The Economic Disaster Of Detroit - 1836 Words

Detroit, Michigan once stood as the epitome of industrial American cities. In the mid 1990s Detroit had the highest income per capita and a booming automotive industry. During prohibition in the 1920s Detroit served as a major gateway for the importation of alcohol from Canada, whereby it thrived from this lucrative business. Also, around this same time the automotive industry was growing at a pace where jobs were begging to be filled, and the population of Detroit rose to nearly 2,000,000. There was a point in time where many other major U.S. cities envied Detroit and were jealous of its ever growing economy and infrastructure. At this time it seemed as though nothing would stop the economic growth of the Motor City. Sadly, these are†¦show more content†¦The main causes of this economic collapse are the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the state of Michigan due to globalization, the subtle racism of residents leading to the suburbanization of the Detroit area , and a group of crooked municipal government leaders that stole from the community. Despite these overwhelming obstacles Detroit is on the mend, and many see a bright future for this once great city. It is however, important to note that everybody have a weakness, and the same remains true when referring to a cities infrastructure. The most astounding reason for the quick decline of Detroit was the closure of many automotive factories and the deterioration of the American auto industry. Detroit was a city with everything going for it. Its quick economic growth in the early 20th century had a lot to do with its geographical location. It was located close to the nations major coal and iron distributors and it was easily accessible by water via the Detroit River. Edmund Wilson wrote in a critique of Detroit, â€Å"You can see here, as it is impossible to do in a more varied and complex city, the whole structure of an industrial society.† Wilson elegantly notes that Detroit depends entirely on the automotive industry as its source of sustainability where other cities have a more diversified industrial scene. At the beginning of the 20th century Detroit s auto industry began. Henry Ford opened the Ford Motor company in 1903 and