. The Big Three losing grip........................................................................... 14
2.1.4.2. Outlook for the future of Detroit’s car industry............................................ 17
2.2. Social changes in Detroit........................................................................................... 20
2.2.1. Overview of racial problems: development and perspective...............................20
2.2.1.1. Early blacks arriving from the South........................................................... 20
2.2.1.2. 1930s to 1970s: increasing tensions between races.................................. 21
2.2.1.3. The contemporary situation compared to other big U.S. cities................... 23
2.2.2. Growing distance between rich and poor........................................................... 26
2.2.2.1. How the classes overlap with races............................................................ 26
2.2.2.2. Social gap due to racial discrimination and segregation............................. 26
2.2.2.3. A divided Detroit......................................................................................... 29
Volume II............................................................................................................................... 31
2.3. City planning in Detroit............................................................................................... 34
2.3.1. Detroit’s phenomenon of the escape to suburban areas.................................... 34
2.3.1.1. Relocation of the industry and business to the fringes of the city............... 34
2.3.1.2. Counterproductive infrastructural enhancement......................................... 36
2.3.1.3. Motivation for the exodus of residents........................................................ 37
2.3.2. Consequences of urban flight............................................................................ 39
2.3.2.1. Loss of capital............................................................................................ 39

2.3.2.2. Ghettos and slums: the isolated urban inner city........................................ 40
2.3.3. Attempts to improve the situation in Detroit........................................................ 42
2.3.3.1. Early trials from from 1950s to 1970s......................................................... 42
2.3.3.2. A ray of hope? The Central Business District............................................. 44
3. Past, present and future of Detroit; an attempt of a conclusion......................................... 48
3.1. The problem of insufficient funds.......................................................................... 48
3.2. Everlasting splits between races and classes....................................................... 49
3.3. The omnipresence of economic decline................................................................ 50
4. Bibliography...................................................................................................................... 54
Books............................................................................................................................... 54
Other references.............................................................................................................. 55
5. Appendix........................................................................................................................... 56
Further Images................................................................................................................. 56
Statements, opinions and responses to my essay............................................................ 64
6. Acknowledgements........................................................................................................... 69
7. Bilingual statement............................................................................................................ 70
Volume I
The work is written in American English.

See textbox on page 53 for further information about this essay on the enclosed CD-Rom or
in the Internet.
1. Contemporary Detroit: a metropolis of

contradictions
When an ordinary American hears the word ”Detroit”, several images might come to their
mind: the once glamorous Motor City that was synonymous for the whole American car
industry and even for the whole manufacturing sector in the USA; one might remember the
past as the 'good old time', where the primary product of Detroit, the automobile, made
nearly every American family a proud car-owning one, advancing them to the “American
Dream”. Nevertheless, today, a lot of Americans prejudge Detroit as a poor city, which is
devastated by blacks. They are – in the point of view of many whites – supposed to be
violent, criminal, drug addicts and driving the business out of the city.
For many middle-class whites in the U.S. Detroit resembles what is going wrong in America,
stated in the saying “as Detroit goes, so goes the country” – but how much of this viewpoint
is right and what were the reasons for the obvious transformation? To make it clear right at
the beginning: metropolitan Detroit is not a poor place in general: the mostly white
inhabitants of the suburbs enjoy a high wage income and very good living conditions.
However, the City of Detroit, the core of the metropolitan area, suffers from poverty and
unemployment.1 In the year 2000, 81,6%2 of the dwellers in the city were African Americans,
suffering increased isolation and unemployment, whereas blacks made up just 5% of the
population in the suburbs. Moreover, the poverty rate for the city was at 32%, the one for the
ring was just 6%.3 These figures underline the racial polarization and inequality, and show up
the contradiction between the metropolitan area and the City of Detroit. As Detroit celebrated
its 300th birthday in 2001, it might be reasonable to have a look at Detroit's past, present and
future.
In this essay, I try to reveal the multi-causality of the decline of the 'Motor-City' USA, covering
different aspects ranging from historical, economical, racial and structural factors. Finally, a conclusion
is formed, reviewing the past and contemporary Detroit, but also giving an outlook on the future for
the urban area.
Detroit's skyline on a sunny day. Courtesy of Anthony Hiller
Illustration 1
1
Refer to the folded DIN-A3 page at the beginning, to see the areas and their current population
2
Gavrilovich, P. , McGraw, B., The Detroit Almanac. Detroit 2001, p. 623
3
Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer, H.J., Detroit divided. New York 2002
2. An ailing patient — the decline of Detroit, “Motor

City” of the USA
2.1. The economic transformation of Detroit
2.1.1. A brief view of Detroit’s history from 1701-1948
2.1.1.1. A French enclave as the beginning
Detroit was officially founded on July 24, 1701, when Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (see
Illustration 2) landed with a fleet of 25 large canoes at a riverside. The
site was appropriate because of its strategic location on the Great
Lakes. The city's name comes from the French word “étroit”, which
means the “strait”. In this case, “L'étroit” is the river that connects Lake
Erie with Lake Huron. The French founded the village as a military
stronghold to control fur trade on the lakes and ever since the strait
has been the geographic spine of the city. For a long time the Detroit
River was the city's economic backbone, too. The early ribbon farmer Mothe Cadillac, the
founding father of
cultivated long, narrow strips of land, each jutting out from the river to Detroit.
give them access to water and transportation.1 The people from
Illustration 2
France were establishing a fort named Pontchartrain to control the fur
trade in the region and to keep the British, who were also interested in the wealth of the new
land, out of their district. But the Frenchmen had to endure hardships for 59 years: living
conditions were poor and some Indian tribes constantly attacked them, though they were
allied with others. However, in 1760, Detroit was given to the British as part of the agreement
of the French and Indian war. The 600 people living in the town consisted of Indians, French
and British. During the 'Revolutionary War' between the Americans and the British Detroit
was a base for Indian war parties; together with the British, they attacked American states
like Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York. In 1837, the State of Michigan was created out
of Indiana territory with Detroit as its seat of government. The war between the British and
America finally ended in 1890 by signing the Treaty of Paris; Detroit was officially awarded to
the United States in the same year. The city was growing slowly but steadily and by 1820
Detroit's population was 1422, already including 6% free blacks.2 Until the 19th century, the
most important branches of work were ship-building, wood processing and metal-, tabacco-
and food-production, but this would change during the next centuries.
1
Darden, J.T., Hill, R.C., Thomas, J., Thomas R., Detroit – Race and Uneven Development. Philadelphia 1987, p.44
2
Cohen, I., Echoes of Detroit: A 300-Year History. Haslett, 2001, p.5
2.1.1.2. 19th century and Detroit’s role as a city of manufacture

In the first 100 years of its existence, Detroit was quite a normal city; however it had several
advantages because of its good connection to waterfronts of the lakes like St. Clair and the
Detroit River. So, the town had an easy access to the Northeast of the USA, lying between
the iron-resources in North-Michigan and the coal resources of the Mid-Atlantic states.
Therefore, steel production, blast furnaces and brass foundries emerged. The city's factories
produced stoves, gasoline engines, marine equipment and carriages3, all forerunners of the
car industry, especially the latter. Early automobiles were modeled out of railroad cars,
where the carriage making provided bodies, wheels and the assembly principle. The city
became the capital of manufacture in that area, and was attracting all kinds of workers,
including blacks from the South. They were freed from slavery and searched unskilled but
relatively high-paid work. Likewise, Detroit's overall population passed 53400 in 1864.4
This all made up several factors of production: (1) the easy access to raw materials like
wood, iron and coal, (2) the wealth of businessmen, who were willing to invest their money in
new manufactures, (3) a good connection to the other parts of the States because of the rail-
and lake-transportation system, (4) a history of a capital of metal bending with (5) numerous
skilled machinists, (6) little unionization in the early 19th century5 and (7) the serendipity of
Michigan residents to recognize valuable discoveries and trying to market them.
2.1.1.3. Beginning of the new era of automobile production

The last point of the previous chapter may have been very important for Detroit: an
ambitious son of a farmer, Henry Ford, built his first car in Detroit in 1896. Nothing
spectacular, since the automobile had already been around for a while. But it was the
method of how to build a car that would soon revolutionize the whole industry: the moving
assembly line. Every worker had just to put small parts together in an easy working
progress; therefore production increased dramatically; the division of labor emerged (see
appendix p.56 Illustration 34). The coachwork, the backbone of a car, could now be built in
90 minutes rather than in 14 hours before the invention of the conveyor belt. As no more
expensive workers were needed because production was split into several steps, cheap and
recently immigrated workers could be deployed. This reduced the cost of Ford's famous
Model T from $850 in 1908 to $290 in 1920.6 Consequently, the sales figures exploded and
lots of car companies emerged, like Oldsmobile, founded by Ransom Olds in 1899.
The demand of the World War I also meant an increased output of trucks.
3
Darden, J.T., Hill, R.C., Thomas, J., Thomas R., p.14
4
Cohen, I., p.23
5
This did not last long, as in the 20th century, Detroit was the union town, thus created the biggest union at that time (the UAW - United
Automobile Workers).
6
Carlson, L.H., Highland Park oder die Zukunft der Stadt, Berlin 1994, p.63
By 1920, Michigan was the

center of the auto industry,
with several steel mills, foundries
and engine plants. New supplier
firms for rubber products, auto
bodies, engines, fans and so on
went to Michigan to satisfy the
rising demand. First mass-
production facilities were
The 1096 acres-large River Rouge Complex, pictured on a postcard established, like the Highland
of the 1920s. (© Gavrilovich, P., McGraw, B., The Detroit Almanac, Detroit, 2001)
Park plant and the River Rouge
Illustration 3 (see Illustration 3) factory of
7
Ford. Meanwhile, the city's population increased dramatically and the need for living space
could hardly be satisfied.
Because of the despotic working conditions especially in the plants of the Ford Motor
Company, unions were fighting for their acclaim since the 1930s. As the “Great Depression”
arrived, President Roosevelt recognized this development in his first year of presidency in
1933; he then created the charta of the “New Deal”. It assured the workers the most
important care, but also developed a plan to counter the effect of the recent industrial
decline. In addition, the Congress also passed the “National Recovery Act” in 1933, which
gave workers “the right for the vote for representatives”. But the patriarchal way of
management at Ford kept the unions down until 1941.8
Detroit was the nation's fastest-growing large city, but the employment structure
distinguished it from other American metropolises, because it depended primarily on vehicle
production and other manufacturing industries, thus never became a dominant center of
trade, financial services, entertainment or government.
2.1.1.4. The ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ during WWII

However, this was not important yet because another tremendous push for Detroit began
with World War II: the city produced a lot of military equipment that could be picked up by
the allies by paying for it. This helped to overcome the “Great Depression” and pushed the
gross domestic product9 of the USA to pre-depression years and even surpassed it. The
vacant capacities in the automobile industry were used for the building of war machinery,
7
8
Carlson, L.H., p.69, p.77
9
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of goods and services produced over time including the income of foreign
corporations and foreign residents in the U.S., but excluding the income of U.S. Residents and corporations overseas.
resulting in 100% workload. Detroit – now also called the “Arsenal of Democracy” after a
catchphrase of Roosevelt – got in a very short period of time one of the most dense and
most productive industrial “boom towns” in the world. In 1944, a terrible year in general, the
U.S. succeeded in near full employment and all kind of ethnicities and races worked together
in Detroit's industry. Even Stalin was impressed by the output of Detroit. In 1947 he should
have been saying at the Teheranian Conference that Germany had been “defeated by
Detroit”, as it produced, among others, engines for the tanks of the red army.10
2.1.2. Economical rise of post-war Detroit

The post-war history of the U.S. automobile industry and consequently the post-war history of Detroit
can be divided into two periods in general: before and after the 1970s. We will now have a look at the
prosperity that has followed World War II until its highest peak in 1978.
2.1.2.1. Boom of the automobile industry

During the 1950s the domestic market of the USA was booming again after the “Great
Depression”, especially the car industry. The overall U.S. economy grew at an average
annual rate of 4% between 1950 and 1970. Low interest rates11 in the first two decades after
the war stimulated credit buying and significantly expanded the ownership of durable goods
like automobiles. Equally important is the rising number of independent households from
43,5 million in 1950 to 63,5 million in 1970.12 The families wanted to live the American
Dream: owning a house (see 3.1.2) and, due to the new mobility in social and fiscal
concerns, they needed a car. The figure that 75% of all commuting trips to work were made
by car in 1970 shows the dependence on the automobile and the interstate highway system.
As Detroit was also dominating the global market, it is not surprising that in 1950 the U.S.
auto industry produced 76% of all the passenger cars in the world.13 Foreign cars were not
competitive at that time because they did not provide the amount of comfort like the
American cars. Fuel-consumption was not relevant, too, because of the low gasoline
price.14 Slowly, the Big Three emerged. This is the nickname for three giants in the car
industry, Chrysler (with subdivisions like Dodge, Plymouth and Jeep), Ford (with
subdivisions like Lincoln and Lincoln) and General Motors (with subdivisions like
Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac); they are all located in Detroit and established an
oligopoly15 that was never seen before. To quote Carlson from his book, the Big Three “had
10
Carlson, L.H., p.84
11
This is the rate of money that is paid for a financial service, for example loans.
12
Kannan, N.P., Downsizing Detroit, New York 1982, p.16
13
Kannan, N.P., p.23
14
The gasoline price actually declined in real terms between 1950 and 1970, stimulating the usage of vehicles, cf. Kannan, N.P., p.20
15
An oligopoly consists of a small number of producers controlling a high percentage of the market.
the license to print money”16. GM

for example earned a record $3,5
billion in 1978 and hit a sales
record of $66,3 billion in 1979. As
a result of this economic rise, a
million people worked in
automobile plants at a relatively
high wage. Each manufacturing
job created in Detroit generated
five more17 at auto parts suppliers
all over the country. Due to this
fact, the unions were most
Traffic jams were regular in Detroit, when the car was the only
powerful at that time, because accepted way to commute (© Thomas, J., Redevelopment and race – Planning a
Finer City in Postwar Detroit, Baltimore 1997)
they formed a very self-confident
proletariat. Thus, the union UAW Illustration 4
(United Automobile Workers, already created in 1935) had the greatest influence in its
history.
2.1.2.2. Severe problems faded out and deferred

