Detroit, Michigan

2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Cities; North America

City of Detroit
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Motor City, Motown, Hockeytown, Rock City, The D
Motto: "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus" (Latin for, "We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes")
Location in Wayne County, Michigan
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Wayne
Founded	1701
Incorporation	1806
Government
- Type	Strong Mayor-Council
-  Mayor	Kwame Kilpatrick (D)
Area
- City	143.0 sq mi (370.2 km²)
- Land	138.8 sq mi (359.4 km²)
- Water	4.2 sq mi (10.8 km²)
- Urban	1,295 sq mi (3,354 km²)
- Metro	3,913 sq mi (10,135 km²)
Elevation	600 ft (183 m)
Population (2007)
- City	916,952
-  Density	6,856/sq mi (2,647/km²)
- Urban	3,903,377
- Metro	4,467,592
	City = 2008, Metro =2007
Time zone	EST ( UTC-5)
- Summer ( DST)	EDT ( UTC-4)
Area code(s)	313
FIPS code	26-22000
GNIS feature ID	1617959
Website: detroitmi.gov

Detroit (pronounced /dɪˈtrɔɪt/) (French: Détroit, meaning " strait", pronounced [detʁwa] ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded in 1701 by the Frenchman Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.

It is known as the world's traditional automotive centre — "Detroit" is a metonym for the American automobile industry — and an important source of popular music, legacies celebrated by the city's two familiar nicknames, Motor City and Motown. Other nicknames emerged in the twentieth century, including Rock City, Arsenal of Democracy (during World War II), The D, D-Town, Hockeytown, and The 3-1-3 (its telephone area code).

In 2007, Detroit ranked as the United States' eleventh most populous city, with 916,952 residents. At its peak, the city was the fourth largest in the country, but since 1950 the city has seen a major shift in its population to the suburbs.

The name Detroit sometimes refers to the Metro Detroit area, a sprawling region with a population of 4,467,592 for the Metropolitan Statistical Area, making it the nation's eleventh-largest, and a population of 5,405,918 for the nine-county Combined Statistical Area as of the 2007 Census Bureau estimates. The Detroit-Windsor area, a critical commercial link straddling the Canada-U.S. border, has a total population of about 5,700,000.

History

The city name comes from the Detroit River (French: l'étroit du Lac Erie), meaning the strait of Lake Erie, linking Lake Huron and Lake Erie; in the historical context, the strait included Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. Traveling up the Detroit River on the ship Le Griffon (owned by La Salle), Father Louis Hennepin noted the north bank of the river as an ideal location for a settlement. There, in 1701, the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, along with 51 additional French-Canadians, founded a settlement called Fort Détroit, naming it after the comte de Pontchartrain, Minister of Marine under Louis XIV. France offered free land to attract families to Detroit, which grew to 800 people in 1765, the largest city between Montreal and New Orleans. Francois Marie Picoté, sieur de Belestre (Montreal 1719–1793) was the last French military commander at Fort Detroit (1758–1760), surrendering the fort on November 29, 1760 to the British. Detroit's city flag reflects this French heritage. (See Flag of Detroit, Michigan.)

During the French and Indian War (1760), British troops gained control and shortened the name to Detroit. Several tribes led by Chief Pontiac, an Ottawa leader, launched Pontiac's Rebellion (1763), including a siege of Fort Detroit. Partially in response to this, the British Royal Proclamation of 1763 included restrictions on white settlement in unceded Indian territories. Detroit passed to the United States under the Jay Treaty (1796). In 1805, fire destroyed most of the settlement. A river warehouse and brick chimneys of the wooden homes were the sole structures to survive.

From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan. As the city expanded, the street layout followed a plan developed by Augustus B. Woodward, Chief Justice of the Michigan Territory. Detroit fell to British troops during the War of 1812 in the Siege of Detroit, was recaptured by the United States in 1813 and incorporated as a city in 1815.

Prior to the American Civil War, the city's access to the Canadian border made it a key stop along the underground railroad. Then a Lieutenant, the future president Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in the city. His dwelling is still at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. Because of this local sentiment, many Detroiters volunteered to fight during the American Civil War, beginning with the Iron Brigade which defended Washington, D.C. early in the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying Thank God for Michigan! Following the death of President Abraham Lincoln, George Armstrong Custer delivered a eulogy to the thousands gathered near Campus Martius Park. Custer led the Michigan Brigade during the American Civil War and called them the Wolverines.

Detroit's many Gilded Age mansions and buildings arose during the late 1800s. The city was referred to as the Paris of the West for its architecture, and for Washington Boulevard, recently electrified by Thomas Edison. 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 a rented workshop on Mack Avenue. In 1904 he 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; it also served to encourage truck manufacturers such as Rapid and Grabowsky.

The industry spurred the city's spectacular growth during the first half of the twentieth century as it drew tens of thousands of new residents, particularly workers from the Southern United States, and became the fourth largest city in the nation. At the same time, thousands of immigrants from Europe poured into the city, adding to competition for jobs and housing. Social tensions rose with the rapid pace of growth and pressure on neighborhoods.

