urban studies exam 3

What is zoning? What problems in cities was it meant to address? What problems did it give rise to?

Zoning is a local law that says what can or cannot be built in a certain sector of the city. Zoning was meant to address problems locally in the city, to address the potential problems which would develop if capital and housing would be placed next to each other, or to schools, which would be very harmful on local economies, as nobody wants to live next to industry which has heavy smog and smoke stacks. Zoning is also meant to help attract capital, as development is less risky, because you can predict what will be next to what. Zoning would give rise to problems involving private land being taken under the taking clause in the constitution, which basically was a way to force people into selling their land even though they didn't want to, which is legal under the 5th amendment, the takings clause, for public use with just compensation to the land owner. This is also called eminent domain and it gave rise to problems to residents and industry who had been located in areas before these zones were enacted. Also, the problem of eminent domain being used for private use, it is only supposed to be used for public use, but the government said that this is allowed because the new development that happens in these eminent domain takings eventually amount to a public use anyways because they bring in tax revenues and help hurt damaged economies.

According to the assigned reading, who was Elijah Brush? Why does he figure so prominently in Detroit's history?

According to the assigned Reading, Elijah Brush arrived to Detroit in 1798 as a young lawyer, and was one of the first American pioneers in the Detroit Area. He was very influential and an important voice for the territory of Michigan and for the Detroit area and lived a transient lifestyle. He married a daughter of a British Trader, Barthe Askin, in 1802. He and his family frequented the border between Canada and the U.S. territory very fluently, but when war broke out in 1812, every young male in the Askin family was fighting on the British side, while Brush fought as an officer on the American side, which really spoke volumes about his loyalty to his country. In 1806 Brush bought Askin farm in Detroit, which is located when Comerica park and the DMC is currently, he was to make payments to the family to pay it off but even he fell on hard financial times during these very uncertain days and worked every day in the courts to pay off his debts. He handled two very important cases concerning slavery despite being a slave owner himself, and this is one of the many reasons he is such a prominent figure in Detroit's history. In the first case he lost for the Denison family, who wanted freedom from slavery for their adult children, but the Northwest ordinance of 1787 stated that new slavery was illegal and didn't state that old slaves must be freed. In the second Case Judge Woodward said that slaves who had escaped from Canada could not be extradited back to Canada for their Canadian masters, essentially making slavery untenable in the Detroit area. Sadly, Elijah Brush Died in 1813 due to suffering a cholera like illness from war which killed thousands in the Detroit area. He is remembered as a prominent civic figure and a voice for public safety in uncertain times for the Detroit area and the Michigan territory, and he will be remembered for his long list of services for the city of Detroit despite his short life for the following reasons: having a cutting edge law practice, being involved on the cutting edge of every civic matter, he was a board trustee for Detroit, he was the second mayor of the newly incorporated Detroit area, he served as treasurer of the territory in 1806 and as the second attorney general of Michigan, he led local militias and served as a commander of Detroit. Surely the city of Detroit owes a lot of gratitude to the selfless civic services from Elijah Brush.

Fully describe the facts of the case and the significance of the court's opinion of the US Supreme Court case Euclid v. Ambler Realty.

Ambler realty was a realty company that owned a lot of land in Euclid, Ohio, in the 1920s which is right outside of Cleveland, Ohio. The city of Euclid was disorganized and they wanted to become more organized, so they set up 3 zones in the city: an industrial area with train tracks, a residential area with housing, and a downtown area with commercial business. The Ambler realty company was not happy about this because a lot of the land they had bought had new zoning restrictions, and they had no intentions of using their land according to the new restrictions under the comprehensive zones. So, they sued, Ambler said this was the same thing as a taking (which is the government forcing you into a sale for your land with just compensation) because it restricted their use of their land which was basically the same thing. and then Euclid counter sued. This went all the way to the supreme court and the supreme court declared in 1926 that cities are free to comprehensively zone, but it has to offer more benefits to the city than the sum of disadvantages to property owners. This was significant court case because now the government basically asserted their rights that citizens land is essentially not theirs to do whatever they please with if there are better plans for it which will benefit the community at large. The supreme court confirmed the use of comprehensive zoning under some conditions, which were: like situations must be treated in a like manner (Can't have one set of onerous set of rules in one zone that aren't in another) and cities must demonstrate the wealth safety and welfare of the public is protected.