Despite the impressive upraise of the economy in Detroit and in the USA, problems evolved
but were not fully recognized or eliminated. One problem was that new car models were just
redesigned each year, not technically revised.18 This kept the cost for the production very
low, but the risk of getting outdated very high. Another crucial component was the very low
gasoline price with no taxation: this led to development of cars that consumed a lot of
gasoline. Of course, this did not matter when times were prosperous, like the 1960s. As a
result, the Big Three leaned back and did not care about the needs of customers or about
the competitors coming from Europe or Asia. During the two oil crises in 1973/7419 and
1979/80 a lot of panic and anxieties arose in the U.S. because it revealed the dependence of
the nation on oil; in 1971, the U.S. auto industry achieved the highest sales in its history, but
right after 1973, the small car market share rose from 40% in 1973 to 52% in 197520, a
segment the Big Three did not enter properly. As the oil price relaxed again, the American
car industry did not react by changing their product line, but remained producing big and
gasoline-wasting cars.
16
Carlson, L.H., p.91
17
Maynard, M., p.8
18
Carlson, L.H., p.91
19
In the first oil crises, the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) raised the price of imported oil from around $3 to $12
per barrel, triggering a shock in many western nations dependent on oil
20
Kannan, N.P., p.23
2.1.3. The 1980’s: problems intensified

In the next passage we will have a look at the situation during the 1980s, where problems intensified,
as the auto industry's decline was a symptom of the decline of the manufacturing sector in the U.S.
and most other western economies. This sector has been replaced by the service sector or high-
technology industry. In the 1980s, 250000 manufacturing workers of the car giants lost their jobs,
respectively 450000 lost their jobs in the supplier industries.
2.1.3.1. The United States in a globalized world

Since our nations are connected by a global market for products, the countries are offered
tremendous advantages but also disadvantages. So called boom-and-bust cycles describe
the constant up and down in the economy, and exist in any open market.21 They overlap with
each other since the nations build an interwoven network. The United States is no longer an
isolated economy as it was back in the 1950s. The effects of this system cannot be
removed, maximally reduced by for example restrictive import measures. But this often just
worsens the problems as other nations will put up similar restrictions, too, which leads again
to a loss of jobs in the export sectors. In former times, Detroit's answer to the boom-and-
bust cycles was to shut down its plants and lay off workers for months. However, as unions
made labor contracts at GM, Ford and Chrysler, companies were required to pay their
workers nearly their full wage, no matter if they were working or not.22
Also, the U.S. industrial labor force lost its monopoly in the world market to the fast-growing,
skilled and cheap labor of the developing countries. Several U.S. auto firms therefore had to
move jobs from the domestic country to nations with lower wages or to automate production
at home to remain competitive.
Furthermore, since the oil price shock, more American customers wanted reasonable cars
with low gasoline consumption that the Big Three could not offer; due to this, the U.S.
market was a primary target for automobile producers all over the world.23
21
The Great Depression was also an evidence for the economic waves, in this particular case, a decline. It affected not only the USA but
also European and other nations.
22
Maynard, M., The End of Detroit – how the Big Three lost their grip on the American car market, New York 2003, p.14
23
Kannan, N.P., p.5
2.1.3.2. The effects of a saturated U.S. market

The production of cars
peaked in 1978
(Illustration 4 or appendix
p.61, Illustration 42), but
collapsed right after that
time. One factor, next to
the arriving imports from
other nations was the
saturated domestic
market of the U.S. Also
new cars offered barely
new technical
innovations.
Sales were not rising in
the 1980s, while interest
rates were up to 16% for Production of Motor Vehicles in the United States from 1900 to 1997; it peaked in
new car financing. As the 1978. (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, Russell Sage Foundation, 2002)
situation did not change, Illustration 5
U.S. firms had to close plants, lay off workers, reduce wages and so on in order to minimize
costs.24 Additionally, the profit margins25 also decreased: in 1973, before the first oil crises,
profit margins were around 11,4% but in 1983, as more imports had arrived, profit margins
were just around 7,3%26; this led to a diminished ability and enthusiasm of the car-sellers to
trade new cars.
2.1.3.3. The clever competitors: Imports from Asia and Europe and their
success
As already mentioned, car-import companies from Europe and Asia were concentrating
on the U.S. Market, in order to install an outlet for their cars. This was especially true for the
cars from Japan, who were the first to arrive in the U.S. - they had several advantages to the
American cars. Firstly, they did not need so much gasoline, resulting in better fuel-efficiency
and better ecology. This was an important issue, as more and more Americans preferred
those cars due to the oil crises, corresponding with the limitation of exhaust fumes in
California. As gasoline was expensive in Western Europe and Japan because of the higher
24
Kannan, N.P., p.12
25
This is an indicator of profitability, expressed in percentage, the higher the better.
26
This trend continued until recent times: in 2002, the profit margin is around 1,4%, cf. Maynard, M., p.234
taxation, and as it was cheap in America, domestic cars were non-competitive with the ones
from abroad. Secondly, they had better quality, resulting in a good reputation. Thirdly, they
were cheaper but had more worth of price, therefore were more stable in the resale value.
This success of foreign companies was due to a more efficient management, demanding
quality checks and taking the needs of the customers more seriously.
The price difference of a comparable Japanese and American car was about $1500 in the
1980s, where just 25% could be justified by different labor costs, the remaining 75% were
factors like inadequate quality control, low labor productivity and inefficient management of
parts, supplies and inventory in the USA; the “just-in-time” inventory management
deployed by the Japanese car industry reduced costs and was much more flexible than the
U.S. part suppliers that were spread all over the country.27 Furthermore, the workers in Asia
have a completely different relationship to their employer, as everyone, from hourly worker to
executives, participates actively and with enthusiasm in the production process. As a result,
it is allowed (and even welcome) to make suggestions that might increase productivity.28
In addition to that, the Japanese motor vehicle production was growing 10% per year. To
maintain such a growth they had to capture increasing shares of international markets,
because their own domestic market was soon saturated, too. The easiest and most
profitable target was the United States, where the American car companies could not satisfy
the need for reasonable and small cars.29
This challenged Detroit's automobile industry like never before. Unfortunately they just
reacted by reducing wage costs through labor-saving processes and machinery, but also by
outsourcing parts of the production to smaller and often not unionized firms. In 1981, the
Reagan administration - more or less forced by the Big Three - put up a restriction on the
total number of imported Japanese cars. However, the clever corporations from abroad
reacted by building factories in the Mid-West of USA, not in the area of Detroit because of its
lesser degree of unionization.30 Therefore, the Japanese were not importing cars anymore,
but building them right in the States, at cheaper costs than the American companies. Hence,
they could easily achieve more of the market share in the USA.
And while the U.S. automakers faced a crises situation, even Asian and European luxury
brands like Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and BMW were making impressive gains in their share of
the U.S. market, during a time when the total market was shrinking31. BMW, as a prime
example, sold in 1974 just about 184000 cars world-wide, and thanks to the 3-series that is
beloved by the American consumers, the company hit 320000 sales in 1980.32
27
Kannan, N.P., p.vii
28
Maynard, M., p.66
29
Kannan, N.P., p.20
30
Kannan, N.P., p.viii
31
Kannan, N.P., p.9
32
Maynard, M., p.189
Nowadays, import companies from Japan like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Nissan
all sell more vehicles in the U.S. than they do in Japan. So success in the United States has
become the priority for them. The combination of humility, determination, careful attention to
detail and, above all, devotion to quality is their formula of success. 33
2.1.3.4. The lethargy of the clumsy American car industry

It might be more than justified to blame the American car industry for acting clumsy; they
seldom sought to compete with imports by looking for improvements in their own
company. Instead, they blamed the rivals as being unfair because the foreign governments
helped the imports by keeping the currency rates abnormally low and enforced a restriction
on the number of imported cars (see 1.3.3). GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz even accused the
buyers of foreign cars of having bad taste as he called the Toyota Camry one of the ugliest
cars driving around;34 not a good way to regain market shares. The Big Three too often
believed that if the gasoline price would relax, customers would come back to the American
car manufacturers. In sum, the big national car enterprises were too lazy, too inflexible,
underestimated the chance of imports and the management was not sure what to do next.
In the case of Chrysler, a company was also too weak to react; it was almost bankrupt twice
in one decade: the first time in 1979, as they suffered from billion-dollar losses and the
second oil crises, the second time in 1989. Fortunately, the well-known and wise Lee
Iacocca was president and chairman of Chrysler during that time, resurrecting the company.
But also GM lost $762,5 million in 1980 (its second loss in 72 years), just right after it hit a
sales record in 1979.35
Obviously, the car makers had extreme difficulty to undertake a transformation to smaller
and more fuel-efficient cars; given the “laissez-faire” tendency of the U.S. government
regarding economic and social policies, it was of course unlikely that the administration
would have imposed strict requirements for example for exhaust fumes. Environmental
issues, for example, would have been reasonable, as the big companies would have been
obliged to solve their technological deficit.36 Instead, the Big Three did not react, when the
total market was declining, above all because of the decreased numbers of big cars and
trucks. But at the same time, the small car market was continuing to extend. This
development already appeared during the mid-1960s, long before the oil crises.
Unfortunately, the small vehicles built in Detroit were poorly engineered and assembled; this
gave the import companies an even greater chance to settle down in the American car
market. Due to this evolution, the U.S. car companies turned once again to the big cars and
33
Maynard, M., p.24
34
After all, about six million people drive a Toyota Camry; the declaration of Lutz offends at least a part of the vehicle owners. Maynard,
M., p.15
35
Gavrilovich, P. , McGraw, B., p. 217ff
36
Kannan, N.P., p.xiii
trucks, also because they had greater profit margins, clearly abandoning the small car
market.37 American executives had the opinion that compact cars might just be desired by
ecology-minded individuals or families, but when consumers would want more space or
comfort, they automatically turn back to American automobiles. As foreign companies,
especially the ones from Asia, established a foothold in the USA, they themselves upgraded
the product line with bigger cars, in order to gain an even greater market share.
2.1.4. The downfall and prospects of the Automobile Industry in

Detroit
The previous and the following chapters are closely connected, as the downfall of Detroit's car
companies continues until today. At the end of this section I will outline the outlook of the car industry
in Detroit.
2.1.4.1. The Big Three losing grip

As already stated, the
share of American cars
produced and sold in the
U.S. market declined ever
since it reached its
highest peak in the late
1970s. From that time
onward, the percentage
of vehicles produced in
Michigan declined (see
Illustration 6);
There are several

factors that sustain such
a transformation of an
industry. Firstly because
Total vehicles produced in the United States and the percentage of production
in the State of Michigan (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, of the general change in
Russell Sage Foundation, 2002)
economy (from
Illustration 6
manufacturing industry to
service industry38), many jobs are lost in automobile production, parts supply and sales; of
course, primarily the former affects the economy in Detroit. Another problem is the fact that,
as the U.S. automobile manufacturing industry will most probably never regain its once
37
Kannan, N.P., p.25
38
The U.S. experienced a massive drop of manufacturing jobs, as in 1950, 44% of the employed labor force in the U.S. worked in this
sector, but in 1980, just 28% were working in this part of the industry. cf. Kannan, N.P., p.38
great share of the U.S. domestic

market, it is very unlikely that the
Big Three will have a chance to
expand in other markets in the
world. This also emerges severe
social problems. Even if the
automobile economy will revive,
many jobs will be lost forever
because automation (see
Automation reduces the labor force. ( © Photo Researchers, Inc./Tom
Illustration 7) became reality in the McHugh)
plants and the export of work to Illustration 7

foreign countries with lower wage rates actively promotes the trend of the international
division of labor. The unions like the UAW already made wage and benefit concessions for
limiting the outsourcing of production but this helps little. And as the workers diminish, so
does the influence of unions in general.
Another evidence for Detroit's Big Three self-inflicted harm was the vision of GM, Ford and
Chrysler in the early 1990s that consumers will focus on new kinds of cars like pickups,
minivans and, in the mid-1990s, on SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles). This was partly true39, but
at the same time the companies ignored almost the whole ordinary car market. As Detroit
lost its grip on the small-car market in the 1980s to Asian car manufacturers, it did so too in
the 1990s with the mid-sized car market. For example, Toyota's Camry and Accord as well
as Volkswagen's Passat, conquered a great market share40. This again was the case in the
highly profitable market of luxury cars: Cadillac and Lincoln have led this segment until
198641, but during the past 16 years, Lexus, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, just to name a
few, overtook the American corporations in sales (see appendix p.58, Illustration 37)
In order to create short-term profits, the Big Three did not invest sufficient capital in
updating their product line. Corporations such as Chrysler, GM and Ford simply had grown
too big to respond to the need for innovation. Cars of the competitors were directed by much
more technology, while the car makers from Detroit just updated their products superficially.
On the other hand, the domestic brands have to meet harsh requirements to survive anyway
on the market: offer a product line with lots of different car types and different price ranges,
39
Chrysler controlled the minivan segment in the early 1990s but, as Honda released a very strong-selling minivan too, the minivan
market share of the companies from Detroit dropped from 94% in 1992 to barely 70% in 2003. GM, Ford and Chrysler as well
dominated the SUV market in the mid-1990s, since they hold about 90% of all SUV sales; but as usual, imports jumped in that market
in a short period of time (and did not make the mistake of neglecting the car market at the same time). Even high-price models like the
Mercedes-Benz M-Class or BMW's X5 were successful, too, cutting the market share from American car makers; cf. Maynard, M.,
p.17
40
Maynard, M., p.16
41
Maynard, M., p.16
to respond to every single customer. In order to maintain the system of mass production,
they were under pressure to sell a high number of cars. This demanded a lot of strength,
smaller companies were forced to quit business or merge with bigger companies. Even the
Big Three were sometimes not strong enough, as we saw an almost bankrupt Chrysler (see
2.1.3.4.).
As a result, competitors - that now even build their cars in America, but not in the closer
area of Detroit - caught up. In 2003, four out of 10 vehicles sold in the USA have been built
by foreign companies42. BMW, Honda, Toyota or Mercedes-Benz and others devoted their
human, financial, engineering and marketing abilities to the U.S. market and were rewarded.
American car makers did not focus on these branches, but were interested in short-term
profits. The primary aim of the Big Three was rarely to be good, but to be big and to grow
strategically. Ford bought Jaguar in 1990 and Volvo in 1999 (for $6.45 billion) with a
disappointing outcome. GM bought Saab and engaged in joint ventures with, for example,
Fiat and Toyota but did not profit as much as it expected. Finally, when Chrysler merged in
1998 with Daimler-Benz AG, both corporations became DaimlerChrysler; but in the next
years made it quite clear that it was rather a takeover of Chrysler than a merger.43 The
Germans were hoping that they gained a cash machine that provides an easy and solid
access to the American market. The resulting company, however, suffered from
contradictions in the product line and from production delays. But without this unintended
takeover, Chrysler might have been again bankrupt, as it was in deep financial trouble.
A further point is alarming: there is a strong tendency of people living in wealthier states of
the United States like California to buy foreign cars. And as a role model, other people from
other parts of the country might desire the cars of wealthier persons, too.44
Another important issue is the problem of low resale values of automobiles made in Detroit;
foreign cars have in general a better reputation and therefore are worth more money when
they are traded. Aside from that, the Big Three inflicted damage on themselves, as they sold
inexpensive mainstream car models like the Ford Taurus in great quantity and at a fair price
to car-rental companies, which employed these cars in masses in their fleet. Normally this
would have been desirable, but as the rental firms sold the slightly used cars back to private
customers, the value of the same used car model dramatically shrunk in equal measure.
This leads to the fact that many people want to buy cheap second-hand cars that are hardly
used, instead of new cars that cost more money but offer little more. This leads again to a
feeling of disappointment or even betrayal by many new car owners, as they have bought an
42
Maynard, M., p.8
43
This topic is very up-to-date, as U.S.-investor and former-shareholder of Chrysler, Kirk Kerkorian, drags the company to court, as he
claims that the merger was a planned fraud. He is now seeking a compensation of $1.2 billion dollars.
44
Apropos California's role model: as environmental issues are important, the state also was the first to introduce standards to limit
exhaust fumes (see 1.3.3.); therefore it was among the first regions in the U.S. to initiate and promote the purchase of imported cars, as
they were clean in their emissions and had a good fuel economy. cf. Maynard, M., p.270
auto at full price but can get just a fraction of it when they trade it. Those people will think
twice about buying again an American made car in the future.45
2.1.4.2. Outlook for the future of Detroit’s car industry