With the introduction of Prohibition, smugglers used the river as a major conduit for Canadian spirits, organized in large part by the notorious Purple Gang. Strained racial relations were evident in the 1920s trial of Dr. Ossian Sweet, a black Detroit physician acquitted of murder. A man died when shots were fired from Ossian's house into a threatening mob of whites who gathered to try to force him out of an all-white neighbourhood.

Labor strife climaxed in the 1930s when the United Auto Workers became involved in bitter disputes with Detroit's auto manufacturers. The labor activism of those years brought notoriety to union leaders such as Jimmy Hoffa and Walter Reuther. The 1940s saw the construction of the world's first urban depressed freeway, the Davison and the industrial growth during World War II that led to Detroit's nickname as the Arsenal of Democracy.

The city faced major challenges during the war as tens of thousands of workers migrated to the city to work in the war industries. Many of these migrant workers were blacks and whites from the U.S. South. Housing was difficult to find. The colour blind promotion policies of the auto plants resulted in racial tension that erupted into a full-scale riot in 1943.

Industrial consolidation during the 1950s, especially in the automobile sector, increased competition for jobs. An extensive freeway system constructed in the 1950s and 1960s had facilitated commuting. Suburban migration and racial tensions led to a textbook case of white flight, which resulted in a painful decline for many inner-city neighborhoods during the 1960s and 1970s. 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. Retailers and small business owners departed the city in the wake of increased crime. Within decades large numbers of buildings and homes were abandoned, many remaining for decades in a state of decay. In the years following, Detroit's population fell from a peak of roughly 1.8 million in 1950 to about half that number today.

In 1973, the city elected its first black mayor, Coleman Young. His combative style during his five terms in office was not well received by many whites, who continued to leave the city in large numbers. The gasoline crises of 1973 and 1979 impacted the U.S. auto industry as small cars from foreign makers made inroads. Heroin and crack cocaine use afflicted the city with the influence of Butch Jones, Maserati Rick, and the Chambers Brothers. Drug-related violence and property crimes rose, and abandoned homes were demolished to reduce havens for drug dealers. Sizable tracts have reverted to a form of urban prairie. Renaissance has been a perennial buzzword among city leaders, reinforced by the construction of the Renaissance Centre in the late 1970s. This complex of skyscrapers, designed as a city within a city, slowed but was unable to reverse the trend of businesses leaving the city's downtown until the 1990s.

In 1980, Detroit hosted the Republican National Convention which nominated Ronald Reagan to a successful bid for President of the United States. By 1984, Detroit had developed an unmanageable abandoned buildings problem. By the late 1980s nearly three decades of white flight, crime, drug addiction, and inadequate policies had caused areas like the Elmhurst block to decay. Many old crumbling buildings became abandoned and unsafe structures which, in turn, harbored vice and crime and encouraged those who remained to leave.

In the 1990s, the city began to enjoy a revival, much of it centered downtown. Comerica Tower at Detroit Centre (1993) arose on the city skyline. In the ensuing years, three casinos opened in Detroit: MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino, which have now added permanent resorts and Greektown Casino which is scheduled to open its permanent resort at the end of 2009 . New downtown stadiums were constructed for the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions in 2000 and 2002, respectively; this put the Lions' home stadium in the city proper for the first time since 1974. The city hosted the 2005 MLB All-Star Game, 2006 Super Bowl XL, 2006 World Series and WrestleMania 23 in 2007, all which prompted many improvements to the downtown area. The city's riverfront is the focus of much development; in 2007, the first portions of the Detroit River Walk were laid, including miles of parks and fountains. This new urban development in Detroit is a mainstay in the city's earnest desire to reinvent its economic identity through tourism. Along the river, upscale million dollar condos are going up, such as Watermark Detroit, some of the most expensive the city has ever seen. Some city limit signs, particularly on the Dearborn border say "Welcome to Detroit, The Renaissance City Founded 1701."

Geography

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 143.0 square miles (370.2 km²); of this, 138.8 square miles (359.4 km²) is land and 4.2 square miles (10.8 km²) is water. Detroit is the principal city of the Metro Detroit and Southeast Michigan regions. The highest elevation in Detroit is in the University District neighbourhood in northwestern Detroit, just west of Palmer Park sitting at a height of 670 feet (204 m). Detroit's lowest elevation is along its riverfront, sitting at a height of 579 feet (176 m). Detroit completely encircles the cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park. On its northeast border are the wealthy communities of Grosse Pointe. The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is the only international wildlife preserve in North America, uniquely located in the heart of a major metropolitan area. The Refuge includes islands, coastal wetlands, marshes, shoals, and waterfront lands along 48 miles (77 km) of the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie shoreline.

Three road systems cross the city: the original French template, radial avenues from a Washington, D.C.-inspired system, and true north–south roads from the Northwest Ordinance township system. The city is north of Windsor, Ontario. Detroit is the only major city along the U.S.-Canadian border in which one travels south in order to cross into Canada. Detroit has four border crossings: the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel provide motor vehicle thoroughfare; the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel provides railroad access to and from Canada. The fourth border crossing is the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry, located near the Windsor Salt Mine and Zug Island. Not far from Zug Island, the southwest part of the city sits atop a 1,500-acre (610 ha) salt mine that is 1,100 feet (340 m) below the surface. The Detroit Salt Company mine has over 100 miles (160 km) of roads within it.

