Detroit: the ruins left behind when city loses half its population (Lansing: houses, unemployment)

[Baldrick]

I found this article and though some of you might be interested in it. Some wonderful photographs in a slideshow with commentary by the photographer.

BBC News - Detroit: the ruins left behind when city loses half its population

"Iconic auto companies like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler brought jobs and prosperity the Michigan city that was once America's fourth largest with nearly two million inhabitants.
As those companies faced competition from auto manufacturers in Japan, Detroit endured a population exodus.
Detroit now boasts only about 700,000 residents, down 25% from 10 years ago.
After an $80 billion (£51.5 billion) US government car industry bailout, Detroit is attempting to resurrect itself.
But the abandoned homes and ballrooms, ruined factories and an empty, cavernous train station serve as daily reminders of the city's more affluent past.
For her book, Detroit: 138 Square Miles, photographer Julia Reyes Taubman spent seven years documenting what is left of Detroit. She argues its ruins are monuments to American innovation that must be preserved.
Photos courtesy Julia Reyes Taubman and Artbook /DAP"

[zthatzmanz28]

I thought the Brits were enamored with Detroit?

[Baldrick]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

I thought the Brits were enamored with Detroit?

The photographer is American and she has written a book based on the photos. I found it whilst reading the news website. The BBC does little things like this for BBC America along with Canada and Mexico. They also do African and Asian articles for broadcast on other channels in those regions.

As to what 'Brits' think of Detroit i can't say. I would imagine the vast majority may know some of it's history as a major car manufacturing area and maybe Motown. As to what it's like now they probably know next to nothing.

[Tex?Il?]

Filming the Packard Plant, Michigan Central Station, and urban prairie with one or two houses left on a block collapsing? Such innovative fimmaking! I bet no one has thought about making money doing that!

I bet this one will be an original!

[michigan83]

"Iconic auto companies like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler brought jobs and prosperity the Michigan city that was once America's fourth largest with nearly two million inhabitants.
As those companies faced competition from auto manufacturers in Japan, Detroit endured a population exodus.
Detroit now boasts only about 700,000 residents, down 25% from 10 years ago.
After an $80 billion (£51.5 billion) US government car industry bailout, Detroit is attempting to resurrect itself.

I understand that the author is a photographer and not a historian, but this is a terrible attempt at summarizing what has caused Detroit's problems.

For one, competition from Japan for the automakers had almost nothing to do with Detroit proper's decline. By the time Japan started causing trouble for the Big Three, most, if not all, of the big factories had already abandoned Detroit proper.

By the same token, the bailout of the auto industry is not affecting Detroit proper very much, other than the fact that the RenCen is still occupied by GM and Chrysler's recent decision to move some offices downtown. MOST of the positive effects of the auto industry coming back are being felt in lots of places that are either out in the suburbs or even FARTHER from Detroit. Places like Lansing, northeast Ohio, etc, etc.

Basically... the actual city of Detroit and it's problems don't have that much to do with the auto industry, nor is the revival of the auto industry providing a huge boost to anything within the Detroit city limits.

The story of Detroit's decline has more to do with sociology than the auto industry. Do you want to talk about unemployment in the suburbs? In that case, yes, the auto industry has a lot to do with it.

[SadieMirsade]

Originally Posted by michigan83

I understand that the author is a photographer and not a historian, but this is a terrible attempt at summarizing what has caused Detroit's problems.

For one, competition from Japan for the automakers had almost nothing to do with Detroit proper's decline. By the time Japan started causing trouble for the Big Three, most, if not all, of the big factories had already abandoned Detroit proper.

By the same token, the bailout of the auto industry is not affecting Detroit proper very much, other than the fact that the RenCen is still occupied by GM and Chrysler's recent decision to move some offices downtown. MOST of the positive effects of the auto industry coming back are being felt in lots of places that are either out in the suburbs or even FARTHER from Detroit. Places like Lansing, northeast Ohio, etc, etc.

Basically... the actual city of Detroit and it's problems don't have that much to do with the auto industry, nor is the revival of the auto industry providing a huge boost to anything within the Detroit city limits.

The story of Detroit's decline has more to do with sociology than the auto industry. Do you want to talk about unemployment in the suburbs? In that case, yes, the auto industry has a lot to do with it.

Could you elaborate a little bit?
Do you think that the same sociological conditions that caused its decline, still exist?
Can the decline be stalled, stopped, reversed?
In what shape or form?

The Brits have a lot of experience in dealing with post-industrial waste lands.
Seriously.
When I was looking for a grad program in the UK, they even had a MSc in Urban Regeneration and Renewal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpGyfQh7Yio

This school should team up with Wayne State.

[jonnynonos]

She's Alfred Taubman's daughter in law or niece or something... anyway, a member of one of the richest families in the state.

With all due respect no one would have cared about it if not for that.

Thousands of kids in the area have done the exact same thing.

[Locutus of Board]

There's some idiot in Detroit everyday filming the "ruin porn". People who live in Detroit get tired of seeing these images in the media, so I doubt you'll find much "interest" here for this new article on a very tired subject. What makes it worse that is that most of these idiots don't understand what caused Detroit's problems and write simplistic editorials about the decline of the auto industry, as someone already addressed above.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Locutus of Board

There's some idiot in Detroit everyday filming the "ruin porn". People who live in Detroit get tired of seeing these images in the media, so I doubt you'll find much "interest" here for this new article on a very tired subject. What makes it worse that is that most of these idiots don't understand what caused Detroit's problems and write simplistic editorials about the decline of the auto industry, as someone already addressed above.

You know whats kind of funny - the ruin porn has sometimes included images of the now shut down Old Cass Tech building . . . without even so much as a pan the camera across to see . . . the new Cass Tech high school.

As many times as the Packard plant has been filmed, no one ever mentions that it closed down in 1958!! Plants have closed down in cities all over the country (although they were rarely as large as the Packard plant) but the cities usually get them torn down eventually.

[jonnynonos]

Detroityes.com, formerly "Ruins of Detroit" did it first and best.

Everything else is kind of naval-gazing and superfolous.

Especially from a carpet bagger.