Detroit: "lowest population level since the 1910 census"
Detroit's Population Crashes
Excerpt:
The flight of middle-class African-Americans to the suburbs fueled an exodus that cut Detroit's population 25% in the past decade to 713,777, according to Census Bureau data released Tuesday. That's the city's lowest population level since the 1910 census, when automobile mass production was making Detroit Detroit.
The decline, the fastest in city history, shocked local officials, who had expected a number closer to 800,000. Mayor Dave Bing said the city would seek a recount.
"If we could go out and identify another 40,000 people that were missed, and it brings us over the threshold of 750,000, that would make a difference from what we can get from the federal and state government," Mr. Bing said at a news conference Tuesday.
In all, the city lost more than 237,000 residents, including 185,000 blacks and about 41,000 whites. The Hispanic population ticked up by 1,500. Meanwhile, the black population in neighboring Macomb County more than tripled to 72,723, constituting 8.6% of the county's population in 2010, compared with 2.7% a decade earlier. Oakland County's African-American population rose 36% to 164,078.
Comment: Bad government has a lot to do with this exodus. Image source: 1914 Ford Model T Touring Car original vintage advertisement
NYTimes reports: Detroit Census Confirms a Desertion Like No Other
ReplyDeleteDetroit’s population had plunged by 25 percent over the last decade. It was dramatic testimony to the crumbling industrial base of the Midwest, black flight to the suburbs and the tenuous future of what was once a thriving metropolis. It was the largest percentage drop in history for any American city with more than 100,000 residents, apart from the unique situation of New Orleans, where the population dropped by 29 percent after Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Detroit: The Incredible Shrinking City: Detroit Is Becoming a Ghost Town
ReplyDeleteDetroit is not the only place dealing with an oversupply of housing. The Census Bureau also shows that 18% of all Florida homes -- more than 1.6 million properties -- are vacant.