Climate

Detroit and the rest of southeastern Michigan have a continental climate which is influenced by the Great Lakes. Winters are cold with moderate snowfall. and nighttime temperatures sometimes dropping below 10 °F (–12 °C), while summers are warm with temperatures sometimes exceeding 90 °F (32 °C). Average monthly precipitation ranges from about two to four inches (50 to 100 mm). Snowfall, which typically occurs from November to early April, ranges from an average of 1 to 10 inches (3 to 25 cm) a month. The highest recorded temperature was 105.0 °F (40.5 °C) on July 24, 1934, while the lowest recorded temperature was –24.0 °F (–31.1 °C) on December 22, 1872.

Weather averages for Detroit, Michigan
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F	31	33	44	58	70	79	83	81	74	62	48	35	58
Average low °F	16	18	27	37	48	57	62	60	53	41	32	22	39
Precipitation inches	1.9	1.7	2.4	3.0	2.9	3.6	3.1	3.4	2.8	2.2	2.7	2.5	32.3
Average high °C	-1	1	7	14	21	26	28	27	23	17	9	2	14
Average low °C	-9	-8	-3	3	9	14	17	16	12	5	0	-6	3
Precipitation cm	4	4	6	7	7	9	7	8	7	5	6	6	82
Source: Weatherbase Nov 2006

Surrounding municipalities

	Farmington Hills, Southfield	Troy, Madison Heights, Royal Oak, Berkley, Ferndale, Oak Park, Hazel Park	Mount Clemens, Warren, Eastpointe, Roseville, St. Clair Shores, Lake St. Clair
	Ann Arbor, Livonia, Redford Twp		Grosse Pointe, Lake St. Clair
		Detroit, Michigan
	Dearborn, Lincoln Park, Romulus, Taylor, Woodhaven, New Boston, Wyandotte	Detroit River, Windsor, Ontario	Belle Isle Park, Detroit River, Windsor, Ontario

The cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park both lie entirely within the boundaries of the city of Detroit.

Cityscape

Architecture

Seen in panorama, Detroit's waterfront shows a variety of architectural styles. The post modern neogothic spires of the Comerica Tower at Detroit Centre (1993) were designed to blend with the city’s Art Deco skyscrapers. Together with the Renaissance Centre, they form a distinctive and recognizable skyline. Examples of the Art Deco style include the Guardian Building and Penobscot Building downtown, as well as the Fisher Building and Cadillac Place in the New Centre area near Wayne State University. Among the city's prominent structures are the nation's largest Fox Theatre, the Detroit Opera House, and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

While the downtown and New Centre areas contain high-rise buildings, the majority of the surrounding city consists of low-rise structures and single-family homes. Outside of the city's core, residential high-rises are found in neighborhoods such as the East Riverfront extending toward Grosse Pointe and the Palmer Park neighbourhood just west of Woodward. Neighborhoods constructed prior to World War II feature the architecture of the times. Wood frame and brick houses in the working class neighborhoods, larger brick homes in middle class neighborhoods, and ornate mansions in neighborhoods such as Brush Park, Woodbridge, Indian Village, Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, and others. The oldest neighborhoods are along the Woodward and Jefferson corridors, while neighborhoods built in the 1950s are found in the far west and closer to 8 Mile Road. Some of the oldest extant neighborhoods include Corktown, a working class, formerly Irish neighbourhood, and Brush Park. Both are now seeing multi-million dollar restorations and construction of new homes and condos.

Many of the city's architecturally significant buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places and the city has one of the nation's largest surviving collections of late nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings. There are a number of architecturally significant churches, including St. Joseph Catholic Church and Saint Anne de Detroit Catholic Church.

There is substantial activity in urban design, historic preservation and architecture. A number of downtown redevelopment projects — of which Campus Martius Park is one of the most notable — have revitalized parts of the city. Grand Circus Park stands near the city's theatre district, Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers.

The Detroit International Riverfront includes a partially completed three and one-half mile riverfront promenade with a combination of parks, residential buildings, and commercial areas from Hart Plaza to the MacArthur Bridge accessing Belle Isle (the largest island park in a U.S. city). The riverfront includes Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbour, Michigan's first urban state park. The second phase is a two mile (3 km) extension from Hart Plaza to the Ambassador Bridge for a total of five miles (8 km) of parkway from bridge to bridge. Civic planners envision that the riverfront properties condemned under eminent domain, with their pedestrian parks, will spur more residential development. Other major parks include Palmer (north of Highland Park), River Rouge (in the southwest side), and Chene Park (on the east river downtown).

Neighborhoods

The National Register of Historic Places lists several area neighborhoods and districts such as Lafayette Park, part of the Mies van der Rohe residential district. On Saturdays, about 45,000 people shop the city's historic Eastern Market. The Midtown and the New Centre area are centered around Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital. Midtown has about 50,000 residents, yet it attracts millions of visitors each year to its museums and cultural centers; for example, the Detroit Festival of the Arts in Midtown draws about 350,000 people. The University Commons-Palmer Park district in Northwest Detroit is near the University of Detroit Mercy and Marygrove College and has historic neighborhoods including Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, and Green Acres.

