Death of a city

The decline of Detroit, once the headquarters of America’s, and even the world’s, automobile industry and a symbol of the country’s industrial prowess, had started long ago, but its terminal fall in the way it has come was unexpected. The city filed for bankruptcy last week, unable to hold itself financially together.

Companies and individuals are known to go bankrupt because of financial mismanagement but cities going under for that reason is rather rare. California came to the brink some time back but pulled itself back  precariously.  Cities have perished in history for many reasons. Some of the  cities in England which were born of and powered by the industrial revolution are in dire straits now. But when a city associated with modern civilisation, and the fourth largest in the country which still has the biggest economy, becomes unviable the reasons and the lessons grab attention.

Detroit flourished when auto majors Ford, GM and Chrysler ruled the roads. But the reign of roads has now gone to cheaper and more efficient vehicles from Asia, with globalisation aiding in the shift of economic and technological power. In its best days, the automobile industry and its ancillaries supported 1.8 million people in Detroit. With most residents deserting it, it now has a population of just 700, 000. It is weighed down by a $20 billion debt. It is unable to light most of its streetlights and about 80,000 of buildings remain unoccupied. The salaries, pensions and social security benefits of workers and  residents are under threat. With the rejection of debt rescheduling plans by pension funds, there was no way out for the city but to declare that it is broke.

In its prosperous days Detroit was also a centre of culture and high living. But when the shadows lengthened it just struggled to survive. There is a poignant angle too to the story in the fact that 80 per cent of the residents are black, who find it more difficult than others to earn a living. The story is also not without an element of a charge of racial discrimination.  The filing for bankruptcy has been legally challenged but there is no optimism that law can put together what economics has broken. So reassembling and reinventing Detroit has almost been ruled out and it is moving into history. There is a tide in affairs of not only men but of cities too.