Detroit Flashcards
Location
North East USA- the industrial heartland
On the edge of the Great Lakes
Michigan
Close to the Canadian border
Locale
The Steel Belt Boom- Ship building and railroad cars
Used to be a car manufacturing city
Lack of community spirit
Sense of Place
Run down city
Clear population divide
Many derelict buildings
Why was Detroit ideal for factories during the Steel Belt Boom?
Easy access to coal
Large availability of iron ore
When did the city become associated with car manufacturing?
20th Century
Examples of car companies
Ford (dominant)
GM
Chrysler
What triggered the ‘Great Migration’?
How many migrants came?
Car manufacturing
200,000 mainly black Americans came from the deep south
What was the largest force of change leading to the car industry decline?
Ford and GM
Relocated to countries like Brazil where labour was cheaper (caused a large number of redundancies in Detroit- increased unemployment)
Also rise in foreign competition i.e. BMW
Why was OPEC a force of change leading to the car industry decline?
1974 Arab embargo- oil prices quadrupled
Consumers turned to fuel efficient cars like Toyotas to reduce petrol costs- Ford saw reduced demand
Why was the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 a force of change leading to car industry decline?
Encouraged consumers to buy fuel efficient cars
Ford and GM saw reduce sales, so went abroad for cheaper labour to maintain high profits
Which sector dominates Detroit today?
Tertiary (80%)
Secondary (only 20%)
Main industries of Detroit?
Trade
Transport
Utilities
What does Detroit Soup do?
Promote community based development through crowdfunding
Community pays $5, has soup and listens to 4 speakers talk about their idea to help the community, then they vote
One with the most votes receives the money raised to fund their project
Detroit Soup: Economic Project Example
Rebel Nell
Employs disadvantaged women, teaches them how to make jewellery
Educates them on finance and business management so they can continue in the future
Detroit Soup: Rebel Nell Successes
Improves QofL for disadvantage women
Can use their new skills to earn a living in the future
Continually helps new women
Detroit Soup: Rebel Nell Limitations
Doesn’t help men
Only small scale- can’t help everyone
Local market will become flooded with jewellery- only so much demand
Detroit Soup: Social Project Example
Shakespeare in Detroit
Residents take part in performances
So far engaged 8,000 audience members
Stages performances in historic sites all over Detroit
Detroit Soup: Shakespeare in Detroit Successes
Encourages cultural diversity- brings together the community
Goes into local schools and teaches Shakespeare- wider reaching
Inspires some students
Detroit Soup: Shakespeare in Detroit Limitations
Have to audition- many residents lack the confidence
Only people with an interest in theatre benefit
Detroit Soup: Environmental Project Example
Fresh Cut Flower Farm
Converted part of the derelict inner city into a farm
Local people grow the flowers
Sold to florists and wholesalers
Detroit Soup: Fresh Cut Flower Farm Successes
Employs locals Educates in horticulture Improves the aesthetics of the area Open days strengthen community spirit Encourages businesses to invest
Detroit Soup: Fresh Cut Flower Farm Limitations
Small scale- can’t have a large economic impact
Doesn’t employ a large number of people
Very niche- not many florists in the area- so hard to expand in the future
Overall impact of Detroit Soup
Lots of small scale projects- something to suit everyone
Tackles social, economic and environmental issues
Population in 1900?
What percentage white?
Black?
286,000
98% white
1.4% black
Population in 1950?
What percentage white?
Black?
1,850,000
84% white
16% black
Population in 2010?
What percentage white?
Black?
714,000
11% white
83% black
Why did suburbanisation occur?
Increased racial tension- ‘white flight’
Increasing tax rates in the city
Lower crime rates in suburbs
Federal Aid Highway Act 1956- increased highways- could commute
Later on, diminishing jobs opportunities in the city, so people went where the work was
Why were businesses attracted to the suburbs?
Cheaper land
Good transport links
Good communication links
Ethnic distribution
Whites north of 8 mile
Blacks south of 8 mile (housing discrimination)
POLARISED city
What caused 25,000 workers to go on strike in 1943?
Packard Motor Car Company promoting 3 black employees
Average yearly earnings in the suburbs?
Who lives there?
$200,000
Whites and rich (normally third generation) blacks
Average yearly earnings in the city?
Who lives there?
$7,000-$49,000
Blacks and poor whites
Which road is constantly blocked so the white residents can separate themselves from the blacks? (Racial and economic divide)
Alter Road
Blocked using snow, fences, concrete walls
What was the problem with the police force during the riots?
Most officers were white
What worsened the 1967 riot?
Police officers are alleged to have murdered 3 black men
Impacts of the 1967 riot?
Businesses looted
Many left dead or injured
Much of the damage was never repaired
When was Motown Music founded?
Why did Motown Music play an important part in racial integration?
1959
Music performed written by black and white people- everyone listened i.e. Jackson 5
Normalised black people being seen on TV
What can we infer about Detroit from the Red Hot Chilli Pepper song ‘Detroit’?
‘Rolling rings of rubber’- cars
‘Decay’ of the city
‘Henry’ Ford- the city rose and fell because of the car
What can we infer about Detroit from 8 Mile?
Argues class is more important than race
Evidence of drug and domestic abuse
Residents have a lack of aspiration
Lack of law- paintballs shot at police
Low skilled workers with low wages 'can't get by with {their} 9 to 5'Strengths of using 8 Mile?
Highlights key issues i.e. high levels of crime
Gave sense of place
Showed lack of investment
Limitations of using 8 Mile?
No time scale Exaggerated for audiences No evidence about the rest of Detroit- bias Only looked at youth No data
4 main factors impacting lived experience
Changing demographics
Cultural change
Economic change
Political impact
Qualitative Sources
8 Mile
Red Hot Chilli Pepper- ‘Detroit’
Quantitative Sources
Census data
Websites about the riots