Culture and contemporary life

Lifestyles for rising professionals in Detroit reflect those of other major cities. This dynamic is luring many younger residents to the downtown area. Luxury high rises such as the three Riverfront Towers have views of Hart Plaza and Canada. The New Centre area contains examples of historic housing redevelopment. The Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel will include a number of luxury condos. 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 spectacular views and nightlife, along with Ontario's 19-and-older drinking age.

Entertainment and performing arts

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 two nationally prominent live music venues: DTE Energy Music Theatre and The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Detroit Theatre District is the nation's second largest. Major theaters include the Fox Theatre, Music Hall, the Gem Theatre, Masonic Temple Theatre, the Detroit Opera House, the Fisher Theatre and Orchestra Hall which hosts the renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The Nederlander Organization, the largest controller of Broadway productions in New York City, originated with the purchase of the Detroit Opera House in 1922 by the Nederlander Family and continues to operate to this day.

Important music events in the city include: the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, the Motor City Music Conference (MC2), the Urban Organic Music Conference, the Concert of Colors, and the hip-hop Summer Jamz festival.

The city of Detroit has a rich musical heritage and has contributed to a number of different genres over the decades leading into the new millennium.

In the 1940s, blues artist John Lee Hooker became a long-term resident in the city's southwest Delray neighbourhood. Hooker, among other important blues musicians migrated from his home in Mississippi bringing the Delta Blues to northern city's like Detroit. During the 1950s, the city became a centre for jazz, with stars performing in the Black Bottom neighbourhood. Prominent emerging Jazz musicians of the 1960s included: trumpet player Donald Byrd who attended Cass Tech and performed with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers early in his career and Saxophonist Pepper Adams who enjoyed a solo career and accompanied Byrd on several albums. The Graystone International Jazz Museum documents jazz in Detroit.

Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records which rose to prominence during the 1960s and early 1970s with acts such as Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Jackson 5, Martha and the Vandellas and Marvin Gaye. The Motown Sound played an important role in the crossover appeal with popular music, since it was the first record label owned by an African American to primarily feature African-American artists. Gordy moved Motown to Los Angeles in 1972 to pursue film production, but the company has since returned to Detroit. Aretha Franklin is another Detroit R&B star who carried the Motown Sound; however, she did not record with Berry's Motown Label.

Detroit's music includes many popular rock bands from the 1960s and 70's. During this period, local and national acts performed regularly at venues such as the Grande Ballroom and the Eastown Theatre. Popular local bands producing and performing music included artists like: the MC5, The Stooges, Bob Seger, Amboy Dukes featuring Ted Nugent, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, Rare Earth, and Alice Cooper. The group Kiss emphasized the city's connection with rock in the song Detroit Rock City and the movie produced in 1999.

In recent times, the city's music scene has produced a number of influential artists. From the late 1990s into the new millennium, the band Sponge toured and produced music, with artists such as Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker. The city has an active garage rock genre that has generated national attention with acts such as: The White Stripes, The Von Bondies, The Dirtbombs, Electric Six, The Hard Lessons, and The Enemy Squad. Detroit has also been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson.

Tourism

Many of the area's prominent museums are located in the historic cultural centre neighbourhood around Wayne State University. These museums include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Historical Museum, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Science Centre, and the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. Other cultural highlights include Motown Historical Museum, Tuskegee Airmen Museum, Fort Wayne, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID), and the Belle Isle Conservatory. Important history of Detroit and the surrounding area is exhibited at the The Henry Ford, the nation's largest indoor-outdoor museum complex. The Detroit Historical Society provides information about tours of area churches, skyscrapers, and mansions. The Eastern Market farmer's distribution centre is the largest open-air flowerbed market in the United States and has more than 150 foods and specialty businesses. Other sites of interest are the Detroit Zoo and the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle.

The city's Greektown and casino resorts serve as an entertainment hub. Annual summer events include the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, Detroit International Jazz Festival, and Woodward Dream Cruise. Within downtown, Campus Martius Park hosts large events such as the Motown Winter Blast. As the world's traditional automotive centre, the city hosts the North American International Auto Show. Held since 1924, America's Thanksgiving Parade is one of the nation's largest.

An important civic sculpture in Detroit is Marshall Fredericks' " Spirit of Detroit" at the Coleman Young Municipal Centre. The image is often used as a symbol of Detroit and the statue itself is occasionally dressed in sports jerseys to celebrate when a Detroit team is doing well. A memorial to Joe Louis at the intersection of Jefferson and Woodward Avenues was dedicated on October 16, 1986. The sculpture, commissioned by Sports Illustrated and executed by Robert Graham, is a twenty-four foot (7.3 m) long arm with a fisted hand suspended by a pyramidal framework.

River Days, a five day festival on the International Riverfront, marked the opening of the River Walk along the east river leading up to the Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival fireworks with about 3.5 million visitors.