19. What is China doing with its surplus tax proceeds? What does this have to do with urbanism

China has been enjoying a surplus of tax revenue which they have been heavily investing in U.S. treasuries. Treasuries are like stock investment but less risky, it is a promise of the US to pay you back for buying up their debt, plus some interest. China is gaining on the U.S as the strongest economy in the world, and there are some concerns about inflation in the US if china ever stops buying treasuries. China has become a great assembler due to their low wages due to having the highest population on earth, they have 4x more people than the US and this has translated into a lot of tax revenue. China is building for the future with their excessive tax revenues. Entire cities are being built in China on speculation- they are building without buyers lined up. China knew with rapid urbanization that was happening due to their vast labor force, that people would eventually come to fill up these places. Also, with their high tax revenue they are investing in cities infrastructure, they built the 3-gorgeous damn- which is a hydroelectric damn that runs through China to transfer goods and produce electricity. China has invested in highspeed rail which is extremely fast, adding to their economy and quality of urban life. China is essentially investing a lot into urbanism in their rapidly urbanizing land.

What did Darden, Hill, Thomas and Thomas have to say about the future of Detroit in 1987? As discussed in class, were they proven (mostly) right? Why or why not?

Darden, Hill, Thomas and Thomas came out with a book in 1987 called Race and Uneven Development. In this book they discuss the future of Detroit and other cities which have developed rather racially uneven. The summary of the book states that the areas which have become disinvested in 1987 are likely to continue to decline, becoming empty prairies or ghost neighborhoods. In the book Darden et. Al promote a get smart strategy that trends away from metal bending industries that are labor intensive and can be done for much lower wages in other countries that are developing, they promote to build factories of the future- that cannot be recreated in developing nations, they assert that the US needs to become a leader again and they stressed the importance of landing the Saturn plant. But ultimately Detroit did not land the Saturn plant with the good reputation for a good industry with quality product, it went to Tennessee, a right to work state which is not unionized, this is true of Darden et. Al's predictions. Darden et. Al also say that metro Detroit needs to address the white and black flight problem of the city and improve graduate rates (then it was about 50%), Detroit also needs to close the skill knowledge gap, we have a fantastic education system in Detroit but we do not retain our graduates, they leave, for this to improve metro Detroit needs to address the problem of internal conflict and mistrust which have become fatal to the educated work force- this became true when Amazon wouldn't come to Detroit because they said we don't have a big enough educated work force, proving Darden et. Al right. To attract more workers there needs to be emphasize on quality of life issues, there is a lack of public transit, led to one of the longest commutes in the country, because we're so sprawled out there are many desperately poor areas, that is widely ignored by politicians. Darden et. Al propose that in order for these issues to become resolved they propose several solutions including: improved workforce quality (citing the Boston model which guarantees financial assistance with all students with a C or better GPA) this would improve the skills gap and would boost financial assistance for needed skills workers. Next they propose that Detroit needs to improve race relations- and build on the success of civil rights and race-relations organizations (NAACP, New Detroit) which were both non-profits that promote the civic rights of African Americans and helped promote equity in economic development. Lastly Darden et al say that we need to reduce regional inequality- move toward metro wide governance, citing the success of a 3 county tax fund to fund cobo hall expansion in 1985, basically everyone gives up something to gain something. In Metropolitan Detroit 2018, we have experienced progress in race relations mostly due to racist attitudes aging out, we have experienced mixed resulted in our metal bending industry, southeast Michigan has out performed other major cities in the growing health care industries and automation alley. So darden et. Al may have been a little off in a few of their predictions. But at the same time, Metro Detroit has experienced reverse metropolitan disparities, the poor have gotten a lot poorer, the city of Detroit lost 300,000 people, so Darden et. Al's predications about Detroit continuing to become a ghost town is correct, the city struggles to hold a population over 1 million people, The schools started failing in Detroit in 1998 and had to be taken over by the State. Metro Detroit is having a difficult time retaining their young and senior population because southeast Michigan scores so low on statewide scores of public transit, road, infrastructure and affordable housing. Currently too much of Detroit's future depends on the American auto industry, though the vast majority of new jobs will be highly skilled, which affirms Darden et. Al's plans and predictions in their book.

