Detroit: Race and Uneven Development

Comparative American Cities

by Joe T. Darden

Hub of the American auto industry and site of the celebrated Riverfront Renaissance, Detroit is also a city of extraordinary poverty, unemployment, and racial segregation. This duality in one of the mightiest industrial metropolises of twentieth-century North America is the focus of this study. Viewing the Motor City in light of sociology, geography, history, and planning, the authors examine the genesis of modern Detroit. They argue that the current situation of metropolitan Detroit—economic decentralization, chronic racial and class segregation, regional political fragmentation—is a logical result of trends that have gradually escalated throughout the post-World War II era. Examining its recent redevelopment policies and the ensuing political conflicts, Darden, Hill, Thomas, and Thomas, discuss where Detroit has been and where it is going.


In the series Comparative American Cities, edited by Joe T. Darden.

Genres: History

229 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1987

About the author

Joe Darden is a professor of geography at Michigan State University (Lansing, MI).

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic scholarly overview of metropolitan Detroit from the 1940s to 1980s. A must-read for anyone interested in Detroit or urban issues.

The central thesis is that the state of Detroit and its region (spatial inequality of industry & commerce, chronic racial & class segregation, regional political fragmentation) is a logical result of trends that gradually escalated throughout the post-World War II era.

Darden & Co. take the perspective that (1) post-war evolution of Detroit must be understood in a regional context and (2) understanding race is essential to comprehend the spatial & political development of the region.

[John Ayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated in the material (obviously), and the authors blame racists in Detroit more than they blame racists outside of Detroit, which isn't true at all. Recently various state local and federal governments decided to build a new mass transit rail system for Detroit, which will end at the city limits of Detroit. In other words governments outside of Detroit are limiting the travel of people in Detroit to Detroit, which is exactly what happened with the People Mover.