Artist Tyree Guyton created the controversial street art exhibit known as the Heidelberg Project in the mid 1980s, using junk and abandoned cars, clothing, shoes, vacuum cleaners, and other garbage Guyton found in the neighbourhood near and on Heidelberg Street on the near East Side of Detroit.

Sports

Detroit is one of 13 American metropolitan areas that are home to professional teams representing the four major sports in North America. All these teams but one play within the city of Detroit itself (the NBA's Detroit Pistons and the WNBA's Detroit Shock both play in suburban Auburn Hills at The Palace of Auburn Hills). There are three active major sports venues within the city: Comerica Park (home of the Major League Baseball team Detroit Tigers), Ford Field (home of the NFL's Detroit Lions), and Joe Louis Arena (home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings). A 1996 marketing campaign promoted the nickname " Hockeytown".

In college sports, Detroit's central location within the Mid-American Conference has made it a frequent site for the league's championship events. While the MAC Basketball Tournament moved permanently to Cleveland starting in 2000, the MAC Football Championship Game has been played at Ford Field in Detroit since 2004, and annually attracts 25,000 to 30,000 fans. The University of Detroit Mercy has a NCAA Division I program, and Wayne State University has both NCAA Division I and II programs. The NCAA football Motor City Bowl is held at Ford Field each December.

Sailboat racing is a major sport in the Detroit area. Lake St. Clair is home to many yacht clubs which host regattas. Bayview Yacht Club, the Detroit Yacht Club, Crescent Sail Yacht Club, Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, The Windsor Yacht Club, and the Edison Boat Club each participate in and are governed by the Detroit Regional Yacht-Racing Association or DRYA. Detroit is home to many One-Design fleets including, but not limited to, North American 40s, Cal 25s, C&C 35s, Crescent Sailboats, Express 27s, J 120s, J 105, Flying Scots, and many more.

The Crescent Sailboat and L Boat were both designed and built exclusively in Detroit. Detroit also has a very active and competitive junior sailing program.

Since 1916, the city has been home to an American Boat Racing Association Unlimited hydroplane boat race, held annually (with exceptions) on the Detroit River near Belle Isle. Often, the race is for the ABRA Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the Gold Cup (first awarded in 1904, created by Tiffany) which is the oldest active motorsport trophy in the world.

Detroit was the former home of a round of the Formula One World Championship, which held the race on the streets of downtown Detroit from 1982 until 1988, after which the sanction moved from Formula One to IndyCars until its final run in 2001. In 2007, open-wheel racing returned to Belle Isle with both Indy Racing League and American Le Mans Series Racing.

Detroit was given the name "City of Champions" in the 1930s for a series of successes both in individual and in team sport. Gar Wood (a native Detroiter) won the Harmsworth Trophy for unlimited powerboat racing on the Detroit River in 1931. In the next year, 1932, Eddie "The Midnight Express" Tolan, a black student from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, won the 100- and 200-meter races and two gold medals at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Joe Louis won the heavyweight championship of the world in 1937. Also, in 1935 the Detroit Lions won the NFL championship. The Detroit Tigers have won ten American League pennants (The most recent being in 2006) and four World Series titles. In 1984, the Detroit Tigers' World Series championship, after which crowds had left three dead and millions of dollars in property damage. The Detroit Red Wings have won 11 Stanley Cups (the most by an American NHL Franchise), the Detroit Pistons have won three NBA titles, and the Detroit Shock have won two WNBA titles. In 2007, Detroit was given the nickname "Sports City USA" in recognition of its numerous sports teams with good game statistics and the high amount of dedicated sports fans.

Detroit has the distinction of being the city which has made the most bids to host the Summer Olympics without ever being awarded the games: seven unsuccessful bids for the 1944, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972 games. It came as high as second place in the balloting two times, losing the 1964 games to Tokyo and the 1968 games to Mexico City.

Detroit has also hosted WWE's WrestleMania 23 in Ford Field. It was held 20 Years after WrestleMania III was held in nearby Pontiac, Michigan.

On May 31st and June 1 of 2008, The Red Bull Air Race took place along the Detroit River.

Economy

Detroit and the surrounding region constitute a major manufacturing centre, most notably as home to the Big Three automobile companies, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The city is an important centre for global trade with large international law firms having their offices in both Detroit and Windsor. About 80,500 people work in downtown Detroit, comprising 21% of the City's employment.

There are hundreds of offices and plants in the automotive support business including parts, electronics, and design suppliers. The domestic auto industry is primarily headquartered in Metro Detroit. New vehicle production, sales, and jobs related to automobile use account for one of every ten jobs in the United States. The area is also an important source of engineering job opportunities. A 2004 Border Transportation Partnership study showed that 150,000 jobs in the Windsor-Detroit region and $13 billion in annual production depend on the City of Detroit's international border crossing.

