Detroit-04bw

By Ashland Thomas

Piece description from the artist

Detroit skyline from the New Center district looking South-East toward the Detroit River.

Detroit is the most populous city in the state of Michigan, and the largest city on the US/Canada border. Once at a peak of almost 2 million residents in the mid-Twentieth Century, the city of Detroit now houses around 675,000 residents. The Metro Detroit area grows that number to over 4 million, making it the second largest city in the Midwest behind Chicago (just under 10 million). The city is situated on the Detroit River which connects Lake Erie to Lake Huron via Lake St. Clair, which made it a primary port during the development of America in the Industrial Age. It still serves as a major hub for airline activity, is still the home of the American auto industry (Ford, GM, Chrysler), and gave the world Motown and the likes of Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. The City of Detroit is the third-largest economic region in the Midwest behind Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul. In 2013, Detroit became the largest U.S. city in history to file for bankruptcy, but successfully exited that status in 2014 with a plan to revitalize city services. In 2015, Detroit was named a "City of Design" by UNESCO, the first U.S. city to receive this recognition. Due to urban blight, mass population decline, real estate abandonment and foreclosure, and loss of industry during the financial collapse in the mid-2000's, Detroit is experiencing a true Renaissance fueled by technology and the arts. I was pleasantly surprised by what Detroit had to offer and I can't wait to go back.