In the end of the review about Detroit's economic transformation, we will have a look at the
future of the car industry in Detroit and in America.
Already today, one cannot talk of the Big Three of Detroit anymore, because of the “merger”
of Chrysler with Daimler resulting in the DaimlerChrysler Corporation, now employing
466938 workers in over 200 countries. Chrysler will never again support any limitations
against foreign-based companies like Mercedes-Benz, as they now are actually owned by
one.
So the “Big Two” remain. Ford is indeed a big corporation with nowadays employing
340000 people in 30 countries, but is on the edge of a crises. In former times, workers had
received insurance pensions from the company. As more and more workers are about to
retire, Ford has the obligation to fulfill contracts and pay the retirees: the pension fund has a
deficit of $25.6 billion; health care liabilities are about $27.4 billion, also likely to bring
enormous trouble to Ford.46 Also remarkable is that the Ford family existing today owns
about 30% of all shares of the company. This sometimes results in absurd decisions, as they
are the major shareholder of the company, giving them a lot of power.47
The second car giant left, GM, employs 388000 people worldwide, has plants in 50 nations
and corporate presences in more than 200 countries.48 The company also has to cope with
great financial losses, as they have also about $50 billion health care liabilities and the
pensions are under funded to about $25.6 billion.
These numbers reflect unhealthy corporations, but imports show an enormous financial
strength. Toyota for example, earned an operating profit of nearly $12 billion in 2002, more
than the combined profits of the Detroit car companies during the past five years.49 Fighting
against such a stunning superiority is already now next to impossible, as Toyota is by no
means not the only competitor.
In general, there are three major scenarios as to how the situation might develop for the car
companies from Detroit. In the first case, they will simply lose market shares until 2010, with
a rate they are used to the past few years, to around 50%.50 The second scenario could be
that at least one of the Big Three companies is likely to disappear, as “neither the size of
45
Maynard, M., p.29
46
Maynard, M., p.230
47
One past but great error was for example the dismissal of Lee Iacocca in 1978, as Ford Chairman Henry Ford II fired him due to
personal animosities. Today, Ford's current chairman and CEO, Bill Ford, never had a corporate position of that extent before he got
this managerial position (Maynard, M., p.255).
48
Gavrilovich, P. , McGraw, B., p. 216
49
The company has as well $34 billion in cash and $100 billion in assets. cf. Maynard, M., p.115
50
It is also suggested that in 2003 Detroit's share will fall below 60%, cf Maynard, M., p.296/cf. Maynard, M., p.229
51
GM, nor the Ford family at Ford nor the protection of DaimlerChrylser at Chrysler” can
protect from continued decline. The last of the three most probable scenarios might be a
further merger of an American car company with a foreign one, as was the case with
Chrysler, or even a coalition of GM and Ford.
Surprisingly, the Big Three have found a new ally in form of the unions. The latter are also
interested in secure jobs and a flourishing American car industry. It is worth mentioning
however that the actions of the United Auto Workers (UAW) have altered in large scale. In
prosperous times, they were fighting for years against the big companies for fully paid health
care, childcare, pensions, vacation time and education benefits and so on. They are forced
nowadays to give wage concessions in order to retain at least a fraction of the jobs in Detroit
and not to automate or outsource parts of production to low-wage countries. A proper way to
solve problems would be a meeting between the UAW and the Big Three to work out a plan
to the future. However, the companies still are far too self-centered to take any steps of that
kind.52
Of course, as the auto giants experience a strong crises, they want to enhance the
reliability, quality and design of the cars. In the first case, callbacks of many newly
introduced cars, as the very recently updated Ford Thunderbird, destroyed immediately the
hope for a better image. As in the latter case, the Ford Taurus for example, a usually very
high-volume selling car was designed too roundish for the taste of American customers.
Normally an avoidable fault, if the company had performed more research, about what car
purchasers want. This is generally a problem of the Big Three that the imports always had
taken advantage of, as they did not make the mistake of leaving customers' needs unheard.
Shortly after the terrorist attacks in September 2001, many Americans joined the patriotic
feeling by buying cars of the Big Three. The car companies also offered zero percent
financing on cars, actively approaching the customers. This resulted in a considerable deficit
for the companies but they gained back some percentage of the market share. However, as
customers detected a lesser degree of reliability, durability, styling and value in general,
compared to imports, they were of course disappointed. Unfortunately, the big American car
companies were not showing any understanding and ignored the sign of the inconsolable
customers53, falling back to their old role as being arrogant and starry-eyed.
Another disadvantage for the American car industry was the utilization of the Internet.
Interested purchasers of automobiles do extensive research on the World Wide Web,
receiving loads of information about used car resale value, leasing and invoice prices. The
user is able to compare different kinds of cars from different companies in no time. Although
the purchase of cars directly over the Internet is very rare, lacking the personal contact with
51
Maynard, M., p.229
52
Maynard, M., p.302
53
Maynard, M., p.17f
the dealer, already 60% of all car buyers benefit from the wealth of data they find on the
Internet. Denny Clements, general manager of Lexus, sums up the increased transparency
for the purchasers up by saying: “the better informed a customer is, the worse it is for
Detroit”.54
In the long term, the outlook for the car companies from Detroit is quite bleak, as no true
solution is in sight. As the City of Detroit is closely connected to the future of its car industry,
the metropolis might get into severe financial and social trouble, as less and less workers
have a job, slipping into long-term unemployment, unable to pay any taxes. Finally, Detroit
could not close the gap from manufacturing industry to service providing industry.
Furthermore, the remaining car companies like Chrysler, GM and Ford follow subsequently
market trends like globalisation, technological changes like automation and the decreased
demand for less-skilled work.55
For the American car industry in general, the outlook is not so cloudy at all: several car
import corporations now produce their cars in other American regions. Above all,
Birmingham, located in Alabama, rivals as a production location for car factories, giving the
region already the nickname “South Detroit”. Also Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky,
Tennessee and South Carolina already today contain plants of car companies from abroad,
all offering attractive conditions like little to no unionization and financial incentives as the
abatement of tax. Detroit as a city cannot offer such stimulation, even if they want to, as they
were pushed into a financial crises since the Big Three are having losses as well and
dismiss more and more tax paying workers into unemployment.
To close this first of three major chapters with the words of Micheline Maynard's book “The
end of Detroit”:
“The emergence of [a] parallel American automobile industry is an

astounding prospect, considering how deep Detroit's roots are sunk into the
American culture. But the Detroit companies have had plenty of time to get
used to the idea – since the 1980s, in fact”. 56
54
Maynard, M., p.270f
55
Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer, H.J., p.8
56
Maynard, M., p.293
2.2. Social changes in Detroit

The next major chapter in this essay will be devoted to the social change in Detroit. This is a very
complex topic and will determine the future of the city and of the people living in the city equally as
the economic development did. The historian Thomas Sugrue claims in his book “The Origins of the
Urban Crises” that all problems of urban Detroit obviously emerged before 1970. At least in social and
racial hindsight, this is totally right, because blacks were treated differently since they arrived from the
South. The race relations may have changed, but still today, the two most important issues to solve
are the discrimination of blacks and the disparity between the predominately rich whites living in the
suburbs and the prevalent poor African Americans in the City of Detroit.
2.2.1. Overview of racial problems: development and

perspective
I will begin with the former point and examine the past racial relationship between blacks and whites,
but also point out the present situation.
2.2.1.1. Early blacks arriving from the South

Already in times around
1840s, blacks migrated
northwards as slavery was
abolished in the South. By
1870, the black population of
Detroit was 2235, only about
3% of the total inhabitants. It
just grew moderately for the
next 40 years.57 Since the
manufacturing industry was
developing very fast in the
decade of 1910 and 1920 in
Detroit, the city attracted
many people from all over
Origin of black population in Detroit between 1920 and 1990 (© Farley, R.,
the world. However, strict Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, Russell Sage Foundation, 2002)
immigration laws after World Illustration 8

War I forced the car companies to recruit workers from the home country. One ethnic group
dominated the move to Detroit, when relatively high-wage and low-skill work was available in
the booming auto industry: African Americans. As Illustration 8 shows, about 70% of the
24000 blacks living in Detroit were born in the South of America. Still in the 1950s, just one
generation later, about 60% were from the South, but the number of blacks was over 14
times as high as it was in 1920 (in total: 352000). African Americans had virtually a chance
to be assimilated into the American society, if they had been allowed to. Unfortunately,
57
things do often not develop properly in times of economical booms. Harsh contrasts between
newly arriving and therefore jobless poor blacks living in slums, and rich whites working as
machinists or accountants emerged.
2.2.1.2. 1930s to 1970s: increasing tensions between races

Since discrimination and segregation was actually not forbidden, the situation aggravated,
even for blacks working in well-paid blue-collar jobs. The whites predominately believed that
their own race is superior and the blacks were just inferior. They refused consequentially
mixed neighborhoods, where both races live together. This barrier led to the fact that African
Americans had to live in the most deteriorated sections of the town. When blacks were finally
arriving after their journey from the South to those segregated neighborhoods, if they were
able to, they caused white exodus or at least neighborhood instability. On the other side,
enclaves with people of European ethnics dispersed and assimilated, buying newer and
better housing, apart from a few exceptions.
Extreme organizations consisting of white members like the Ku Klux Klan gained popularity
throughout the States as they took advantage of the hatreds against African Americans.
Even worse is the fact that the car manufacturers used the same animosities and prejudices
for vulgar actions. An example is the method how unions were played off in the 1920s: Ford
for example reserved a special percentage of the most badly paid jobs for the poorest blacks
in the factories. The unemployed blacks were abused as a kind of strikebreakers, because
they always were willing to work under any circumstances.58
Unions played a crucial role, as they created to a great extent America's middle class. In the
1930s, the United Auto Workers (UAW) emphasized the principle of equal pay and
opportunity for both blacks and whites, as they were afraid of permanent abuse of poor
blacks as strike breakers, endangering the jobs of whites who stopped working in order to
protest for more influence in the factories. No wonder that unions were very influential until
the 1970s, because they were able in some way to unite highly paid unskilled and skilled
workers of all races.59 However, problems were far from being solved, as we will see later in
chapters 2.2.2. and 2.3.1.
When World War II started, black and white workers were still used to separate labor
markets; African Americans were restricted to foundry work and general labor. This was
nothing new, as it was evident already in the mid-nineteenth century that those few blacks
who moved to Detroit from the South were treated differently from European immigrants. In
the decade after World War I whites felt save as long as blacks were employed in the dirty,
“nigger jobs”. But as soon as blacks got the opportunity, to get into “white jobs” during the
58
Carlson, L.H., p.70
59
World War II60, the tensions increased dramatically, resulting in a race riot in 1943. During
this incident, 34 people – all black – died as a white crowd consisting of 100000 people
raged in black quarters. This act of public lynching happened because whites could not get
along with the imagination that they might live or work together with middle-class blacks in
the same quarter or same factory. African Americans could now reach some prosperity as
they were employed in a growing car industry that staff more and more jobs of higher
positions that once were controlled merely by whites. In the same period, whites protested in
spontaneous strikes against “niggers” that are now employed next to whites.61 Either way,
they had to cope with the new situation, as the car companies themselves had no other
choice but to employ blacks in certain workplaces in order to fill the jobs.
In the time between 1940 and 1970, about 600000 African Americans moved to Detroit (see
p. 20, Illustration 8 or appendix p.63, Illustration 44). Most of them were drawn to the
overcrowded and ramshackle Lower East Side quarter and living under very poor
conditions. This district of Detroit was a kind of gateway for all black newcomers to the city,
hoping for better living standards when they would get a job. Unfortunately, an upward social
mobility was denied for most of the blacks, as whites opposed desegregated living62.
This was the initial situation, as another riot started in 1967 (see appendix p.59, Illustration
38). It was in fact a social-economic rebellion of blacks without hope, triggered by a raid of a
“blind-pig”63. A crowd of 192 police officers wanted to arrest 82 people, but instantly rioters
were overwhelming the cops. Reinforcement troops were few because a lot of officers were
on vacation. The governor activated the National Guard to help Detroit's police and the state
police, but the Guards was poorly trained and often overreacted, leading to needless deaths
and injuries, as 43 people64 died during the incident. Finally, President L.B. Johnson ordered
the U.S. Army paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne division to Detroit that had a
specialized training in urban disturbances; after all, they brought order back to Detroit. 4400
policemen from Detroit, 8000 national guardsmen, 4700 federal troops and 360 state police
officers were patrolling in Detroit a day after the riot. A deep polarization between the races
grew out of this tragedy, as whites had a persistent view of the “bad blacks”, and African
Americans had justified hatreds against the sometimes ruthless police of Detroit that was
consisting just out of whites.
Detroit got to be one of the cities with the worst problems in the entire USA. There was no
compulsory connection between the automotive boom and a peaceful coexistence of the
60
President Roosevelt had signed Executive Order #8802 in 1941, actually prohibiting racial discrimination in employment in defence
industries. He hoped for better productivity in those sectors assembling war machinery. Moreover, racial segregation was officially
abolished in 1954 by the Supreme Court, but it virtually exists even today. cf. Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer, H.J., p.34
61
Carlson, L.H., p.88|
62
Carlson, L.H., p.89
63
This is the informal expression of an unlicensed bar operating after legal hours.
64
33 of the killed were black, 10 were white; 467 people were injured and 7231 were arrested., cf 17,521
races. Whites consequently fled out of the core of the city (see 2.3.1.2.), decreasing the total
population in times where the population of blacks increased. The political and social self-
consciousness of blacks raised, but they also recognized their isolated position and the
increasing wealth of the white middle-class. Riots had been foreseen by many in Detroit,
however until the late 1960s, African Americans were underrepresented in the city
government or in the police, as they held not any top position. This resulted in a stubborn
attitude of the administration.
Another decisive point in the history of racial conflict in Detroit was the school
desegregation policy introduced in 1970. Schools, like houses, represent a racial territory
and status. They are often the central institutions in the communities. One reason why
whites opposed blacks moving into their quarter was that they knew residential integration
would finally lead to school integration. As a committee acknowledged the presence of
severe racism in the Detroit school system, it recommended bussing65 as a solution in order
to end segregation. This revealed racist feelings of many suburban whites towards blacks in
the City of Detroit, similar to the hysteria after the riot in 1967 that had driven many whites
out of Detroit. In the suburban community of Pontiac ten empty school busses were bombed
in order to prevent the transportation to racially integrated classrooms. Today, while some
white suburbanites accept the bussing of black students to suburban schools, they strongly
oppose the imagination that their children are bussed into the predominately black City of
Detroit. Many whites try to avoid all contact with blacks, particularly the whites who have
moved to the fringes of the city to get away from the blacks in Detroit. This view has
changed until today.
A few years later, in 1974, a strong mayor and a champion of the fast growing black
community took over city government: Coleman Young, the nation's first black mayor of a
large city. He was very charismatic and committed to his job, promising to defy racial wrongs
and to redevelop the city effectively (see 2.3.3.3). But even for him, the coincident
consequences of industrial and commercial decline, population loss, increasing poverty and
racial conflict proved hardly solvable. He also just got elected as whites were fleeing out of
the city, leaving the votes to the blacks. His trials to develop a better city brought some little
success, but failed to heal the deep wounds that racial hatred had caused. He sometimes
polarized the citizens further, when, for example, he said every black should legally own a
gun for self-defence or stating the “palefaces” should get out of the city. Coleman was mayor
until 1993, when Dennis Archer took office.
2.2.1.3. The contemporary situation compared to other big U.S. cities