18. From the course text, compare and contrast the development challenges faced by urban areas in India and Africa.

Despite having a relatively small urban population- 31%, the population of India is so large that this still amounts to an overwhelming 375 million city dwellers, with 1/3 of their population being under the age of 15, dramatic urban growth is expected to continue. Military reservations occupy central city prime land in a lot of Indian cities with attempts to relocate them unsuccessful. In India houses are built extremely close together, and this aided the spread of disease. Indian cities reflect colonial influence and industrialization has had a limited role in being an aid for growth in Indian cities, which does not follow the American industrial city pattern. Each year India is adding between 18-20 million people, which will soon surpass the Chinese as being the largest population. Until 1992 India had a state managed economy so many new technologies such as dishwashers, so there has been a technology revolution in India. Half of urban Indian families live on a monthly wage of $75, while India's economic growth benefits the elite and middle class much more than the masses in India, the economic and social conditions continue to worsen for the masses in India. Africa is currently the least urbanized of all the continents, as of 2014 they had only 39% urban population but is experiencing the fasted rate of urbanization, with an increase in urban population. Population of African cities are expected to triple in the next 40 years. 2/3 of African urban dwellers live in slums. The 2013 birth rate average in sub-Saharan Africa was 5.2 per woman. Sub-Saharan cities are growing over 6% per year, and they face many long-term issues like AIDS which hurt cities the most. This is related to decrease in productivity which lead to high labor costs. The food and agriculture administration predict between 2003-2020 16 million Sub-Saharan agricultural workers will die. 17% of South Africa is HIV positive. Africa is considered to be the only region in the world without a newly industrializing economy. The combination of war, government policies, and drought has badly hurt their food production, 1/5 of all of the continents grain still has to be imported. Some 150 million people in 22 countries suffer from hunger in Africa. The problem of unstable/unresponsive government is also very much a problem, government officials often put their own personal wealth before the good of the people. Across the continent governments have had tough economic steps to make exchange rates reflect reality, end unenforceable price contracts and tighten monetary policies, while making farmers sell their goods at market prices. The downside to freeing domestic markets is economic disparities, which are further dampened by their low specialized labor force due to poor education opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is also a damper on their overall urban development.

From the assigned reading "Is Detroit America's Future City?," what does author Gary Sands conclude about the future of Detroit? What evidence does he offer in support of his conclusion(s)?

Gary Sands makes some powerful conclusions about the future of Detroit based on Detroit's unique set of problems which include deindustrialization, bankruptcy, municipal problems and issues, tax issues, race and segregation etc., which have all led to the unusually dramatic decline of Detroit, which is classified as a legacy city. A legacy city is an older industrial urban area that has experienced significant population and job loss. As a result, they suffer from high rates of vacancy, abandonment, low incomes and limited retail and commercial service opportunities. Sands ultimately concludes that the limited and uneven nature of Detroit's recovery to date suggests that citywide recovery is very weak/unlikely. The evidence Sands offers in support of his conclusion includes that the economic growth in downtown/midtown may be engulfed by the continued decline in the neighborhoods that make up 90-95% of the greater Detroit area population, and economic activity. Sands also says outside of the city center too few neighborhoods have the community assets that have been part of the downtown/midtown revival and solving these problems will likely involve regional and state led interventions, and whether this is likely to occur in the next century is very unclear. One of the pieces of evidence Gary Sands offers in support of his conclusions is because Detroit's population continues to decline while other legacy cities have experienced population growth or stabilization. Between 2006-2012 Detroit population declined by 137,000. Segregation by race is also higher in Detroit than in any city in the U.S, in 2014 it was reported that Detroit has the lowest non-Hispanic white population out of any big city, which also adds to the unlikely of recovery soon with high levels of segregation. The future of Detroit is also unclear because they have the lowest proportion of graduates- with 14%, while Chicago and Boston have 38% of more graduates, Michigan has a hard time keeping their educated class and people with secondary educations which would help to repair the economy and bring in new markets. Unemployment is also very high in Detroit and job participation (people actively looking for employment) is very low. With these low levels of education and unemployment it's no surprise that incomes in Detroit are relatively low. Detroit's poverty rate was 39.8% in 2014 which is twice as high as growing cities. The municipal city of Detroit went bankrupt in 2007, which is also a reason Sands cites for recovery being needed at a regional basis. Lastly sands say's that recovery within the city has been relatively uneven, resulting in increasing inequality especially between the downtown and midtown areas, and even though there has been some positive changes in Detroit it is less robust than some claim. Over 41% of the neighborhood sales in real estate in Detroit in 2014 were short sales or real estate owned, which are usually the outcomes of foreclosure, while midtown was 0% and Downtown 15%. According to Sands, all of these factors when considered together make the future of Detroit extremely unlikely to improve unless there are regional and state wide initiatives to help pull the city out of despair.