The Detroit area is accustomed to the economic cycles of the auto industry. A rise in automated manufacturing using robot technology, inexpensive labor in other parts of the world, and increased competition have led to a steady transformation of certain types of manufacturing jobs in the region. Local complications for the city include higher taxes than the nearby suburbs, with many unable to afford the levies on property. In March 2007, metropolitan Detroit's unemployment rate was 6.5%. In the city, the unemployment rate was 14.2% at the end of 2005, leaving Detroit with more than one-third of residents below the poverty line. This is in part attributed to white flight following court-ordered busing during the 1970s. Parts of the city have abandoned and burned out shells of buildings. Though the city has struggled with finances, since 2006 it has balanced its budget with more funding available to demolish blighted properties.

The Big Three automakers have collectively lost market share to foreign rivals. However, Detroit's automakers have continued to gain volume from previous decades with the expansion of the American and global automotive markets. In 2003, Cadillac outscored all other luxury automakers in two of three quality surveys by AutoPacific, Strategic Vision, and J.D. Power. General Motors led all other automakers in Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index (TQI) for 2006. In 1994, with rising demand for sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks, the industry fought Clinton administration's efforts to implement an across the board Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) increase. In 2005, the Bush administration asked Congress for the authority to reform the CAFE standard from a single average to six different size based categories in an effort to resolve the issue. In the late 1990s, Detroit's automakers had gained market share and were enjoying record profits until the recession of 2001 and the subsequent September 11, 2001 attacks caused a severe decline in the stock market along with a pension and benefit funds crisis. Although retiree health care costs remain a significant issue, General Motors' investment strategy generated a $17.1 billion surplus in 2007 for its $101 billion U.S pension portfolio, a $35 billion reversal from its $17.8 billion in underfunding. With rising oil prices and war, consumers chose to purchase fewer trucks and SUVs. This negatively impacted the profits of Detroit's automakers. As a result, GM and Ford have implemented their respective turnaround plans. Concern among analysts over restored profits has fueled economic uncertainty in the metro Detroit area.

Initially, GM and Ford had sought to delay the introduction of unprofitable hybrids in favour of the all-fuel cell vehicle; however, with rising gasoline prices and foreign rivals marketing hybrid cars, Detroit's automakers responded. In 2006, Ford announced a dramatic increase in production of its hybrid gas-electric models, Ford and GM have also promoted E-85 ethanol capable flexible-fuel vehicles as a viable alternative to gasoline. General Motors has invested heavily in all fuel cell equipped vehicles, Chrysler's focus on biodiesel may boost sales. Two days after the September 11, 2001 attacks, GM announced it had developed the world's most powerful fuel cell stack capable of powering large commercial vehicles. In 2002, the state of Michigan established NextEnergy, a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to enable commercialization of various energy technologies, especially hydrogen fuel cells. Its main complex is located north of Wayne State University.

Firms in the suburbs pursue emerging technologies including biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, cognotechnology, 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. Thus far, the city has had some success, most notably the addition of Compuware World Headquarters, OnStar, EDS offices at the Renaissance Centre, PricewaterhouseCoopers Plaza offices adjacent to Ford Field, and the 2006 completion of Ernst & Young's offices at One Kennedy Square. However, Comerica Bank decided to move its headquarters from Detroit to Dallas in 2007 while maintaining its substantial presence in the region. On November 12, 2007, Quicken Loans announced its development agreement with the city to move its world headquarters, and 4,000 employees, to downtown Detroit, consolidating its suburban offices, a move considered to be a high importance to city planners to reestablish the historic downtown. The construction sites reserved for development by the agreement include the location of the former Statler on Grand Circus Park and the former Hudson's location.

Some Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Detroit include General Motors, auto parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing, and DTE Energy. Detroit is home to Compuware and the national pizza chain Little Caesars. Downtown Detroit has major offices for Electronic Data Systems, Visteon, Delphi, Ford Motor Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte Touche, KPMG, the Jeep and Dodge Truck arm of DaimlerChrysler, GMAC, and OnStar. Other major industries include advertising, law, finance, chemicals, and computer software. One of the nation's largest law firms, Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone P.L.C., has offices in both Windsor and Detroit. Compuware's new headquarters, GM's move to the Renaissance Centre, and the State of Michigan's redevelopment of Cadillac Place in the New Centre district have provided new synergies for the redevelopment of downtown.

Casino gaming plays an important economic role, with Detroit the largest city in the United States to offer casino resorts. Caesars Windsor, Canada's largest, complements the MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Greektown Casino in Detroit. Though the casinos have brought new tax revenue and jobs to the city, the city still has high unemployment. Gaming revenues have grown steadily, with Detroit ranked as the fifth largest gambling market in the USA for 2007. However, when Casino Windsor is included, Detroit's gambling market ranks third or fourth. In 2006, downtown Detroit reported $1.3 billion in restorations and new developments which increased the number of construction jobs in the city. Medical service providers such as the Detroit Medical Centre and Henry Ford Hospital are major employers in the city.