Today, metropolitan Detroit can be distinguished from other Northern and Midwestern
65
By bussing is meant that children from white suburbanites are transported by bus to black school districts as well as the other way
round.
metropolises by its relatively large African American population: 22% in 1990, about twice
the national average. However, the City of Detroit consists of about 90% blacks nowadays,
an unbelievable figure compared to the U.S. average.
While some racial problems relaxed
in Detroit and in the whole United
States of America, tremendous
issues remain. The gathering of poor
blacks in inner-city slums with daily
problems like drugs66, violence,
robbery, murder and crime in general
sustain the trend that blacks and
whites separate from each other.
Another fact is shocking: in the year
of the 1967 rebellion, a total number
of 281 people got murdered in
Increasing percentage of blacks in the residential area Detriot: a
century-long trend (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, Detroit. In 1998, about 500 people
New York, Russell Sage Foundation, 2002)
were killed (see p. 25, Illustration 10),
Illustration 9
although the city lost many of its
inhabitants (mostly whites) during that time. This is the evidence for the fact that a poor
group kills members of its very own group, if it is stuck in racial isolation; crimes are
committed in general from blacks against blacks. Actually, whites have little reason therefore
to be frightened, because the violence is exercised normally in a limited but random and
thoughtless milieu of excluded and neglected. With about 50 homicides per 100000
residents, Detroit is one of the nation's worst records.
Stereotypes emerged in both ethnic groups; the corresponding neighborhood segregation
does not distinguish Detroit from other big U.S. cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Boston or New
York.
In his book “Detroit divided” Reynolds Farley put it in these words67:
“In all the nation's older metropolitan areas with substantial African American
populations, black and white seldom live in the same neighborhoods. But the
thoroughness with which long-term social, economic and racial trends
produced an African American central city in Detroit surrounded by an
overwhelmingly white suburban ring makes Detroit unique.”
Detroit's long-term fate and many details of its past are shared by a lot of urban centers
across the United States. Like Detroit, many northern industrial urban centers in the post war
66
Since the “flower-power” time of the 1960s, the city is drowning in illegal drugs like opium, marijuana, heroin and cocaine. The level of
consumption in the city is significantly above national averages, although no exact numbers exist. It is estimated that about 10000
extensive drug users are located in Detroit, which cost $925 million a year, spent in matters like health care, accidents or criminal
justice.
67
era evolved from prosperous magnets for native and foreign born citizens to decayed
centers where prosperity
seems impossible. However,
Detroit's economic downfall
was obviously more dramatic
than the one other cities had
experienced. Detroit also was
dependent on, and dragged
by, the big industries as the
1980s were beginning. In
Pittsburgh, Cleveland and the
South side of Los Angeles,
inner-city residents fight to
survive economically where
once prosperity had been Number of homicides in the City of Detroit per 100000 residents (© Farley,
R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, Russell Sage Foundation, 2002)
forecasted. Likewise, just as
Illustration 10
Detroit experienced a
dramatic exodus of whites during the 1970s, and thus housed an African American majority
thereafter, so did many central cities in the United Sates. However, Detroit's demographic
metamorphosis was more extreme than in most other cities, but the white flight that it
experienced was not unique. Though, in 1997, metropolitan Detroit was the most
segregated city of all 47 major U.S. metro regions with at least on million residents.
Of course, there were several enactments
from the government deal with segregation or
discrimination, but all suffer from one flaw:
they are passed in Washington, but local
whites oppose them in most cases.
Controversial methods like the affirmative
actions are no solution to the racial
segregation, in this case, segregation at work,
Affirmative Action is opposed by many whites, and of
because they do not establish a voluntary course, endorsed by many blacks. (© Farley, R., Danziger,
S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, Russell Sage Foundation,
base for racial co-operation. Favored by most 2002)
blacks, whites oppose affirmative action, as Illustration 11

Illustration 11 shows.
As long as it is a matter of course that racial and class isolationism are accepted, social
and income segregation will exist, as the next chapter will prove.
2.2.2. Growing distance between rich and poor

As we have already seen in the previous overview of the racial problems, there is always the returning
issue of racial problems combined with a difference of wealth the group can gain.
2.2.2.1. How the classes overlap with races

Obviously, the races overlap with their status in the society, their class; blacks are
predominately poor and living in poor dwellings located in the City of Detroit, whereas whites
are predominately living in the suburban ring and enjoying wealth and good housing. As
appendix p.62 , Illustration 43 shows exactly that distribution in the period between 1950
and 1990. Another fact is striking when analyzing the charts: the income situation changed
hardly for the blacks/City of Detroit, whereas the whites/suburban quarters experienced an
upswing in monetary affairs. In the case of the City of Detroit, the lowest class even
augmented, reducing the taxes and therefore the financial power of the city, to counter such
a development, as we will see later. Of course, blacks who are well off were trying also to
flee to the outlying sections of the city, just like their white counterparts. However, this only
contributed even more to the residential segregation of the black poor. More surprisingly
is the fact that white and black homeowners joined their forces to oppose publicly funded
housing for the poor, as they were afraid of sinking property values.68
2.2.2.2. Social gap due to racial discrimination and segregation

A survey conducted by the daily “Detroit Free Press” in 1970 revealed the following Top Five
complaints among black residents in the city: 1) Police brutality, 2) Poor housing, 3) Poverty,
4) Lack of jobs, 5) Overcrowded living conditions. All points listed refer basically to racial
discrimination and the accordant segregation. Disparities between the races existed (and
still remain today) at several levels, namely at workplaces, education, income, housing
and so on.
The first topic, inequality at work exists until today, although it was officially abolished
shortly after World War II (see 2.2.1.2, footnote 57). In the late 1990s, about 64% of the
black male working force in Detroit between the ages of 25 and 64 had jobs. Among white
men, 87% were employed. That trend has lingered for decades, even in the booming
economy of the 1950s, as 84% of black men respectively 92% of white men were employed.
Since 1970, when many blue-collar jobs began to disappear, no more than 65% of black
men had an occupation at any point in history.69 Blacks in Detroit therefore have generally
have had an unemployment rate to 3 times of whites at all time, sometimes backing up the
prejudice of lazy African Americans from whites. Naturally, a high potential for conflict is
68
69
emerging, as there are serious differences of income between the ethnic groups. Since the
job situation in the City of Detroit worsened, no solution is in sight.
The second point, differences in the education (see appendix p.56, Illustration 35) of inner-
city black students and white youths living on the rim of the city, did not change just because
of the cross-district school-bussing. Inner city schools and universities in the city are severely
under funded, resulting in poorly maintained buildings and little equipment at class to enrich
the lessons. Consequently, African Americans have less job opportunities and/or are paid
worse than their white counterparts. This again ends in income disparity; there also seems a
strong tendency of white employers to hire persons of their own skin color. Reynolds Farley
initiated a survey written in his book “Detroit Divided”; he arrived at the conclusion that:
“...African Americans believe that they frequently miss out on good jobs,
promotions and attractive homes and neighborhoods because of systematic
and pervasive racial discrimination. Regardless of their educational attainment,
income or occupational achievements, Detroit's African Americans see
extensive racial discrimination in all areas of public life. From their viewpoint, it
is a color-coded metropolis with whites in control. (...) Racial views have
changed, but when whites are getting asked about the modern racial
stereotypes – that is, about racial differences in the tendency to be intelligent or
the tendency to prefer to live off welfare rather than to work for a living – they
still often followed negative stereotypes.”70
The final point to be examined is the perpetual housing issue, which is a perfect example of
the synergy of racial discrimination and resulting segregation. There were various forms of
racial discrimination by real estate brokers, financial organizations and government
institutions that prevented black residence in the suburbs. Ever since African Americans
were coming to Detroit in large numbers in the times around the World Wars, residential
isolation was enormous. As blacks moved up the ladder in monetary affairs when they
received their salaries for their work in the factories, they sought for better housing. But the
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance program, for example, subsidizing the
growth of the Detroit suburbs, primarily gave benefits to white middle- and working-class
residents. The reason is that the FHA adopted a segregationist policy and refused to insure
construction projects that did not match their edicts. The common belief of white appraisers71
employed by the government office was that racial integration of suburbs would lower
property values. Although there was no evidence for this assumption, it was an official policy
in the FHA; race was officially listed as a valid reason for rejecting a mortgage. The HOLC
(Home Owners Loan Corporation) also encouraged racial apartheid; for a long time, both
institutions refused to make loans to areas where many blacks lived, although some of the
areas were in a perfect state. It was not until the early 1960s when the federal government in
the form of President J.F. Kennedy, finally took steps to ensure that housing was “open” to
70
71
This is a financial assessment of the value of objects like houses.
all races72. Unfortunately the

ordinance came far too late
and left another fact
unchanged: the actions of
real estate brokers. They
were still actively gaining
money by exploiting the fears
of many whites' homeowners
in racially mixed areas. The
realty agents pretended that if
even more blacks will come
to the quarter, the value of
the property increases
further. Many whites were
This wall has had to be built in the 1940s, in order to segregate a black
selling their houses in panic, neighborhood from a white one, to comply to the separation regulation of the
FHA and to get loans for white housing. (Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)
enabling opulent bargains for
the real estate companies. To Illustration 12
make things worse, the state Michigan - containing Detroit - did not, as many other states
did, prohibit discrimination in key domains like public housing, real estate actions and money
lending businesses.
As a result of all the matters stated before, blacks could not leave the central city at the
same rate as whites because of unnatural burdens. Due to this, instability and
contemporary racial segregation still survived until today. To envision the long-term legacy of
racial segregation: in the late 1950s, 178000 new homes were constructed at the outer limits
of the city, but only 750 were available to non-whites;73 as former generations of African
Americans could not move out of the city in the same extent as the whites, they were caught
in a ghetto. The following generations sometimes never had the chance to exit the inner
districts of the city, because they suffered from unemployment or lack of financial means. If
the black population size had been stable or shrinking, discrimination in the larger housing
market would perhaps have been bearable. But since the number of African Americans living
in the city continued to grow, the situation worsened. A vicious circle emerged.
72
He signed an Executive Order, which prohibited federal agencies from discriminating in the sale, lease or occupancy of federally owned
property assisted by federal grants or insured loans; cf. Thomas, J. Redevelopment and race – Planning a Finer City in Postwar
Detroit, Baltimore 1997, p.98
73
Thomas, J., p.84
2.2.2.3. A divided Detroit

To recapitulate the basic situation in Detroit: the city consists of two major parts: firstly the
affluent suburbs where a majority of well-off whites live and secondly, the black people living
in the City of Detroit, suffering both from pauperism and isolation. Thus, race inequality is
as widespread in metropolitan Detroit as class inequality.
As industrial growth extended to the suburbs and as commercial capital concentrated on the
periphery of urban areas, the line of uneven development shifted from cities within the city to
a line that divided the city from its suburbs. In the case of Detroit, this is a racial blockade.
The distribution is portrayed in Illustration 13 and clearly mark a divided Detroit. The white
population of the city fell dramatically from 1546000 in 1950 to 222000 in 1990 – a drop of
Distribution of In-Migrants to Metropolitan Detroit and Nonmovers, showning clear differences in eduction. (©
Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, Russell Sage Foundation, 2002)
Illustration 13
85%. It was an inherent move to the suburbs, a reaction to the better economic situation
they experienced. For the blacks of Detroit, this residential mobility was denied for several
reasons discussed earlier. Even if some middle-class blacks were able and brave enough to
settle down in suburbs bordering the city of Detroit, whites fled (see appendix p.59,
Illustration 39), again creating new segregated enclaves. A climbing percentage of blacks in
the inner-city is a century-long trend, as Illustration 9 (page 24) shows.
As no shift of population is in sight, by 2020, about 95% living in the City of Detroit will be
African American.
Corresponding to this evolution was the decline of jobs in the city and the opposed boost of
jobs in the suburban ring (see appendix p.60, Illustration 41). Technological change in
industry and the pressures of international competition created better job opportunities for
high skilled workers, but fewer and lower paid ones for unskilled workers. Whites had
traditionally enjoyed a better education than blacks, but when also blue-collar jobs were
shifting from the city to the suburbs, unskilled

blacks remained in the city and a large part of
them became unemployed during this
reorganization. As long as life opportunities and
living conditions vary so greatly by race, prosperity
is not possible within the metropolitan area. Racial
isolation worsens poor social and economic
conditions, which leads to desperation and its
manifestations (drugs, crime), which results in
even more isolation. Even today, the estimated
percentage of people living under the official
poverty line in Detroit is about 40% and the
potential to commit crimes rises at least two
Synonymous for a 'divided Detroit': 8 Mile road,
times.74 separating the City of Detroit from the Northern
suburbs located in Macomb and Oakland
County. The name '8 mile' even got poplar in
Europe, as an identically named movie starring
Detroit's Rapstar Eminem was shown in
theatres. (Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)
Illustration 14
Illustration 15
74
Sugrue, T.J., The origins of the urban crises: Race and inequality in postwar Detroit, Princeton, 1996, p. 269
Volume II
The work is written in American English.

