Detroit was a successful city, but recently has not done very well. Detroit has a very interesting history, and people should recognize it as a good city. Detroit is still home to the “Big Three” Automobile Companies. It is still home to many very famous buildings, and has successful sports teams. It may not be the bustling success of the mid 1900s; but Detroit shouldn’t be taken off the map just yet. Some important issues are how some of Detroit’s major industries are doing, (sports, cars), the recent downfall, and the attempt to rebuild the city. I think those are some important topics on Detroit. In the next thirty years, with lots of effort from people Detroit can regain its success and population completely.
Detroit used to be the city of America. Bustling with 1.8 million people, and the highest income per a capita in America. Sadly, there is now less than half the amount of residents. Lots of the population are unemployed, and often residents from the suburbs will commute to the city for their job. This downfall happened for multiple reasons. Detroit was highly segregated in the 1940s to 70s, and is still one of the most segregated cities in the country. The large population of African Americans came North, to escape Jim Crow laws. When this happened, the African Americans found themselves separated, and discriminated against by the white population. This created violence, and a lot of the white population moved to the suburbs, and still live there. This has left a mainly poorer, African American dominated population inside the city. The cities poor geography has affected the city massively. The city was built for two million people, and used to be perfect for the cities needs. The population that is still there, is very spread out among the city. This makes it more expensive for street lighting, electricity, water, etc. There are now neighborhoods that have 150 houses, but only 50 are being lived in. This can be solved, if the population is moved to a smaller area of land. All this has resulted in the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. These problems are possible to solve, but it takes big jobs.
The biggest industry in Detroit is the car industry. The car industry is also on the road to rebuilding itself, after the Federal Government saved Chrysler and GM in 2008 to avoid bankruptcy. This happened because of Japanese companies overtaking the Big Three in sales. After the government bailout, Ford has increased its sales and decreased their debt. Two of the Detroit Big Three have regained their place in the top five motor companies in the world. Chrysler has not regained theirs. This will be hard to do, because the Japanese car companies have had a big boom recently. The Big Three are pretty much the only thing that keeps Detroit on the world map. Detroit can be on that map for a long time to come, with the help of the Big Three.
Detroit sports are very successful, considering the state of the city. There are hundreds of millions of dollars of public financing going into the sports. For example, Detroit just approved $283 million of public financing to go into a new hockey arena. The current arena, The Joe Louis is only 33 years old. There are definitely higher priorities around the city, that need a different level of attention. $283 million may not be tons, but could be used in a much more productive way. Another thing that should be recognized, is all these players are millionaires. If there was more effort from the wealthier class, or athletes; It may help drag up those in poverty, and the state of the city. On the other hand, some charities in Detroit have athletes involved. One example is Champs For Charity, a charity Matthew Stafford is part of. It would be good to see more athletes helping the city with their good fortune, to recreate Detroit. In the big picture, sports do not affect Detroit that much.
Detroit has some good features. From Belle Isle to The Detroit Art Institute, Detroit is not completely lost. It can be rebuilt, and it is the people and Michigan’s responsibility to put in the effort. Right now, it is the equivalent of the country’s best soccer player, without any feet. It has plenty of potential to regain its strength, it just needs the heart to make it happen.