Media reviews of Detroit's economy tend to reflect the economic cycles. In 2007, downtown Detroit was named among the best big city neighborhoods in which to retire by CNN Money Magazine editors.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	1,422		—
1830	2,222		56.3%
1840	9,102		309.6%
1850	21,019		130.9%
1860	45,619		117%
1870	79,577		74.4%
1880	116,340		46.2%
1890	205,877		77%
1900	285,704		38.8%
1910	465,766		63%
1920	993,678		113.3%
1930	1,568,662		57.9%
1940	1,623,452		3.5%
1950	1,849,568		13.9%
1960	1,670,144		−9.7%
1970	1,514,063		−9.3%
1980	1,203,368		−20.5%
1990	1,027,974		−14.6%
2000	951,270		−7.5%
Est. 2007	916,952		−3.6%

Metro Detroit suburbs are among the more affluent in the U.S. in contrast to lower incomes found within the city limits. A 2007 report shows the city of Detroit's median household income at $34,512, a 12% increase over the Census estimate, and per capita income was $14,717 at 2000 Census. As of that Census, there were 951,270 people, 336,428 households, and 218,341 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,855.1 people per square mile (2,646.7/km²). There were 375,096 housing units at an average density of 2,703.0 units per square mile (1,043.6/km²).

The city's population increased more than sixfold during the first half of the twentieth century, fed largely by an influx of Eastern European, Lebanese and Southern migrants to work in the burgeoning automobile industry. However, since 1950 the city has seen a major shift in its population to the suburbs. The city population dropped from its peak in 1950 with a population of 1,849,568 to 916,952 in 2007. This is partly attributable to the construction of an extensive freeway system during the 1950s and white flight.

As of Census 2000, the city of Detroit was 81.6% Black American, 12.3% White American, 1.0% Asian American, 0.3% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander American, 2.5% from other races American, and 2.3% from two or more races. 5.0 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 10.5% of Detroit's population. The city's foreign-born population is at 4.8%.

There were 336,428 households out of which 33.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.7% were married couples living together, 31.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families, 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.45.

There is a wide age distribution in the city, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median household income in the city was $29,526, and the median income for a family was $33,853. Males had a median income of $33,381 versus $26,749 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,717. 26.1% of the population and 21.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 34.5% of those under the age of 18 and 18.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

The Detroit suburbs in Oakland County, Macomb County, and northeastern and northwestern Wayne County are predominantly white. Of the African-Americans who live in the metropolitan area, about 70% live within the Detroit city limits. Metro Detroit's ethnic communities are diverse and include descendants of the French founders, as well as Irish, Germans, Scots, Poles, Italians, Greeks, Albanians, Armenians, Jews, Arabs, and Lebanese who settled during the city's early twentieth century industrial boom. Metro Detroit has the largest concentration of Belgians outside of Belgium; Cadieux Street on the city's east side north of Grosse Pointe constituted the heart of one of the few distinctly Belgian neighborhoods in the U.S. during the early- and mid-twentieth century. In Detroit and the metro area, there is a large Chaldean population and a large concentration of Arab Americans in Dearborn.

Law and government

The city government is run by a mayor and nine-member city council and clerk elected on an at-large nonpartisan ballot. Since voters approved the city's charter in 1974, Detroit has had a " strong mayoral" system, with the mayor approving departmental appointments. The council approves budgets but the mayor is not obligated to adhere to any earmarking. City ordinances and substantially large contracts must be approved by the council. The city clerk supervises elections and is formally charged with the maintenance of municipal records. Municipal elections for mayor, city council and city clerk are held at four-year intervals, in the year after presidential elections (so that there are Detroit elections scheduled in 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, etc.).

Politically, the city consistently supports the Democratic Party in state and national elections (local election are nonpartisan). According to a study released by the Bay Area Centre for Voting Research, Detroit is the most liberal large city in America, measuring only the percentage of city residents who voted for the Democratic Party. In his 1974 inaugural address, former Mayor Coleman Young told the city's criminals to "hit Eight Mile Road" (the most prominent dividing line between Detroit and northern suburbs). When Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick found himself behind in the polls in the 2005 election, his campaign tried to draw attention to the support his opponent, Freman Hendrix, received in the suburbs. During one debate, Kilpatrick spoke of higher illegal drug use in the suburbs when compared with Detroit. Many opponents have criticized Kilpatrick on the basis that many of his policies facilitate the gentrification taking place in the city.

Under Mayor Kilpatrick's administration, the city's government has a balanced budget and is seeing new growth in business and tourism. With a decreased population compared to prior decades, the city planned a reduced workforce and more consolidated operations. In addition, Detroit had asked for pay cuts and other "give backs" from the municipal unions that represent city employees. In the 2000s, Detroit had fought off legislative efforts to turn control of the city-owned Water and Sewer system to the suburbs.

Detroit's courts are state-administered and elections are nonpartisan. The Probate Court for Wayne County is located in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Centre in downtown Detroit. The Circuit Court is located across Gratiot Ave. in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, in downtown Detroit. The city is home to the Thirty Sixth District Court, as well as the First District of the Michigan Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Crime

Although crime in Detroit has declined in recent decades, the city had the sixth highest number of violent crimes among the twenty-five largest cities in 2006. This incidence of crime in parts of the city has brought it notoriety. The city has tried to shake its crime-laden image for the city centre, pointing to a 2006 study, where crime in downtown Detroit ( CBD) is shown to be much lower than national, state and metro averages. According to a 2007 analysis, Detroit officials note that about 65 to 70 percent of homicides in the city were confined to a narcotics catalyst. As with many border cities, there is an ongoing problem with smuggling, including drugs, human trafficking, and illicit commerce aimed at avoiding taxation. In 1985, the city had the label of "murder capital of the world".