See textbox on page 53 regarding further information about this essay on the enclosed CD-
Rom or in the Internet.
Table of Contents
Volume I.................................................................................................................................. 3
1. Contemporary Detroit: a metropolis of contradictions......................................................... 4
2. An ailing patient — the decline of Detroit, “Motor City” of the USA..................................... 5
2.1. The economic transformation of Detroit....................................................................... 5
2.1.1. A brief view of Detroit’s history from 1701-1948................................................... 5
2.1.1.1. A French enclave as the beginning.............................................................. 5
2.1.1.2. 19th century and Detroit’s role as a city of manufacture............................... 6
2.1.1.3. Beginning of the new era of automobile production...................................... 6
2.1.1.4. The ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ during WWII..................................................... 7
2.1.2. Economical rise of post-war Detroit...................................................................... 8
2.1.2.1. Boom of the automobile industry ................................................................. 8
2.1.2.2. Severe problems faded out and deferred..................................................... 9
2.1.3. The 1980’s: problems intensified........................................................................ 10
2.1.3.1. The United States in a globalized world...................................................... 10
2.1.3.2. The effects of a saturated U.S. market....................................................... 11
2.1.3.3. The clever competitors: Imports from Asia and Europe and their success. 11
2.1.3.4. The lethargy of the clumsy American car industry...................................... 13
2.1.4. The downfall and prospects of the Automobile Industry in Detroit......................14
2.1.4.1. The Big Three losing grip........................................................................... 14
2.1.4.2. Outlook for the future of Detroit’s car industry............................................ 17
2.2. Social changes in Detroit........................................................................................... 20
2.2.1. Overview of racial problems: development and perspective...............................20
2.2.1.1. Early blacks arriving from the South........................................................... 20
2.2.1.2. 1930s to 1970s: increasing tensions between races.................................. 21
2.2.1.3. The contemporary situation compared to other big U.S. cities................... 23
2.2.2. Growing distance between rich and poor........................................................... 26
2.2.2.1. How the classes overlap with races............................................................ 26
2.2.2.2. Social gap due to racial discrimination and segregation............................. 26
2.2.2.3. A divided Detroit......................................................................................... 29
Volume II............................................................................................................................... 31
2.3. City planning in Detroit............................................................................................... 34
2.3.1. Detroit’s phenomenon of the escape to suburban areas.................................... 34
2.3.1.1. Relocation of the industry and business to the fringes of the city............... 34
2.3.1.2. Counterproductive infrastructural enhancement......................................... 36
2.3.1.3. Motivation for the exodus of residents........................................................ 37
2.3.2. Consequences of urban flight............................................................................ 39
2.3.2.1. Loss of capital............................................................................................ 39
2.3.2.2. Ghettos and slums: the isolated urban inner city........................................ 40

2.3.3. Attempts to improve the situation in Detroit........................................................ 42
2.3.3.1. Early trials from from 1950s to 1970s......................................................... 42
2.3.3.2. A ray of hope? The Central Business District............................................. 44
3. Past, present and future of Detroit; an attempt of a conclusion......................................... 48
3.1. The problem of insufficient funds.......................................................................... 48
3.2. Everlasting splits between races and classes....................................................... 49
3.3. The omnipresence of economic decline................................................................ 50
4. Bibliography...................................................................................................................... 54
Books............................................................................................................................... 54
Other references.............................................................................................................. 55
5. Appendix........................................................................................................................... 56
Further Images................................................................................................................. 56
Statements, opinions and responses to my essay............................................................ 64
6. Acknowledgements........................................................................................................... 69
7. Bilingual statement............................................................................................................ 70
2.3. City planning in Detroit

The last major point in this work will be the contemplation of city planning issues, redevelopment
problems and the steps that were taken to counter all levels of problems within the City of Detroit.
This resort of administration is in my opinion by far the most important to shape Detroit's future.
Detroit and its suburbs combine to form a metropolis where 3.91 million people live. The Detroit city of
0.9191 million comprises 23.3% of the population and 85% of the region's blacks. In contrast, the
suburbs are where 76.7% or 3 million people live; 88% are whites and 4.2% are blacks (see folded
Din-A3 paper)
2.3.1. Detroit’s phenomenon of the escape to suburban areas

The growth in ownership of automobiles was accompanied by a growth in migration of population
from urban to rural centers. The trend toward home ownership first led to urban sprawl, then to
suburban migration and the need for multiple auto ownership. Even more people were moving to the
fringes of the city, as the predominate families became mobile.
Two main reasons for that growth of suburban districts were in the first place a housing boom,
financed with federal home mortgage insurance programs and tax policies; in the second place a
heavy reliance on automobiles, financed by federal support of highways. Another reason was the
attractive amenities of suburban life. But racial change within cities speeded white exodus to the
suburbs. Suburban housing and quality of life were the primary “pull” attracting urban whites, but
black entry into formerly White residential areas was a major “push” encouraging many to leave.
2.3.1.1. Relocation of the industry and business to the fringes of the city
The manufacturing industry moved out of the City of Detroit because of many reasons:
taxes were lower, building areas were larger and cheaper, assembling firms were nearby,
planned new headquarters could easily be established and there were less restrictions on
how to construct new plants. Before the great boom in the car industry, the production was
concentrated in huge plants within the City of Detroit. But since the demand for production
rose in World War II, new factory buildings had to be erected in the suburbs. The foremost
factory was that one that produced bombers in Ypsilanti – Willow Run, just 30 miles West of
Detroit. But also the Big Three altogether built 20 new auto plants during the decade
following World War II, all erected outside the official central city boundaries.2 So, Ford for
example, moved its headquarters to the suburb Dearborn, escaping the high taxes of
Detroit.3 But also other central offices of other automobile companies did not stick to Detroit.4
This development occurred all before World War II, but far reaching consequences resulted.
The suburbs grew rich as they received plenty of taxes but had little expenditures like health
care. Furthermore, as the 1960s arrived, the older plants located in Detroit became outdated
and had to be closed. As we already discussed in 2.2.1.3., automobile companies and
supplier firms had to transfer jobs to the suburbs, other parts of the USA or to foreign
countries in order to remain competitive. As wage rates were still high in Detroit, some of the
1
See Http://www.semcog.org , stored on the enclosed CD-Rom as “SEMCOG Community Profiles.htm”
2
3
An exception is Ford's production facility in Highland Park and Dodge's factory in Hamtramck (see Illustration 32 on page 49). The
districts escaped the formal annexation to Detroit, in order to keep the taxes for the companies low.
4
Cf. Thomas, J., p.66
older facilities got automated, resulting in less

employment for the less educated. Between
the late 1940s and the early 1980s, Detroit's
share of the region's manufacturing
employment dropped from 60,3% to 25%. But
also the retail trade declined from 72,6% to
15,4%.5 Big shopping centers and malls drew
away the sales of Detroit's flagship in the retail
sector, J.L. Hudson Company. The corporation
was the nation's second retail leader after
Macy's in the era right after World War II and is
a perfect case to illustrate the commercial
disinvestment of the city. In the 1940s, the 25-
storied building with about 2 million square-foot
of space, the company had the most
prosperous times, when it generated 3 times
the dealings as its closest competitor. But as
people, corporations and capital was moving The implosion of the J.L. Hudson Building in 1998.
(Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)
out of the city, the sales figures declined
Illustration 16
dramatically, resulting in the abandonment of
the Hudson building in 1983, and its
blasting in 1998. With its shutdown, the
city with then 1.2 million inhabitants did
not house any more greater retail shop.
In sum, Detroit lost 350000 jobs between
1960 and 1990 (from 700000 to 350000
jobs), mostly in manufacturing and retail
trade. Consequently 1.05 million jobs
were created in the tri-county suburbs
(rise from 350000 to 1.4 million, see
appendix p.60, Illustration 41). But firms
Car assemblies in Detroit were declining while Michigan were leaving just for practical reasons;
defended its percentage of U.S. Production. (© Thomas, J.,
Redevelopment and race – Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit, Baltimore
1997) Detroit had high taxes, dated production
facilities, high crime rates, a public
Illustration 17
infrastructure in poor condition and
strongly unionized labor force. The city could not hold business activity or even attract new
5
ones. The State Michigan instead has been able to retain its percentage of U.S.
manufacturing production, as Illustration 16 shows.
2.3.1.2. Counterproductive infrastructural enhancement

As jobs relocated to
the outer limits of
Detroit, workers had
to get to the outlying
production facilities.
During World War II,
in 1942, the
construction of an
“Industrial
Expressway” was
planned to grant the
supply of people and The Freeway system that emerged in Detroit, destroyed a lot of healthy neighborhoods (©
detnews.com)
material for the factory
Illustration 18
in Ypsilanti - Willow
Run. Of course, these highway constructions provided an easy access to the factories
outside the city and were also a “perfect” road-transportation system to get in and out of the
city. White dwellers therefore moved out of the City of Detroit, because the suburbs were
connected properly with the city, which then held still the retail power and some
manufacturing jobs. This development was further stimulated with for example the
construction of the Davison Expressway6 or of the Interstate 75 through Highland Park in the
1950s and 1960s7. The demand for surfaced roads increased since then and, in turn,
stimulated the use of the automobile and made the movement of population from the inner
cities to suburbs and from rural areas to metropolitan centers easier. At the same time the
city worked to attract people to the central districts of Detroit by expressways, it helped them
to leave the city. As road systems grew and improved, more people bought more cars and
public transit systems got worse. The federal government and its 1956 federal highway
legislation made it financially easy to construct those infrastructure; but the foundation of
express- and highways was counterproductive, as it helped shoppers and workers became
even less tied to the City of Detroit. Many city administrators believed that building highways
and parking lots would resolve traffic jams and make downtown competitive with suburban
malls. However, the parking space was not free and could never compete with the free
parking that suburban malls provided. A terrible fault during that time was the fact that the
6
The Davison Expressway was the first in the USA – being built in the 1940s; it's completely within the city.
7
The primary purpose of the interstate expressway system built during that period of time was to speed up the movement of the military.
city administration often preferred poor

quarters for their construction sites of the
infrastructure, because they were easy to
get for their “renewal” program, which
resulted in fact in slum elimination or the
destruction of healthy black neighborhoods.
Although, housing segregation was virtually
abolished, it was practiced practically by
every real estate dealer, and thus, the
displaced blacks became concentrated in
even poorer ghetto areas (see 2.3.2.2.).
Furthermore, the highways sliced the once
coherent city and isolated parcels remained.
Picture of expressway construction near the CBD (© Thomas, J.,
Redevelopment and race – Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit, Baltimore 1997)
2.3.1.3. Motivation for the exodus Illustration 19

of residents
Detroit's population peaked in the mid-1950s at just over 1.8 million people and has declined
ever since, whereas for example the suburban Macomb County grew about 119 percent
during the 1950s.8 As I already mentioned, there were “push” factors for whites to leave the
city and “pull” factors9 that made the suburbs very attractive. Let us begin with the push
factors like the extensive freeway system discussed in 2.3.1.2.; the job loss in the city that
had started in the 1950s, made the decision easy, to move out, if one could afford it. Also
the racial issues, broadly discussed in 2.2., were intensifying as the African American
population grew steadily (see p. 24, Illustration 9) in Detroit and whites, fearing similar riots
to the one in 1967, were moving out of the city. Whites were also afraid of crime, the growing
level of poverty and the abandonment of buildings. Aside from that, many whites highly
opposed the bussing plan, because they wanted their children to go to schools that are
meters, not miles away and not be exposed to the language and violence attributed to
blacks.
Now, we turn to the “pull” factors of the suburbs: firstly, the housing issue. As Detroit was
growing in the post-war era, homes on the fringes of the city were quite expensive, as for a
$24000 brick house, mortgage dealers required a 30% down payment.10 But when President
Eisenhower was in office, he wanted an expanding housing industry and therefore made
new deals that only required 3.3% down payment of war-veterans for a new house in the
8
Thomas, J., p.84
9
10
This is a payment that has to be done before the loan can be accepted , cf. Gavrilovich, P. , McGraw, B., p. 294
suburbs. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) supported this also by giving away loans
under very good conditions. The segregationist practices of the department, not to allow
loans in neighborhoods where many blacks live, prevented also many liberal whites from
building a home in the city, as we saw 2.2.2.2. Furthermore, home insurance was not
available or much too expensive. Additionally, taxes were also lower in the suburbs for
families, not just for industry and retail. Many other dwellers living in the core of Detroit were
also attracted by a life in the suburbs that pretends to be the true “American Dream”: what
is needed, when you can yourself afford to own a car, is a garage with a small but nice
house and a green garden. More personal space is also available and one does not have to
endure the tensions within the city. Also, a friendly community with self organization,
personal security and mutual care were depicted. Huge malls, where endless hours can be
spent on shopping and strolling, opened in the 1950s. Last but not least, the residents in the
suburbs wanted to be envied by the life they led. They paid the obligation to conformance as
a price for the advantages. While any particular family could have had their own motivation
to move over to the suburbs, the cumulative effect managed to depopulate the City of Detroit
selectively, as the flight was classified by racial animosities and income or class differences.
Characteristic is the following statement11 in “Detroit – Race and Uneven Development”,
mentioning that
“(...) the arrival of Negroes served as an excuse to invest in that stainless

steel, formic and plywood-paneled dream house and believe at the same time
that they were acting wisely from an economic point of view. The pull of the
suburbs and the quest for social status was too much for many whites, even
those who believe strongly in integration. And as middle-class white
neighborhoods in Detroit opened up to blacks in the 1950s and 1960s, some
after a serious of conflicts and others via cooperation or at least practical
coexistence, they tended to become extensions of the black ghettos rather than
long-term biracial communities”.
No matter how middle-class blacks were welcomed in the new neighborhoods, the increased
number of blacks also getting out of the city, left the poor residents over.
11
2.3.2. Consequences of urban flight

Since the beginning of the 1950s, the white suburbs took over the economic power and declared the
white areas that surround the black inner-city to the “Metropolitan Area of Detroit”, in order to
distinguish from the “City of Detroit” which is – in their opinion – full of crime and dirt.
2.3.2.1. Loss of capital

