Figure 1: Skyline Detroit
Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. This major port city on the Detroit river, which is lying in the Midwestern United States, was founded by the French explorer, adventurer and nobleman Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac. The name is derived from the French word détroit, what means strait. It refers to its location on the river connecting Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Detroit is commonly known for the American automobile industry and has been an important source of popular music legacies, giving it the nicknames Motor City and Motown. In 2010, the city had a population of 713,777 and ranked as the 18th most populous city in the United States. At its peak in 1950, the city was the fifth-largest in the U.S.A., but has since seen a major shift in its population to the suburbs. Between 2000 and 2010, the city's population declined by 25%. The name Detroit sometimes refers to the Metro Detroit area, a sprawling region with a population of 4,296,250 for the Metropolitan Statistical Area, making it the U.S.A.'s eleventh-largest. The Detroit–Windsor area, a critical commercial link straddling the Canada–U.S. border, has a total population of about 5,700,000.
"Welcome to Detroit, The Renaissance City Founded 1701."
Detroit was founded in 1701 and was called Fort Ponchartrain du Détroit. France offered free land to attract families to Detroit, which grew to 800 people in 1765, making it the largest city between Montreal and New Orleans. In 1760, during the French and Indian War, the French surrendered the Fort to the British. The British were the first to name the city Detroit. At the American Civil War, the city was captured by the United States of America.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of the city's Gilded Age mansions and buildings arose. Detroit was referred to as the Paris of the West for its architecture, and for Washington Boulevard. Strategically located along the Great Lakes waterway, Detroit emerged as a transportation hub. The city had grown steadily from the 1830s with the rise of shipping, shipbuilding, and manufacturing industries. In 1896, a thriving carriage trade prompted Henry Ford to build his first automobile. In 1903 Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. Ford's manufacturing and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant, the Dodge brothers, Packard, and Walter Chrysler—reinforced Detroit's status as the world's automotive capital. Industry spurred growth during the first half of the 20th century as the city drew tens of thousands of new residents, particularly workers from the Southern United States, to become the United States' fourth largest. At the same time, tens of thousands of European immigrants located in the city. Social tensions also rose with the rapid pace of growth. The color blind promotion policies of the auto plants resulted in racial tensions that erupted into a full-scale riot in 1943. The Twelfth Street riot in 1967, as well as court-ordered busing accelerated white flight from the city. Commensurate with the shift of population and jobs to its suburbs, the city's tax base eroded. In the years following, Detroit's population fell from a peak of roughly 1.8 million in 1950 to less than half that number today. The gasoline crises of 1973 and 1979 impacted the U.S. auto industry as small cars from foreign makers made inroads. Renaissance has been a perennial buzzword among city leaders, reinforced by the construction of the Renaissance Center in the late 1970s. This complex of skyscrapers, designed as a city within a city, together with other developments, slowed and eventually began to reverse the trend of businesses leaving Downtown Detroit by the late 1990s. In the ensuing years the city began to receive a revival with much of it centered in the Downtown, Midtown, and New Center areas. One Detroit Center arose on the city skyline with three casinos and stadiums where constructed for the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers. The city also saw the historic Book Cadillac Hotel and the Fort Shelby Hotel reopen for the first time in over 20 years. Nowadays the city's riverfront is the focus of much development.
Climate
Detroit and the rest of southeastern Michigan have a humid continental climate which is influenced by the Great Lakes. Winters are cold, with moderate snowfall and temperatures at night dropping below −17.8 °C around six times per year, while summers are warm to hot with temperatures exceeding 32.2 °C on 15 days.
Culture
Downtown Detroit is growing in its population of young professionals and retail is expanding. A number of luxury high rises have been built. The east river development plans include more luxury condominium developments. A desire to be closer to the urban scene has attracted young professionals to take up residence among the mansions of Grosse Pointe just outside the city. Detroit's proximity to Windsor, Ontario, provides for views and nightlife, along with Ontario's minimum drinking age of 19. A 2011 study by Walk Score recognized Detroit for its above average walkablity among large U.S. cities.
Live music has been a prominent feature of Detroit's nightlife since the late 1940s, bringing the city recognition under the nickname 'Motown'. The metropolitan area has many nationally prominent live music venues. Concerts hosted by Live Nation perform throughout the Detroit area. Large concerts are held at DTE Energy Music Theatre and The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Figure 2: Detroit Industry Murals, the frescoes by Diego Rivera. A series of twenty-seven panels depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company
Industry
Detroit and the surrounding region constitute a major manufacturing center, most notably as home to the 'Big Three' automobile companies, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The city is an important center for global trade with large international law firms having their offices in both Detroit and Windsor. Firms in the region pursue emerging technologies including biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, and hydrogen fuel cell development. The city of Detroit has made efforts to lure the region's growth companies downtown with advantages such as a wireless Internet zone, business tax incentives, entertainment, an International Riverfront, and residential high rises.
The Detroit automakers and local manufacturing have made significant restructurings in response to market competition. General Motors has invested heavily in all fuel cell equipped vehicles, while Chrysler has focused research and development into biodiesel. The domestic automakers reported significant profits indicating the beginning of rebound along with an economic recovery for the Detroit area.
Education
Wayne State University is Detroit's largest institution of higher learning and Michigan's only urban research university. Approximately 33,000 students are enrolled in 12 schools and colleges, including the colleges of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy and allied health, and the law school. More than 350 major courses of study are offered; particularly strong programs are offered in the college of engineering and the school of fine and performing arts, which includes a nationally recognized drama program. Wayne State is one of 98 universities nationwide to be designated a Carnegie One Research University. The university's 203-acre campus forms part of downtown Detroit's cultural center along the Woodward Avenue corridor; nearby are the Detroit Institute of Arts, the main branch of the Detroit Public Library, and the Museum of African American History.
The University of Detroit-Mercy, a Roman Catholic institution run by the Jesuit order of priests for more than 125 years, enrolls more than 6,000 students in baccalaureate, master's, and doctorate programs in the arts and sciences; the university also administers schools of law and dentistry. Approximately one-third of its students are minorities, and the university has been called one of the most diverse and one of the best educational values in the Midwest by U.S. News and World Report magazine. Marygrove College, located adjacent to the University of Detroit campus, is also affiliated with the Catholic Church.
The Center for Creative Studies in Detroit's Cultural Center is a private, four-year college that offers bachelor of fine arts degrees in animation and digital media, crafts, communication design, fine arts, industrial design, interior design, and photography. Colleges located in neighboring suburbs include Detroit College of Business in Dearborn, Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, the Dearborn campus of the University of Michigan, Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, and Oakland University in Rochester. Greater Detroit has a wide selection of community colleges. Central Michigan University maintains centers throughout metropolitan Detroit. Additionally, Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan are within a 40-minute drive to the west of the city; Michigan State University in East Lansing is about a 90-minute drive northwest.
‘Got to know’ Facts
The racial makeup of the city in 2010 was 82.7% Black, 10.6% White, 1.1% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.0% other races, 2.2% two or more races.
Figure 3: Income per capita based on data from the 2000 US Census