Detroit (changing places) Flashcards
(18 cards)
where is Detroit located ?
- largest and most-populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan
-nearby the international border of the United States and Canada
what is some background information about Detroit ?
- experienced development specifically automotive industry
- the metonym for the American automobile industry
- significant source of popular music legacies celebrated by the city’s two well-known nicknames, the Motor City and Motown
give brief history of the automobile industry in Detroit ?
1898 - Ford establishes the Detroit Automobile Co. producing only 2 cars and then the company failed three years later
1901 - Ford opens a second car company Henry Ford Co. he left and then it became Cadillac Motor Co. Detroit is Americas 13th biggest city with a population of 286,000
1914 - after launching the Modern Assemble Line by Ford, their 13000 workers built around 300,000 cars in the assembly line
mid 20th century - one in six Americans was employed directly or indirectly in the automobile industry
what was the importance of the automobile industry in Detroit ?
- it significantly shaped is economy and identity
- made it known on a national scale even global
- fueled Detroit’s growth making it one of Americas largest cities with a strong black middle class
- shifted Detroit from a rural merchant town into a industrial powerhouse
- became known as the “motor city”
what are the three car company’s in Detroit ?
General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Stellantis
why did the automobile industry decline in Detroit ?
- increased competition from foreign automakers like honda in asia
- the rise of right to work states
- high labor costs
- increasing prices of fuel
what year was financial emergency declared in the city ?
2013
what is the 8 mile road ?
the highway that separated the cities predominantly African American core from the more white suburbs in the north of the city
How has Detroit’s population changed ?
- 1930 it was 170,000
-peaked in 1950 with 1,850,000 residents - 2025 population of 629,830
what is the great migration ?
the movement of African Americans from the rural south to the urban north, primarily driven by search for better economic opportunities and escape racial oppression of the jim crow laws
how did Motown influence Detroit ?
promoted racial integration as it fused black soul music with white pop sound
when was motown founded in detroit?
1959
company signed bands such as the Supremes , the jackson5 and the sinners
when were the riots in detroit ?
race riots in the 1940s and 1960s, as white people became openly aggressive towards black people
in the 1970s city
what were authority’s accused of in 1970s?
supporting the racial segregation of schools and housing , reinforcing ghettos and the racial divide
what were the damages of the 1940 riots ?
34 people killed
wounded hundred
destroyed property worth millions
why was there white flight ?
in the late 20th century Detroit’s conflicts and economic distress caused middle class white families to move out of the city to the suburbs, as they could afford to commute to the centre
what has been constructed at alter road?
unofficial barrier are being constructed between east side Detroit and the suburb Grosse Pointe so people cant pass through
it further represents the social division (2 Detroit’s)