With the remnant dwellers in the city working in low-wage jobs, unemployed and poor, the
city fell short of money. The tax base12 was not big enough to shoulder the care programs,
as health care. As the well-off left the city, so did the retail power. The population shift
resulted in massive movement of capital to suburban areas as we see in appendix
Illustration. It is shown how the central city did own half of the region's property wealth in
1960 and ranked first by far. By 1980, Detroit's share of the region's property value had
shrunk to a devastating 16.5%, whereas Macomb and Oakland County were unrivaled. Also
alarming: due to the economic tailspin of the central city, the assessed valuation of property
in relation to the percentage of population had fallen in real terms between two decades: in
1960, 42.3% of the population had 49.6% of wealth (ratio 1,17), but in 1980, 17.6% of the
population possessed just 16,5% (ratio 0,94)13. At least as severe as this was the decline of
industrial investment of about 50% in just two decades: in 1958, 44% of investment projects
were targeted to Detroit, in 1977 barely 22%.14
“Capital was mobile, but Detroit was not”15 is the statement of June Thomas in her book
“Redevelopment and race” that hits the nail on the head. While the automobile industry could
escape somehow by decentralizing, modernizing and seeking new markets, the City of
Detroit could not. Its manufacturing sectors was in a serious state of decline, yet some
industrials firms moved out of the inner city, further reducing the tax base.
But not only the source of capital through taxes was drawn to an end, federal funds also
diminished. In 1980, federal money of $392 million made up over 26% of the budget of the
city.16 During the 1980s, the federal government discontinued its general revenue sharing17
program and limited money for job training, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)18,
housing subsidies, mass transportation, health and other sectors.
While city populations fell 35% in the 30 years between 1950 and 1980, the total number of
employed residents dropped 48%.19 Such unbalanced loss of employed residents combined
with a decline in city revenue because of stagnant property values and residential flight
12
The tax base is the assessed value of taxable property, assets and income within a specific area.
13
Darden, J.T., Hill, R.C., Thomas, J., Thomas R., p.20-21
14
15
Thomas, J., p.217
16
Thomas, J., p.175
17
“Revenue sharing” allows the city to spend the money given nearly on all subjects. cf. Fototnote 18
18
“Block Grants” allow the city to spend the money on several but limited subjects., here on “Community Development”,
cf. Föderalismus.htm on the enclosed CD-Rom, point 3.4 / CPD - Community Development - Programs - HUD
19
added up to serious fiscal problems for the city.

This is the resulting dilemma: the taxes are more than insufficient but they also cannot be
raised, as even more business would respond to the call of the suburbs.
2.3.2.2. Ghettos and slums: the isolated urban inner city

Black slums have existed for a long period of time because blacks arrived in Detroit after
their journey from the South and ghettos had a gatekeeper role for them; city areas generally
grew not on purpose until the 1950s in America.
But when the industrial decline set in, just about 100000 working places20 remained in the
inner city. During the daylight hours, the people work in the skyscrapers for the public
administration, insurances, law courts, law firms or in other branches of the service sectors.
However, when it gets dark, the workers are leave the city and the urban inner city turns
isolated without any pedestrians. Parking garages today are built out of bureau-office
buildings or even prior theaters (see p. 40, Illustration 20). About one third of the dwellings
are vacant21 and therefore often located in wasteland. But also hotels, office structures or
other kinds of buildings in the heart of the city, in the Central Business District (CBD)22, are
often unoccupied. Moreover, Detroit has to face many problems: poverty, racism,
depopulation and economic decline.
With a life in unemployment, over 250000 of the blacks receive money from federal social
aid programs, over 100000 households are just single-parent homes, whereas three
quarters are African Americans.23
Also, all-black neighborhoods emerged. When whites did move out of neighborhoods like
Bagley or Mack-Concord, poorer blacks were able to join or replace middle-class blacks.
These areas changed by racial and income means, often leading to problems of housing
maintenance or crime. In other words, expressed again by June Thomas:
“As the numbers of renters increased, the city reduced attempts to enforce
the housing code. Lending institutions withheld mortgages or loans for home
improvement and real estate agents steered young White families away. All of
this led to a self-fulfilling prophecy: Black entry into neighborhoods did lead to
deterioration – a classic case of blaming the victim.” 24
Public housing was once more an issue: Detroit stopped spreading public housing projects
over the whole city, but concentrated it in the inner-city, laying the cornerstone for ghettos.
Suburban communities refused to pay for the problems belonging to Detroit and did not
finance any public housing. Prevalent racial prejudices triumphed25.
20
Carlson, L.H., p.104
21
cf. (CBD)Cluster%204%20-%20CBD.pdf on the enclosed CD-Rom
22
The Central Business District (CBD) is the district of an urban area which typically contains intense office and retail activities
23
Carlson, L.H., p.105
24
Thomas, J., p. 111
25
Thomas, J., p.228
There are generally two attitudes towards the

phenomenon of badly developed areas: On the one hand
those who are most concerned about slums, so about
deteriorated housing. They also support public housing
programs and tend to come from liberal backgrounds. On
the other hand there are those concerned about blight,
which is usually hinting to economic deterioration. These
people were often land- or business-owners themselves
and are more worried about falling property values than
the future of the poor. No matter to which group one
belongs, it is inevitable that you recognize the
uncountable amount of deteriorated, vacant,
abandoned, neglected and demolished buildings which
sometimes get recaptured by nature.
The graceful architecture of the Michigan

Theater (built in the 1920s), now used as a
parking lot. (Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)
Illustration 20
Downtown Detroit; as vacant buildings were demolished, emptiness

came, leaving back wastelands. 1991. (© Camilo José Vergara)
Illustration 21
2.3.3. Attempts to improve the situation in Detroit

Normally, American cities were founded for a commercial purpose, they got developed on drawing
boards of real estate dealers26, not on the ones by city planners; this makes it very hard to influence
the shape of any city by any specific city planning measures or redevelopment policies. The matter of
redesigning the city may be the most sophisticated, complicated and difficult to manage, because
every subject – not mattering whether of social, racial, economical, financial, aesthetic-architectural,
etc. point of view – has to be taken into account.
2.3.3.1. Early trials from from 1950s to 1970s

Already in the years
following World War II, a
so called Master Plan27
was developed for the
first time in 1951 in order
to shape Detroit in a
decent way. Every
planner had to stick to
the plan and the city
officials were hoping for
a homogenous
townscape by developing
broad stripes of industrial
The 1952 Master Plan ant its zoning of industrial and commercial sectors. (© Thomas, J.,
and commercial corridors Redevelopment and race – Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit, Baltimore 1997)
and organizing llustration 22

residential areas around neighborhood units. The city wanted to buy existing houses,
prepare the properties and resell them cheaply to industrial firms. But the project fell short of
the city's expectations, as just 167 acres instead of the 2540 needed acres could be
provided at large expenses in the 1960s. Ironically, this restructuring of the city did assume
that you have to destroy parts of the city to keep its industry. So the plan was not sufficient
enough to counter all the problems; it could not eliminate blight, but at most guide the growth
of the city in certain areas. However, it was a first trial and still exists today in a revised form
(see http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/plandevl/advplanning/masterplan.htm for all Master Plans
dating from 1951 to a drafted 2003 plan).
Also, to avoid the severe congestion on the roads during the rush-hours, the city decided to
build several highways with the mentioned aftermath described in 2.3.1.2. Many black
neighborhoods were intentionally destroyed and this restructuring was perceived as an act of
26
It is said that the grid-like road system in cities is not of any practical use but makes property sites comparable in price and size for
dealers
27
The master plan is the basis of a planning process in a city including policies at urban levels. From it, several plans and projects are
determined. Essentially, the plan is based on 3 major sectors: commercial, residential and industrial areas.
“slum clearance” and not as an act of revitalization. This is also the cause for many to be
scared and devaluate the actions which were undertaken by the city, as it was often opposed
to blacks and enforced by whites. But not only did redevelopment negatively affect racial
justice, it was also the other way round, race relations negatively affected redevelopment. In
particular, this was the case when racial polarization continued within the Metropolitan Area
of Detroit and white developers, real estate agents and homeowners preferred to reshape
the white suburbs over the dark inner-city.
After the late 1960s, the city switched away from the slum-clearance characteristic of urban
renewal rather to residential rehabilitation and economic development policies, which
are designed to keep institutions and industries from leaving the central city. Money was
spent and tax concessions were made in order to keep industrial corporations in Detroit,
because work places stand for new residents. But it was a zero-sum game because the
disadvantages of resettlement and high expenditures compensated the advantages like few
decent houses and work places.
But even when residential areas were about to be redeveloped, many dwellers of the settled
site had to be removed temporarily, and it is quite unsure that the inhabitants of former
houses could ever possibly afford new ones in the restructured area. Sometimes, the sectors
did not even include residential units, but were supposed for industrial or commerce only.28
However, there were some more or less successful model projects like the restructured
Lafayette (formerly Gratiot) Park in the East. It was designed, among others, by the famous
architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. This plan also had major flaws, because it destroyed
more housing than it generated and could not stop the elopement of the middle-class.
Detroit had to face many problems, like poverty, depopulation and economic decline.
Survival became a real
issue as housing and
jobs deteriorated. A lot
of people considered it
to be sarcastic when
Detroit drains its money
into some model
29
projects instead of
helping the needy.
Riverfront Promenade (© Hill, E.J.,
Gallagher, J., AIA Detroit – The American
Cobo Hall and Convention Center (© Hill, E.J.,
Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Gallagher, J., AIA Detroit – The American Institute of
Architecture, Detroit, Wayne State Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture, Detroit, Wayne
University Press, 2003) State University Press, 2003)
Illustration 23 Illustration 24
28
29
Cf. Darden, J.T., Hill, R.C., Thomas, J., Thomas R., p.190: in 1990, 87% of the city's funds were supposed to be spent on projects in
the Central Business District (CBD) or riverfront area.
Worth mentioning, too, is the project of the Civic Center in downtown. Downtown by itself is
about one square mile large, and can be crossed in about half an hour by foot. The Civic
Center finished construction in the late 1960s. Cobo Hall and the Convention Center (see
p.23, Illustration 23), part of the complex, are still today a very important factor in Detroit's
renown, as the famous Detroit Auto Show exhibits in Cobo Hall. Some additions like the
Civic Center Riverfront Promenade (see p.23, Illustration 24) followed in later years, keeping
the site up to date. But in some opinions, the buildings are too overloaded and too cubic,
likely that you lose your way.
After all, actually little has changed in Detroit in general; although a number of new
apartments and office buildings have been built, no greater retail shop opened its doors.
Meanwhile, a lot of low-income housing areas further decayed or were abandoned. This
process, once more, prevented many commercial or industrial investors from building their
branches in Detroit, and so the tax base of the city further declined without any relaxation in
the job market.
2.3.3.2. A ray of hope? The Central Business District

To attract new business for
the city of Detroit, the
authorities refocused from
redevelopment of residential
areas to the revitalization of
the Central Business District
(CBD) part of the downtown.
It consists nowadays of
skyscrapers and office
buildings where, for
example, public
administration, law courts
and businesses of the
service sector are disposed.
It is obvious that Detroit is
trying to transform away
from the Motor City to a The RenCen in the CBD was supposed to have a catalytic function for downtown
financial, administrative and Detroit. (Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)
professional service center Illustration 25
for car and retail industry. As the magnetic effect of the Civic Center diminished, a private
investor stepped in for a project that should give “a new birth” to the city: Henry Ford II,
member of the wealthy Ford family, presented his vision to revitalize Detroit in the form of
the Renaissance Center (RenCen) to counter mass downtown exodus. Preparations were
made during the period from 1971 to 1973 to construct the privately financed building. Ford
personally stood up for the project and talked with other automobile industry corporations to
convince them to invest in the construction of the Renaissance Center, which was located
nearby the Civic Center. Here is how things developed since then (quoted30):
“The resulting 51-member partnership, called 'Detroit Renaissance', was

then the largest private investment group ever assembled for an American
urban real estate venture. Financing came from a $200 million construction
loans from major insurance companies and investments from the corporate
partners, including at least $300 million from Ford Motor Company. The
resulting complex became an instant Detroit landmark, finished by 1977. Five
high towers made up the original phase, with a hotel offering 1400 rooms
occupying the innermost, 73-story cylinder. Four outer towers were 39 stories
each and accommodated offices. But the RenCen experienced a number of
problems; it was not properly connected to the surroundings, making it difficult
for pedestrians to enter. It was quite clear from the beginning that the building
offered an over-capacity, although GM and Ford transferred some offices from
their headquarters to the Renaissance Center. The RenCen suffered major
financial losses, forcing the original investors to sell it [to another investment
group]. But the building symbolized the potential of the riverfront and the central
business district.“
And it still has a catalytic function today, even though it was a financial disaster as it provided
too much of space in times when the economy depressed the real estate market, retail
business and hotel reservations in Detroit. In 1996, GM repurchased the building, now
operating as GM's
headquarters with
6000 workers and
an additional 2000
tenants. The
building provides 5.5
million square feet
as office space and
150000 square feet
are reserved for
retail business. Also,
the Marriott
Renaissance Center
Hotel, with 1298
rooms uses the The Millender Center, with the People Mover passing by. (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer
H.J., Detroit divided, New York, 2002)
building. GM is now
Illustration 26
renovating the
building for about $500 million since 2000.31Other projects to enrich the downtown area were
30
Thomas, J., p. 144
31
cf. GM Renaissance Center History.html
for example the Millender Center (see p. 45, Illustration 26), which stands just across the
RenCen and was completed in 1985 as a mixed-use project, also with a hotel, some retail
shops and restaurants; Trappers Alley provided a festival marketplace mall, Trolley Plaza
served as an apartment building and a new District Court Building was constructed.
The riverfront, with its inherited beautiful scenery was also part of the urban renewal plan;
Riverfront West, twin-towered with 29 storied apartments was built, also by two private
investors.
Another model project was the People Mover, a mono-rail train, built in 1987. It connects
many downtown buildings like the Civic Center and the Renaissance Center by a 2.9-mile
circular railway. But as a matter of
fact, is not used by many people, as
it is frequently under repair. As
nearly every other construction, it
has had also its flaws: it needed an
extra $170 million over the
calculated budget and the opening
was ten years later than estimated.
In general, it is questionable that,
when the development within the
The People Mover. (Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)

city is so uneven, so many dollars
are being spent just to keep some
Illustration 27
business connected to the
downtown.
In 1994, Dennis Archer became
the new mayor after Coleman
Young and he proved as a man
of diplomacy and capability. He
stands for a new, more flexible
and strategic way of city
planning, as he set the focus
more on self-initiatives. However,
racial disunity remained an
issue. He was more professional
than his predecessor but at the
same time, he was not a racially
polarizing mayor. He approached The Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers (baseball team) and
many retail business:
actively white residents and the
Illustration 28
business sector.
During his legislation the GM headquarters moved over into the Renaissance Center, three
casinos and two stadiums were built. One of the sports arenas is the Comerica Park (see
p.46, Illustration 28), offering about 70000 square feet of retail space and hosting some
shops, restaurants, offices and other attractions. Nevertheless, Archer had to cope with
legacy of a city that was ruled by “isolation, discrimination, prejudice, disparity and political
division”.32
In 2002, Kwame Kilpatrick - 31 years old - became the

youngest elected mayor in Detroit's history. He initiated
programs like the “Kids, Cops, Clean” project, including
small but important steps towards a better future for the
city; it consists, for example, of better care for children, a
more efficient and helpful police department and the
effort to clean the city. This program is mostly based on
Mayor Kilpatrick speaking in front of an volunteers, as the financial background of the city is
audience. (Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)
anything but healthy.
Illustration 29
This 8000-pound fist of bronze should depict the forearm of boxer Joe Louis. Others – whites – often think of
aggressive black power.
Illustration 30
32
Thomas, J., p.229
Hart Plaza with its imaginative fountain. RenCen is located to the right. (Courtesy of Anthony Hiller) Illustration 31
3. Past, present and future of Detroit; an attempt of a

conclusion
After detailed examination of all prospects of society – economy, social relations and city planning – it
is time to come to a conclusion and to assess the future of an ailing patient - Detroit.
It is forecasted that 0.865 million inhabitants will live in the City of Detroit by 2030.1 What
future remains for a city with such a steady decline of population?
3.1. The problem of insufficient funds

