Module 2: Detroit Flashcards
Location of Detroit
-detour is a northern city in US found in the state of Michigan
-situated on the banks of lake st clair, on the Detroit river which links 2 lakes (Lake Huron and Lake Erie)
-these lakes connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence river, making it an ideal trade port
what was the steel belt boom
-by 1890s Detroit had emerged as a centre of heavy industry
-the availability of iron ore in Michigan’s upper peninsula and easy access to coal via the Great Lakes and from the Appalachian coalfields made Detroit and ideal place for factories
-manufacturing began and building a name for themselves
-industries: car, railway road, stove, ship building.
Where is the steel belt
The geographic region form New York through the Midwest that was once dominated by manufacturing. The steel belt is the regions (of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Massachusetts) facing industrial decline with abandoned factories
What was Detroit’s population like
-1820 Detroit has seen a massive increase in population of all races especially after 1910 being at 500,000.
-white population in 1910= 250,000 1960=1.5m 2000= 100,000
-black population 1910=50,000 2000= 750,000 2010=500,000
What was the suburban growth in Detroit
-90% live in suburbs today
Causes:
-construction do new interstate highways (federal and highways act of 1956)
-high taxes, house prices in centre, racial tensions
-cars more accessible to more peoples as ford made it cheaper for their workers
-business moved out
-crime increase in centre
Factors which led to the economic and demographic boom of Detroit
Endogenous factors:
-fords assembly line
-technology
-location- transport hub
-access to coal
-infrastructure
Exogenous factors:
-investment- car industry
-goods and migrants into the city
-migrants from the south, predominantly black
What was the great migration
-between 1910-1970 6m black people migrated to escape the brutal life in the south to the cities of the north, Midwest and west
-the industrial north offered greater unskilled jobs especially after WW2
-1910 89% of blacks lived in the south by 1970 53% of blacks lived in south US
-by 1920 Chicagos black population was up by 148%
-changed the racial makeup of northern cities increasing racial tension
What happened to Detroit to go bankrupt
-in 2011 the US census bureau reports that Detroit’s population had fallen to 713,777 a 25% plummet from 2000
-the Detroit, Michigan filled for bankruptcy on July 18th 2013 after 60 years of decline
-chapter 9 bankruptcy
How has competition from abroad affected the Motor trade in Detroit
-American cars where no longer the only choice for consumers and as oil prices went up many foreign cars with smaller tanks were popular
-car companies markets began to expand past boarders of North America into China, Russia and Brazil
How did the 1973 oil embargo affect Detroit
-USA + Arabs got into a war after America supplied arms to the Israelis
-the price of oil in 1974 rose from $3 to $12 per barrel. Small fuel efficient European cars became more popular and price effective
What was the second oil spike:1979
-occurred by political events in Iran resulting in the 1979 energy crisis
-by 1980 the inflation rates grew, high unemployment, high interest rates. The car makers suffered large operating losses
Key indicators of Detroits decline
-unemployment is at 20% a slight recovery form 43% in June 2020
-the unemployment rate amount white residents fell from 14% to 6% between July and nocernber whereas the employment rate among black residents remained at 23%
-Detroit city has extremely high poverty rates. More then 40% of detroits residents 57% of its children live below the federal poverty line of $24,339 for a family of 4
Why did Detroit become a segregated city
-black people moved to Detroit in hope of job opportunities.
-many of Detroit’s white population saw black people as a threat to their communities, jobs and houses.
-black people were excluded from all public housing expect for the Brewster housing project which provided horrible living conditions
Figures showing segregation in income
-afro-American groups are seen in downtown Detroit/ south east.
-wealth of $20,000 and below to $6000
-white population is mostly seen in north, south and west.
-incomes of $20,000-$100,000
-Hispanic population with an income between $20,000-$35,000
What is the 8 mile road
-it currently exists in most areas as an eight lane road spanning more then 20miles across metropolitan Detroit
-it separates the white population form the black population
-physcological and cultural divide
-has for several decades been a destitute, dangerous strip of suffering businesses and broken windows.
-often find prostitution, strip clubs and junkies
