History of Europe

Detroit. From car town to ghost town

Detroit is a medium-sized city in the north of the United States. A little over half a million inhabitants, located near the Great Lakes, on the border with Canada. At first glance, there is nothing really striking about it. But that is hugely deceptive. Because Detroit is the American city with probably the most checkered history of all. Already in the century before last it was an industrial stronghold, then the motor city, city of the car and of the American dream par excellence. But it is also a dying city, a city of decay, a city in decline. In fact, in 2013, Detroit became the first major US city to go bankrupt. But it was a long way for her to get there. From the French founding to the Autostadt to the ghost town, Detroit's history could have been very different.

The French city on the Narrows

People probably lived on the site of today's Detroit for quite a long time, even before the arrival of Europeans on the American continent. After all, the location is really advantageous and has always been part of a wide variety of trade routes. Located between two of North America's great lakes, Lake Erie and Lake Huron, the founding of the city in its modern form dates back to French colonialists. And already in the name of the city they have immortalized their geographical location. D'Etroit, on the Narrows. What is meant by this is the Detroit River, which connects Lake Erie with the small Lake St. Clair before Lake Huron follows further north. The first fortified settlement was built there in 1701 by French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. The name might look familiar to one or the other from a different context. Simply Autostadt.

In the mid-18th century, British troops finally managed to take control of the southern lake region from the French colonialists. At that time, the city's name was shortened to Detroit, which is still common today. However, the newly crowned British rulers could not be happy about their success for long, because a few decades later the American War of Independence began, as a result of which Detroit and its surroundings were handed over to the new American state in 1796. It then immediately belonged to the largest settlements in the western parts of this new republic, which were only slowly being transformed into federal states. Detroit had a proud 2,000 inhabitants at that time. But she would change that quickly.

Detroit, industrialization, population boom and the car

Where until the mid-19th century it was the location of strategic trade networks that fueled the city's growth, it was soon growing industry that drove the city's development. Ultimately, this was also the cornerstone that entrepreneurs could later build on to turn Detroit from an industrial city into a car city, into Motown. In the late 19th century, however, it wasn't cars that defined the region's economy. Rather, it was the chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and heavy industry on the other, especially in the production of ovens. That all changed almost instantly in 1903, when Henry Ford opened his first automobile factory in Detroit.

Of course, it wasn't inevitable that Henry Ford would choose Detroit as the base for his company. But he was from Michigan, and even then the city offered some opportunities for companies like his. A strong industry had already developed there in the decades prior to Ford's establishment. Many workers had moved there, especially from Europe. The population thus grew rapidly, and trade connections were still good. Then Detroit offered itself to some extent. After Ford's initial successes, other automakers soon followed suit in the early 20th century. General Motors followed, then Chrysler a little later. Detroit's rise to become a car city could hardly be stopped by the 1920s at the latest.

The population developed accordingly and at a speed that is hard to imagine today, at least in the West. With almost 300,000 inhabitants, Detroit was already a gigantic city around 1900 by the standards of the time. By the early 1920s, it had surpassed the million mark, making Detroit the fourth-largest city in the entire United States. Only New York, Chicago and Philadelphia were bigger. After World War II, the population finally reached its all-time high of over 1.8 million people. That was in 1950. The Motor City was booming and there seemed to be no end to the growth in sight. But in reality, Detroit's descent into the ghost town it is today began in the 1960s.

... and what else is there in the ghost town besides cars?

The factor that had enabled Detroit's phenomenal rise since the early 20th century also led to its decline from the 1960s:the all-dominant power of the automobile industry. The current situation in Detroit is essentially due to this fact, as are the many crises that the city and its residents have had to go through for decades. The auto market hasn't grown at the same rate since the 1960s as it had since the early 1900s—at least not for the big three, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. Technological innovations also increasingly led to job cuts, and by the 1970s at the latest, there was competition from Japanese car manufacturers, which hit American industry and Detroit as its center hard. One big industry turned out to be a dangerous strategy for a city.

Detroit's population has been shrinking for the past seven decades. There are currently around 650,000 left of the once 1.8 million people. The infrastructure, urban planning and most of the buildings are of course from earlier times. Today, as a logical consequence, 35 percent of the urban area is de facto uninhabited, and Detroit is gradually threatening to become a complete ghost town. The racist segmentation, which found its most radical expression in Detroit, also contributed to this. At the time of the Second World War, 90 percent of the population was still white, until the new boom years of the post-war period saw the arrival of numerous black workers. Many of the white residents moved to the suburbs and eventually away altogether as a result. Today, over 80 percent of Detroiters are black.

But is there hope for the city? Even if bankruptcy was declared six years ago, it could actually exist! Ten years ago, for example, the unemployment rate was a stifling 27 percent. Since then it has fallen to well below 10 percent. However, it is questionable whether this in itself can represent a trend reversal. Which is actually a miracle. Detroit should really be an El Dorado for hipsters from all over the country. Lots of vacant lots, low rental and purchase prices. It's almost surprising that they haven't flocked there in droves, although it's said to be happening slowly. Ultimately, it may not be possible. Maybe the Motor City couldn't exist without its auto industry.

We will no longer solve this question here. Meanwhile, on the podcast this week, I'm also talking about a topic that's closely related to Detroit. It's about the incredible life of car legend John DeLorean. The vehicle named after him became world famous through the "Back to the Future" films. But even before that, his life was ready for film. There is even an arrest for cocaine smuggling. So listen up!