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Introduction to the Symposium: Lessons from Detroit

Introduction to the Symposium: Lessons from Detroit Karyn Lacy* University of Michigan, Ann Arbor In 2014, Detroit was ranked 8th on a list of the country’s 10 unhappiest cities. Despite its glorious past, the city is now in deep trouble. Four phenomena contributed to Detroit’s placement on the list and set Detroit apart from other large American cities. First, Detroit has too much land and too few residents. The city stretches over 139 square miles. Detroit is vast. And when a sprawling city loses more than 60 percent of its population, such a mass exodus leads to other problems. In its heyday, Detroit was teem- ing with people. In 1950, the population was 1.85 million. By 1990, the population had dwindled to 1.2 million. And today, less than a million people, only about 714,000, are rattling around the city. Detroit is empty. And that means unlike New York or San Fran- cisco, where finding even a tiny square to park your car is an ordeal, in Detroit, land is plentiful and affordable. Developers need not build up, they can spread out. Housing is dirt-cheap. You can buy a house in Detroit for $25,000. Today, many blocks in Detroit are home to a single family, living amid http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png City and Community SAGE

Introduction to the Symposium: Lessons from Detroit

Lacy, Karyn
City and Community , Volume 14 (2): 1 – Jun 1, 2015
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Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 2015 American Sociological Association
ISSN
1535-6841
eISSN
1540-6040
DOI
10.1111/cico.12100
Publisher site
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Abstract

Karyn Lacy* University of Michigan, Ann Arbor In 2014, Detroit was ranked 8th on a list of the country’s 10 unhappiest cities. Despite its glorious past, the city is now in deep trouble. Four phenomena contributed to Detroit’s placement on the list and set Detroit apart from other large American cities. First, Detroit has too much land and too few residents. The city stretches over 139 square miles. Detroit is vast. And when a sprawling city loses more than 60 percent of its population, such a mass exodus leads to other problems. In its heyday, Detroit was teem- ing with people. In 1950, the population was 1.85 million. By 1990, the population had dwindled to 1.2 million. And today, less than a million people, only about 714,000, are rattling around the city. Detroit is empty. And that means unlike New York or San Fran- cisco, where finding even a tiny square to park your car is an ordeal, in Detroit, land is plentiful and affordable. Developers need not build up, they can spread out. Housing is dirt-cheap. You can buy a house in Detroit for $25,000. Today, many blocks in Detroit are home to a single family, living amid

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City and Community – SAGE

Published: Jun 1, 2015

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