Detroit, Michigan - Transatlantic Cities Network
Detroit, located in southeastern Michigan at the mouth of the Detroit River, is the largest city in the state and the seat of Wayne County. Nicknamed the ‘Motor City’ because of its historical importance of the automobile industry, Detroit sits at the narrowest point of a channel connecting the upper and lower Great Lakes regions.
Population: 916,952 (Census 2007) Metro Region: 5,456,428 (Census 2000) Density: 6855 people/sq mi Land Area: 139 sq mi Mayor: Ken Cockrel, Jr. TCN Representative: Margaret Garry, Office of State Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman
History
Detroit was established in 1701 as a French fort, and following a program of land grants by the French government, attracted settlers and grew to regional prominence by mid-century. The fort fell under British control and in 1796, Detroit became part of the United States as a part of the Michigan Territory. Soon after, in 1805, the city burned to the ground and was taken temporarily by the British in the War of 1812. The city was soon rebuilt with a new plan, and over the course of the 19th century, Detroit’s strategic location on the Great Lakes helped the city evolvefrom a frontier town into a hub for transportation, shipbuilding, and manufacturing. At the beginning of the 20th century, when Henry Ford introduced the Model T and the moving assembly line, the city took off as the capital of the booming automobile industry. Rapid growth from 1900 to 1930 took the city’s population to over 1 million and created a massive housing shortage.
Beginning during World War I, a long migration to the city by African-Americans in search of employment began, soon leading to segregation and housing tensions. World War II brought renewed prosperity to Detroit following the Great Depression as the city produced immense quantities of mechanized weaponry. The influx of workers brought Detroit’s population to a peak of 1,850,000, but recessions and continued racial tensions hit the city hard in the 1950s and 1960s. White families increasingly left for the suburbs while white and black Southerners continued to relocate to the city, as consolidation in the auto industry increased competition for available jobs. In 1967, one of the most well-known race riots of the period marked the culmination of racial tensions in the city, and gave Detroit a national reputation as a troubled city. In the 1970s and 1980s, Detroit was hit hard by the general trend of deindustrialization in the northern United States, and many of its factories were shut down or relocated to the southwestern United States or overseas. In the 1990s, Detroit worked to attract investment to its central city, and the program resulted in some redevelopment, especially along the city’s riverfront.
Government
Detroit’s city government is made up of a strong mayor and a nine-member city council, all of whom are elected at-large every four years on nonpartisan ballots. The city consistently supports the Democratic Party in state and national elections, and according to one recent study it is the most liberal large city in America (measuring only the percentage of city residents who voted for the Democratic Party).
 Economy
Detroit’s economy through its history has been shaped by the regional rail and canal transportation systems that turned the city into a hub for the Midwest’s industrial production. The city is still the undisputed capital of the automobile industry, and is home to the “big three” American auto manufacturers. The city is also becoming a center for information technology and engineering jobs, many of which are associated with research and development in the auto industry.
Demographics
As of the 2000 Census, the population of the city of Detroit was 82% black or African-American, 12% white, 5% Hispanic or Latino, and 1% Asian. In 1999, median household income in the city was $29,526, just over 60% of the national average, and in 1999 about 20% of families in the city lived below the poverty level. Due to the American auto industry’s recent struggles with soaring gas prices, unemployment in metropolitan Detroit stands just under 10%, well above the current national average.
Education/Culture
Detroit is home to a number of institutions of higher learning, including Wayne State University, with about 33,000 students. The university is surrounded by a historic cultural neighborhood that remains a popular tourist attraction. The area includes many of Detroit’s museums – the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Historical Museum, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – and the main branch of the Detroit Library. Beginning in the 1940s, Detroit has been home to a thriving live music scene. Many famous jazz and blues musicians, including John Lee Hooker, got their start in Detroit, and in the 1960s and 1970s the famous “Motown” sound originated in the city.
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