To sum it up in one sentence: the reduced financial bases for local and regional government
and the increasing social costs are very alarming. Industrial and residential exodus, as well
as a change in federal policies, emptied the funds of the city. The Community Development
Block Grants (CDBG) were a major resource for development funds. But as this financial
source ran almost dry because other priorities came up, the city's budget has gone in the
red.
Furthermore, as industry, commerce and well-off residents fled, the tax base is far too low to
counter efficiently any further decline. Because of the decentralized tax system in the United
States, the decline of population of Detroit had to lead to a financial disaster. The city is
trapped once again: Detroit could try to tax its population even higher2 to provide, for
example, better health care services. But, by doing so, the city would risk to loose even more
of industry and middle-class residents. On the other hand, the city could keep the taxes at a
constant level and accept decreasing quality of life and more race- and class-related
conflicts. However, the stubborn and hard-headed suburbs are also to blame for this
desolate monetary situation: they did not allow the City of Detroit to annex further areas3.
Money for, for example: housing rehabilitation must be financed almost completely by the
city itself. Inner city and suburbs have to co-operate in a more fundamental way, as many
1
See SEMCOG Community Profiles.htm on the enclosed CD-Rom
2
Detroit's tax is about thrice time as high as it is in its suburbs.
3
In fact, the last annexation for the city area happened in 1926, see p. 49, Illustration 32.
suburban residents
profit from the city, like
using the public libraries
or infrastructure like
water and sewer system
or the public transit
system. For an
intensified collaboration,
SEMCOG (South East
Michigan Council of
Governments) was
introduced, where
governmental sections Actual annexation pattern for the City of Detroit, which shows no new growth after
1926 and so no chance to sustain tax base or keep population within city
of the Metropolitan Area boundaries. (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, 2002)
of Detroit
meet. Illustration 32
However it has limited
power and its membership is voluntary, with many suburbs not participating.
So far, the city could not provide the estimated $200 million4 for demolishing vacant
structures throughout the city. Some artists, like Camilo José Vergara, say this is a fortune
for the architectural and historical legacy of Detroit. Nevertheless, the present situation
keeps investors away as there is little interest to construct buildings in abandoned areas.
Nevertheless, without the taxes of healthy industrial, commercial and residential areas, the
city will face even more problems in the future.
Private, commercial investments in the CBD like the Renaissance Center could be the only
answer to this devastating situation, unfortunately, the RenCen itself has proven as a
financial disaster. Neighborhood redevelopment projects on the other hand, are very
expensive but were also opposed by many displaced residents, predominately blacks.
3.2. Everlasting splits between races and classes

Few urban areas have as distressed as Detroit; it was doomed, when it lost its tax base
and political support from the Presidents. As the city grew poorer, its social tensions
exploded, setting in a vicious circle of greater white antipathy toward the inner city and, in
turn, greater social malaise; there is in fact no real racism other than a classism of
unbelievable high scale; the Metropolitan area could also easily be divided after income. No
way out is in sight, until socio-economic and structural-technical development emerged
4
Vergara, Camilo J., The new American ghetto, New Brunswick 1999, p. 218
for the non-working

underclass that is
predominantly black and
living in the inner-city ghettos
of the metropolis. Chances of
being reunited with the rest
of the society are very low,
as ethical values provided in
family, school, care, society
or government are fading
away. Moreover, Detroit
actually got neglected for a
long time by the whites, The far away Renaissance for an ancient and overgrown volleyball field. (Courtesy of
Lowell Boileau)
although well-knowing that
the quantity and quality of Illustration 33
problems would rise even higher, when they abandoned the city and still do (see appendix p.
57, Illustration 36). Many inner-city districts suffered of vacant houses whereas the city was
demolishing them, further declining the property value.
Racial disunity and conflict, even in the face of growing political power for the city's African
Americans, brought a particular kind of devastation. The disparities in education, income,
employment and life chances are simply too great between the poor and the rich. Disparity is
deeply connected to discrimination since the caused isolation was also based in part on
income. The area of Detroit has been riven by racial conflict for so many decades that it
seems unrealistic to believe that this will soon change.
The easiest solution to get rid of all the problems would be to create jobs, because tasks
bring stability and a sense of meaning into life. Self-destructive patterns such as drugs and
crime would burst. But since the future of the economy in the metropolitan areas of Detroit is
not that bright, things will hardly change.
3.3. The omnipresence of economic decline

Actually, Detroit has not totally lost its glorious byname “Motor City of the USA”, although
the car industry shifted from the manufacturing sector to service sector, and decentralised
away from Detroit to the suburbs, to other places in the USA or even to other countries; as
manufacturing employment continues to decline, metropolitan Detroit stays a manufacturing
center: 22% of Detroit's employment was working in durable goods manufacturing, whereas
New York's rate was only 3%, Atlanta's 9% and Los Angeles' 10%. Experts of economical
affairs have discordant opinion whether Detroit's economy is just in a temporary recession or
is an open-ended decline. Not mattering how the future of Detroit will look like, its
contemporary economic condition is in a rather bad shape.
Any steps undertaken by protectionists to tax foreign goods will not have the needed impact
on the world economy that would be needed to push Detroit's economy; anyhow, a second
car industry emerged in the USA, competing with the Big Three by producing nearly 5 million
vehicle units per year and employing 85000 factory workers – more than Chrysler's and
almost Ford's working staff. Furthermore, protectionistic measures will provoke retaliation by
other countries and may even lead to unemployment in export orientated industries.5
For a long time pessimists have announced the end of Detroit. They argue that the
American car industry is not healthy enough to sustain two or more big players. Furthermore,
they are afraid of the fact that the small earnings of GM, Ford and Chrysler will no longer
counterbalance their operational spending costs for technical product innovation, health care
and pensions for retired persons.
It would be in the interest of all levels involved in the employment – management, unions
and governments – to regain back some of the manufacturing jobs in Detroit. However,
since every group has its own, irrevocable views, it is next to impossible to find a common
denominator and change the situation in a long-term view.
“To be sure, the end of Detroit's influence on the American automobile

industry is a tremendous loss for Detroit. (...) In every corner of Wayne,
Oakland and Macomb Counties are office parks and low-rise buildings that are
home to suppliers, engineering firms, advertising companies and public
relations agencies who owe their existence in some way to GM, Ford or
Chrysler. But there is victory in all of this for American consumers. The import's
success is being enjoyed by the people who have bought foreign cars and who
love their vehicles. Yes, the demise of Detroit is a tragedy for Michigan and
other states that depend on the Big Three companies. But investments by
foreign companies are a boon to Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas,
California and other areas.”6
Because the City of Detroit has more unemployment and more poverty than the suburbs, it is
unlikely that investors will move over to the city, as less wealthy people mean less income
and fewer taxes for infrastructure and public services. Suburbs were enjoying federal
transportation and housing policies, industrial and commercial rise and massive residential
growth. An enormous gap between the city and the outskirts is even further widening.
As I pointed out at the beginning, there are no simple reason why things developed like that;
it is the complex history of race, society and employment structure that turned Detroit into
the city it is right now.
Detroit could not relieve a great part of its pain which was sometimes self-inflicted,
sometimes caused by external circumstances.
5
Kannan, N.P., p.45
6
Maynard, M., p.307
In the year 1805, Detroit was on the verge of complete destruction - probably for the first
time. As a bakery caught fire, all buildings completely burned down, aside from one single
stone house. Local Father Gabriel Richard noted7:
“Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus”

or
“We hope for better days; it shall rise from its ashes”
This phrase serves still today as the official motto of the city, imprinted on the city seal.
During the manifold history of Detroit, the city has never surrendered to the fight against
the diseases like economic decline, racial issues and city planning missteps.
Detroit may be an ailing patient, but its heritage in historical, cultural and social hindsight
keeps it far away from being dead or obsolete.
7
Stay up-to-date! (if you want to)

http://www.d-troit.de might be your next destination on the Internet! Updated versions of the work
are available on this website.
You will also find additional information about the writing and Detroit in general.
Some of the contents of the website and further materials are also stored on the enclosed CD-
Rom
This is the Web Version (1.0), last modified on 02/02/04, 00:48:34
work
"All and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Jack's phrase written eternally on endless pages in Kubrick's “The Shining”
4. Bibliography
Books
Arranged alphabetically by the name of the author(s)
● Carlson, L.H., Highland Park oder die Zukunft der Stadt, Berlin, Aufbau Verlag,
1994
● Catanese, A.J., The politics of planning and development, Beverly Hills, SAGE
Publications, 1984
● Cohen, I., Echoes of Detroit: A 300-Year History, Haslett, City Vision
Publishing, 2001
● Darden, J.T., Hill, R.C., Thomas, J., Thomas R., Detroit – Race and Uneven
Development, Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1987
● Duncan, O.D., Social change in a metropolitan community, New York, Russell
Sage Foundation, 1974
● Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, Russell Sage
Foundation, 2002
● Gavrilovich, P., McGraw, B., The Detroit Almanac, Detroit, Detroit Free Press,
2001
● Georgakas, D., Surkin, M., Detroit: I do mind dying. – A study in urban
revolution, London, Redwords, updated edition, 1998
● Hartigan, J., Racial situations: class predicaments of whiteness in Detroit,
Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1999
● Henrickson, W.W., Detroit perspectives: crossroads and turning points,
Detroit, Wayne State University Press,1991
● Hill, E.J., Gallagher, J., AIA Detroit – The American Institute of Architects
Guide to Detroit Architecture, Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 2003
● Kannan, N.P., Downsizing Detroit, New York, Praeger Publishers, 1982
● Sinclair, R., Thompson, B., Metropolitan Detroit: An Anatomy of Social
Change, Cambridge(Massachusetts), Ballinger Publishing Company, 1977
● Mason, P.L., African Americans, labor and society organizing for a new
agenda, Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 2001
● Mathewson, K., Financing the metropolis, New York, Praeger Publishers, 1980
● Maynard, M., The End of Detroit – how the Big Three lost their grip on the
American car market, New York, Currency Book, 2003
● Meiklejohn, S.T., Wages, race and space: lessons from employers in Detroit’s
auto industry, New York, Garland Publishing, 2000
● Sugrue, T.J., The origins of the urban crises: Race and inequality in postwar
Detroit, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1996
● Thomas, J., Redevelopment and race – Planning a Finer City in Postwar
Detroit, Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997
● Thompson, H.A., Whose Detroit? : politics, labor, and race in a modern
American city, New York, Cornell University Press, 2001
● Vergara, Camilo J., The new American ghetto, New Brunswick, Rutgers
University Press, 2nd paperback print edition, 1999
● Wolman, H.L., Agius, E.J., National urban policy: problems and prospects,
Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 1996
Other references
Single Webpages and PDF-files are enlisted and stored on the enclosed CD-Rom for
additional information.
5. Appendix
Further Images
Division of labor is a basic component of industrialization. Every worker is assigned a different task in the
manufacturing progress and as a result, total production increases. Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2004. © 1993-2003
Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Illustration 34
Percentage of men and women with completed High school or College education. (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J.,
Detroit divided, New York, 2002)
Illustration 35
Luxury import companies like Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are ascend very quickly (and expand the
total luxury market, see right chart), while sales of domestic brands like Cadillac and Lincoln seem to retreat.
(© The Detroit News)
Illustration 37
The riot of 1967 in Detroit. (© The Detroit News)
Illustration 38
Representation of blacks in suburbs of Detroit in 1970 and 1990; most significantly were
changes in Highland Park, Oak Park and Southfield (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit
divided, New York, 2002)
Illustration 39
Population change between 2000 and 2030, esimations. (see (regional

development forecast)2030_RDF_report.pdf on the enclosed CD-Rom), (©
SEMCOG)
Illustration 40
Number of Jobs by location for metropolitan Detroit, 1960 to 1990. (©

Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New York, 2002)
Illustration 41
In 2000, The Big Three's combined market share was as low as abou6t 65.6% (© The Detroit News)
Illustration 42
Economic status by place of residence and race, 1950 and 1990 (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New
York, 2002)
Illustration 43
Origins of the population of Metropolitan Detroit, 1920 to 1990. (© Farley, R., Danziger, S., Holzer H.J., Detroit divided, New
York, 2002)
Illustration 44
Statements, opinions and responses to my essay

When I had finished the main part of writing my essay on 26th January 2004, about one week
before the submission date at school, I had the sudden idea to post a short introduction
about myself and a link to my essay in an Internet forum1. My work, or socio-economic term
paper some preferred to say, was far away from being finished, as well as uncountable
mistakes were in it. Nevertheless, I received instantly a lot of positive reactions like those
ones:
“Good grief, could anyone imagine an American high school student writing
so extensively about a German city and in German! I did not read it all but
enough sections to be impressed. “
“I don't recall many American high school students writing so extensively

about anything in ENGLISH, much less another language. Very impressive,
Benedikt.”
“This is great, Benedikt. (...)