In 2000, the City requested an investigation by the United States Justice Department into the Detroit Police Department which was concluded in 2003 over allegations regarding its use of force and civil rights violations. The city proceeded with a major reorganization of the Detroit Police Department. Mayor Kilpatrick is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino. On March 24, 2008, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged with nine felonies, making history as the first mayor of Detroit to be charged with a crime while in office.

Education

Colleges and universities

Detroit is home to several institutions of higher learning, including Wayne State University, a national research university with medical and law schools in the Midtown area. Other institutions in the city include the University of Detroit Mercy with its schools of Law and Dentistry, the College for Creative Studies, Lewis College of Business, Marygrove College, and Wayne County Community College. The Detroit College of Law, now affiliated with Michigan State University, was founded in the city in 1891 and remained there until 1997, when it relocated to East Lansing. The University of Michigan was established in 1817 in Detroit and later moved to Ann Arbor in 1837. In 1959, another campus was established in neighboring Dearborn.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

With 116,000 students, the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) district is the largest school district in Michigan and consists of 220 schools. The city is also served by various charter schools.

In the mid- to late 1990s, the Michigan Legislature removed the locally elected board of education amid allegations of mismanagement and replaced it with a reform board appointed by the mayor and governor. The elected board of education was re-established following a city referendum in 2005. The first election of the new eleven-member board of education occurred on November 8, 2005. Due to declining enrollment the city planned to close 95 schools, and the state mandated deficit reduction plan calls for the closure of a total of 110 schools. The State officials report a 61% graduation rate for Detroit's public schools.

Private schools

Detroit is served by various private schools, as well as parochial Roman Catholic schools run by the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Infrastructure

Health systems

Within the city of Detroit, there are over a dozen major hospitals which include the Detroit Medical Centre (DMC), Henry Ford Health System, St. John Health System, and the John D. Dingell VA Medical Centre. The DMC, a regional Level I trauma centre, consists of Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Centre, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Harper University Hospital, Hutzel Women's Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Sinai-Grace Hospital, and the Karmanos Cancer Institute. The DMC has more than 2,000 licensed beds and 3,000 affiliated physicians. It is also the biggest non-governmental employer in the City of Detroit. The centre is staffed by physicians from the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the largest single-campus medical school in the United States. The metro area has many other hospitals, among which are William Beaumont Hospital, St. Joseph's, and University of Michigan Medical Centre, mostly in suburban counties.

Transportation

With its proximity to Canada and its facilities, ports, major highways, rail connections and international airports, Detroit is an important transportation hub. The city has three international border crossings, the Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, linking Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. The Ambassador Bridge is the single busiest border crossing in North America, carrying 27% of the total trade between the U.S. and Canada.

Air

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), the area's principal airport, is located in nearby Romulus and is the primary hub for Northwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines. Bishop International Airport (FNT) in Flint, Michigan is the second busiest commercial airport in the region. Coleman A. Young International Airport (DET), previously called Detroit City Airport, is on Detroit's northeast side. Although Southwest Airlines once flew from the airport, the airport now maintains only charter service and general aviation. Willow Run Airport, in far-western Wayne County near Ypsilanti, is a general aviation and cargo airport.

Mass transit

Mass transit in the region is provided by bus services. Ridership on the region's mass transit systems increased by 8.4% in 2006. The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) provides service to the outer edges of the city. From there, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) provides service to the suburbs. Cross border service between the downtown areas of Windsor and Detroit is provided by Transit Windsor via the Tunnel Bus.

An automated guideway transit system known as the People Mover provides a 2.9 mile (4.6 km) loop in the downtown area and operates daily. Amtrak provides service to Detroit, operating its Wolverine service between Chicago and Pontiac. Baggage cannot be checked at this location; however, up to two suitcases in addition to any "personal items" such as briefcases, purses, laptop bags, and infant equipment are allowed on board as carry-ons. The current passenger facility is north of downtown. The J.W. Westcott II, which delivers mail to freighters on the Detroit River, is the world's only floating post office.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) has analyzed the feasibility of a Detroit- Ann Arbor commuter line, which would provide an added option for daily commuters between the two regional hubs. The proposed system would be funded by a $100 million federal grant that is secured based on the results of the study.

Major highways

Metro Detroit has an extensive freeway system administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The city is at the crossroads for three Interstate Highways. Detroit is connected via Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 to Kings Highway 401 and to major Southern Ontario cities such as London, Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area along Highway 401. Upon construction and completion of a third border crossing, Detroit and the surrounding area would have a third direct link to the 400-Series freeway network, and have a direct connection to Kings Highway 401, eliminating (or greatly diminishing) the traffic jams that plague the Ambassador Bridge, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The Blue Water Bridge near Sarnia, Ontario is another major commercial border crossing.

Sister cities

Detroit has seven sister cities:

• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Kitwe, Zambia
• Minsk, Belarus
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Toyota, Japan
• Basra, Iraq