Detroit, MI, was once among the richest cities in the United States. Seventy years ago, Detroit was known as the “factory for the arsenal of democracy,” home to the American auto industry, and the nation’s center for industry and manufacturing.
Detroit is now emerging from the largest municipal bankruptcy in United States history. The conditions that led to Detroit’s decline are similar to those that impact central cities in many parts of the United States: loss of manufacturing industries, migration of middle class families to the suburbs or distant exurbs, disinvestment both by government and the private sector in schools and infrastructure, and faulty management decisions by municipal leaders. More