When I have a chance, I'll read your paper completely through, but from the
brief sections of it I did read in the past few minutes, I am very impressed. Your
English is very, very, very good. (...) Keep up the good work! ”
“The American high school students are too busy with FAR more important
issues like: Who's calling them on their cell phones to talk about completely
useless and inane topics, what shows are on MTV, what A&F stuff they can get
at the mall, and who they're going to ask out next.
This thread further confirms my belief that the European (Germany in
particular) school system is far more advanced, rigorous, demanding, and
superior to the American education system. I remember when I was in high
school, the German foreign exchange students were incredibly intelligent and
disciplined. “
“STUNNING. Most American kids don't work this hard or do this well in their
native tongue. Impressive, indeed. Thanks for sharing with us! ”
“Nice work. A bit depressing, but realistic. Maybe Detroit should change it's
motto so that it's not always having to rise from the ashes. “
“I admire your dedication and mastering of the English language. you write
your messages very well. “
“Awesome job! I can't imagine many college students I know writing

something of that magnitutde! “
“Benedikt - I have not had a chance to read through your paper thoroughly,
but from a quick look I would say this is more like a socio-economic term paper
than a simple English essay.
I wish our elementary and high school education regularly expected us to
become fluent in concepts that you present, not to speak of a foreign language.
(...) Congratulations.“
“ (...) Your use of English is better than most Americans. There are quite a
few words you use correctly that most Americans probably wouldn't
understand. You are to be commended for your mastery of English.
I have to agree with many who posted above that you have done a research
project on a topic that most American High school students wouldn't even care
about, let alone wrote 42 in-depth, highly researched pages.
If you don't get an A+ (...), your teacher should be fired. “
1
The discussion thread can be viewed under http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/5/19549.html.
I think he won't be. I was very pleased with the statements real people from Detroit wrote
about my essay. They encouraged me very much. Thanks! Then, Vic Doucette wrote the
following on the discussion board:
“Benedikt, I'm the copy editor at Crain's Detroit Business, a weekly
newspaper well-described by its name. Our company produces many business
and/or automobile-oriented publications, including
http://www.autmobilwoche.de. I did the same sort of work for another paper
you'll see discussed here from time to time, the Metro Times, available at
metrotimes.com. Leaving aside your understandable few problems with
grammar and spelling (which may be mostly the British English/American
English argument), your work is far better than much of the work submitted by
intern candidates for positions at Metro Times. Your piece is focused, thorough
and demonstrates excellent knowledge of my home town. I hope you have an
opportunity to visit some day. I suspect if you hang around, you'll have plenty of
friends from the forum to meet and enjoy when you get here.”
He was certainly right, but I did not expect what followed next; Vic initiated – together with
Bob Allen – a mention of my recently built up website http://www.d-troit.de on Crain's Detroit
Business 2. The Editor's Choice column from 28th January 20043 contained following
paragraph:
“Speaking of reporting, if you have some time, you really ought to check out
this link. A 19-year-old German student, as a requirement of his English class,
wrote an essay titled An Ailing Patient — The Decline of Detroit, “Motor City” of
the USA. Folks, this is one exhaustively researched work. I’m not sure a 19-
year-old American student could have done this. I’m also not sure that many of
us know this much about our community. Even if you don’t have time, go to the
final paragraph of the PDF document of the essay. If only some Detroiters were
so gracious about Detroit. “
Unbelievable! My website got quite popular within a few hours, hundreds of people were
visiting it. I then received even more, throughout positive emails regarding my essay, like the
next ones:
“I saw mention of your site in a local Detroit business publication, Crain's
Business Detroit. I haven't had chance to read it all yet but I wanted to
congratulate you on what looks to be a well-researched paper on our city. “
“Perhaps the decline of Detroit has something to do with the fact that our
school system would never produce 19 year olds who can write a 49 page
thesis (and I'm not even talking about something in a foreign language). I'm
only half way through, but I've learned a thing or two already. Congrats! ”
“Your work "An ailing patient- The decline of Detroit, "Motor City" of USA" is
an excellent piece of work. You are to be commended for writing such a piece
at the tender age of 19.”
“I just read The decline of Detroit "Motor City" that you wrote and must say
that it is well written and obvious that you spent much time researching. I live
in the nearby suburbs of Detroit (I am 34 years old), and have lived there my
entire life. I am ashamed to say that there was information that I wasn't even
aware of. Although Detroit has a bad reputation through the country and
possibly internationally, It really is a remarkable place! Good luck with this! I
hope you can visit Detroit soon to judge for yourself. ”
“As a recently retired automotive engineer who has worked for the Big Three,
who grew up in Detroit, who has lived in the suburbs all his adult life, who
served as a volunteer with the Detroit Police in the 1967 riot, I am overwhelmed
by your thesis. You have done an outstanding job! It paints a pretty much
2
See http://www.crainsdetroit.com
3
See http://www.crainsdetroit.com/cgi-bin/editorsChoice.pl?newsId=3612
accurate picture, especially in the macro-view. (...) By the way, I'm also active
with Oakland County and State of Michigan political leaders, and will ensure
they, along with Mayor Kilpatrick, see your fine treatise. “
I was very surprised that people living for a long time in Detroit were so grateful to my essay.
Another remarkable email I received was the following from an official city planer of Detroit:
“Hello. I have read parts of your essay and I find it compelling. It is an
extremely well researched work, especially for a high school student.
I work as a city planner for the City of Detroit, so I found the section 2.3.
particularly interesting. I found the introductory paragraph in section 2.3.3.
particularly poignant. The city planning department is currently engaged in a
revision of the Master Plan. One of the difficulties that I have had to face by
being partially responsible for drafting such a document is the uncertainty
regarding the future of the city. You cited the SEMCOG 2030 population
projections which indicate that the net population of the city will continue to
decline for the foreseeable future. How do you plan for such a city?
One way is to plan to direct development toward certain parts of the city. But
this is difficult to do in a coordinated manner due to the interests of real estate
developers, community activists, residents, and politicians. In the end that type
of comprehensive plan may be impossible anyway. Alternatively, the revised
master plan accommodates development all over the city. Of course, all of that
development will never occur, but we don't know exactly where it will occur, so
the plan allows for it to occur in many places. We hope to further develop
strategies to include in the plan as time passes. For example, I will soon start
work on a housing strategy for the city that will eventually be included as an
amendment to the plan. These types of smaller plans will also allow
neighborhood associations to include portions of their plans in the official city
plan.
So, I have found, as you have, that there are not easy solutions to the
problems that you have examined. If there were easy solutions they would
have already been implemented. I find it very interesting work. In addition,
almost everyone I encounter through my work is hopeful and optimistic about
the revitalization of the city. I have been here for less than a year, so it is
difficult to tell, but it seems as though there is greater hope now than in recent
history. Regardless of what happens in the future, I think the general opinion of
Detroit is too negative. I like it. “
So do I. Not only the city but also its very kind and helpful citizens! In meantime, I was again
mentioned on Crain's Detroit Business4 now being on top of the Editor's Choice's issue of
29th January 2004:
“Responding to yesterday’s story about the German student who wrote a
paper about Detroit, an E-Choice reader writes: 'I just printed out this PDF. I’m
actually blown away. It says on his Web page that he wants to visit Detroit. I’d
like to throw a few dollars in the kitty to get this guy here. He deserves a trip to
Detroit along with a red-carpet tour of the city. If, by any chance, you get some
additional replies with an interest to help finance a trip, please be sure to let me
know. '
Funny, I had the same thought yesterday in response to a note from this new
reader, Benedikt Bergweiler:
'I couldn’t believe my eyes, as I read an e-mail from a page visitor of my Web
site, www.d-troit.de, stating that I was mentioned in your “Editor’s choice”
column! Thank you so very much for doing this! Since then, I receive even
more responses to my essay, each congratulating me for the work. Maybe you
could write me, how you came across my Web site.'
As I told Benedikt, if I had the money, I would bring him over here myself.
4
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/cgi-bin/editorsChoice.pl?newsId=3620
Maybe we should take up a collection and get him over here after the snow
stops falling, the temperature rises and we aren’t in the throes of seasonal
affective disorder.
Oh, to answer the question posed by Benedikt and other readers, credit for
finding this site goes to Crain’s copy editor Vic Doucette. And it turns out this
column has now gone international, with a link on Benedikt’s site. “
This is nothing other than awesome. Visitors kept coming to my homepage, sometimes also
stating their racial opinion:
“I specialize in the appraisal/valuation of commercial and industrial real
estate in the city of Detroit. Your essay on the city is excellent, and generally
realistic. Unfortunately, as is the case with both Europeans and the young, it
tends to sympathize too much with the Black population. (...) [One] considers
Blacks to be "oppressed" and "victimized" by White America. However, after
spending considerable time in this country and Detroit, [one does] a 100%
reversal and saw them for wt they actually are: generally crude, ignorant,
belligerent, and violent people. I am 53 and have found that those whites who
defend Blacks the most, have virtually nothing to do with them beyond the
academic. Live here and you might learn. “
This is the responders opinion, not mine. Though I have never been to Detroit, I think one
cannot generalize blacks, living in Detroit or the USA, as being violent or offensive. The
criminal ones are somehow captured in their role as being violent or need to commit illegal
acts in order to survive physically. Unfortunately, this very small group is the loudest, as
most newspapers report exhaustively about every crime committed by blacks in order to sell
a high volume of their daily issues.
There were also some minor quarrels about “the touchy R-subject” in the forum I mentioned
before. It seems that some Detroiters (I try not to generalize as well) are still kind of
entrenched in their racial opinion – but this is certainly not just a problem in Detroit.
Meanwhile, the forum – in reaction to the statement of the Editor's Choice Reader in the
second mention at Crain's Business Detroit also suggested to me to create a paypal account
on the Internet to fundraise money, in order to fundraise money for a trip to Detroit.
I did so, and even once more, I got mentioned on Crain's Business Detroit5 – amazing:
“Benedikt Bergweiler, the German student, is at least one step closer to
becoming a Detroiter, in that people are calling him “Ben” or “Benny.” Several
of you have said you would pledge money toward bringing him to Detroit. You
can read what others are saying about Benedikt by clicking here. I’ll only add
this to the discussion: Go easy on the grammar and usage advice, folks.
Anyone who can produce the kind of work this young man has doesn’t need a
lot of help finding the answers. Also, try to be as nice to each other as you are
to Benedikt. Don’t scare him off. “
Be assured: they didn't. I like a straightforward attitude.
At this point, an idea strikes me: I must generalize one thing, yet; the friendliness, warmth
and appreciation of the Midwestern people!
Therefore, I am obligated to thank quite a lot of people at the end.
5
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/cgi-bin/editorsChoice.pl?newsId=3624
6. Acknowledgements
I want to thank you my parents for paying the electricity bill and backing me up.
My English teacher, Mr. Heller, was helping me by giving clear and helpful instructions.
Also the people who emailed me, stating their opinions or correcting technical errors, require
my thank. All of you somehow finalized my essay.
Thank you! ( in alphabetical order): Aeb, Bob Allen, The Aram, Atl_runner, Lowell
Boileau, brand500 (kinopravda - Maxpraxis), Brasziz, Brian, Bvos, Carptrash,
Christine, Dag, Mary Jo David, Cheryl Denman, R. Sue Dodea, Vic Doucette,
Dougw, Fho, Goat, Anthony Hiller, Richard Hinks, Roger Imerman, Itsjeff, Jeff (Jelk),
Jeff Jones, Jim, jt1, Jeff Katz, kazooexplorer, Michael Körner, Einar 'Carptrash'
Einarsson Kvaran, Lurkerer, Marcnbyr, Peter McNally, MikeM, Mind_field, Jason
Myers | Myers, Paul, rockstarchitect, Michael Rosar, SAN, Steve, UrbanTiki, Karen
Van Antwerp, A. Grimace Virden, Frances Warren, Zoot and all those I have
forgotten.
I strongly recommend you to visit http://www.d-troit.de, the page devoted to the term paper.

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An ailing patient - the decline of Detroit, “Motor City” of the USA Page 1 of 68

2.3.2.1. Loss of capital............................................................................................ 39

The work is written in American English.

1. Contemporary Detroit: a metropolis of

Detroit's skyline on a sunny day. Courtesy of Anthony Hiller

2. An ailing patient — the decline of Detroit, “Motor

2.1. The economic transformation of Detroit

2.1.1. A brief view of Detroit’s history from 1701-1948

2.1.1.1. A French enclave as the beginning

2.1.1.2. 19th century and Detroit’s role as a city of manufacture

2.1.1.3. Beginning of the new era of automobile production

By 1920, Michigan was the

2.1.1.4. The ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ during WWII

2.1.2. Economical rise of post-war Detroit

2.1.2.1. Boom of the automobile industry

the license to print money”16. GM

2.1.2.2. Severe problems faded out and deferred

2.1.3. The 1980’s: problems intensified

2.1.3.1. The United States in a globalized world

2.1.3.2. The effects of a saturated U.S. market

2.1.3.4. The lethargy of the clumsy American car industry

2.1.4. The downfall and prospects of the Automobile Industry in

2.1.4.1. The Big Three losing grip

There are several

great share of the U.S. domestic

plants and the export of work to Illustration 7

2.1.4.2. Outlook for the future of Detroit’s car industry

“The emergence of [a] parallel American automobile industry is an

2.2. Social changes in Detroit

2.2.1. Overview of racial problems: development and

2.2.1.1. Early blacks arriving from the South

immigration laws after World Illustration 8

2.2.1.2. 1930s to 1970s: increasing tensions between races

2.2.1.3. The contemporary situation compared to other big U.S. cities

blacks, whites oppose affirmative action, as Illustration 11

2.2.2. Growing distance between rich and poor

2.2.2.1. How the classes overlap with races

2.2.2.2. Social gap due to racial discrimination and segregation

all races72. Unfortunately the

2.2.2.3. A divided Detroit

shifting from the city to the suburbs, unskilled

The work is written in American English.

2.3.2.2. Ghettos and slums: the isolated urban inner city........................................ 40

2.3. City planning in Detroit

2.3.1. Detroit’s phenomenon of the escape to suburban areas

older facilities got automated, resulting in less

2.3.1.2. Counterproductive infrastructural enhancement

city administration often preferred poor

2.3.1.3. Motivation for the exodus Illustration 19

“(...) the arrival of Negroes served as an excuse to invest in that stainless

2.3.2. Consequences of urban flight

2.3.2.1. Loss of capital

added up to serious fiscal problems for the city.

2.3.2.2. Ghettos and slums: the isolated urban inner city

There are generally two attitudes towards the

The graceful architecture of the Michigan

Downtown Detroit; as vacant buildings were demolished, emptiness

2.3.3. Attempts to improve the situation in Detroit

2.3.3.1. Early trials from from 1950s to 1970s

and organizing llustration 22

2.3.3.2. A ray of hope? The Central Business District

“The resulting 51-member partnership, called 'Detroit Renaissance', was

The People Mover. (Courtesy of Lowell Boileau)

In 2002, Kwame Kilpatrick - 31 years old - became the