Compare and contrast Federal Urban Development Action Grants (UDAGS) with Federal Empowerment Zones (also referred to in lecture as Enterprise Zones). What were their political histories, and how exactly did they attempt to promote economic development in central cities? What does your instructor say about the effectiveness of each?

In the past federal urban development programs and empowerment zones were new urban policies meant t help with problems of urban development in disinvested cities. To begin, urban development action grants were first administered under rural democrat Jimmy Carter, and one of the policies of his administration was urban development action grants. Cities were in bad shape when Carter was in office, they had bad reputations, were dangerous and suffered badly from deindustrialization, etc. So the democratic congress started hearing cases for UDAGS, aimed at central cities, to attract industrial used to cities. UDAGS were federal grants for approved projects with good economic promise, they didn't have to pay the grants ack for these rehab type projects. UDAGS worked to promote economic development in cities also by creating tourist attraction to promote development and revenue. There was a 2,5 to 1 federal matching fund requirement for UDAGS, so the city has to raise money locally as well for the project, which they would usually do in the form of loans. For example, for the San Antonio Riverwalk was a UDAG and had reached $30 billion in loans lended to them before Regan killed the project in 1981. Mr.Horner says that UDAGS had more successful default rates than did strictly private development projects, since there was free federal money on the table, it was a smaller risk for developers with federal grants that helped them develop and this is why they were good for the economy and for urban economic development. On the other hand, empowerment zones were not as successful as UDAGS. Ronald Regan was the first to promote place based economic development in the form of empowerment zones. Regan took office shortly after Carter, and was a conservative businessman who thought the government shouldn't be giving out so much free money for private development. So his administration implemented empowerment zones- which was basically they chose a place, usually a disinvested area in the central city, to lower taxes, in the hopes that this would promote investment in these areas. But this gives the city less money to live on and for services, which is not a good thing. The Regan administration argued that trickle-down economics would occur and the tax breaks will allow employers to invest more money, but Mr.Horner says that is not what happens when companies have extra capital laying around, they do not always invest. This is why they weren't successful. Democratic congress opposed place based urban development and so it was not passed at a national level, but state-wide, there were a lot passed in the 80s which were not successful. Federal empowerment zones in cities were promised 100 million dollars in initial investment, Mr. Horner says this is not enough to save any city, its not a lot of money, but the real benefit was what employers got under this program- they didn't have to pay social security on employees if they lived within the empowerment zone. But ultimately it became too complicated for any real benefits to occur as the people in the empowerment zone were not always skilled enough for the jobs or they moved out once they got steady employment and so the tax breaks dried up.

Summarize the assigned reading "Urban Renewal and Detroit," by Emily Smith. How does the Federal Highway Act of 1956 relate to it?

In the reading "Urban renewal and Detroit" Emily Smith does a brilliant job of summarizing urban renewal and urban renewal in Detroit. After WWII urban renewal programs became popular in the untied states, which were experimental federal policies which were created to help inner American cities which had suffered very badly during interwar and post war deindustrialization periods. While urban renewal was a good thing in some areas, it created a lot in problems in others, by destroying functional lower-class neighborhoods occupied by minorities. Detroit serves as a good example of urban renewal programs implemented that have caused harm on the community. Urban renewal in Detroit has introduced displacement, segregation, deindustrialization, and suburbanization which disproportionately affecting African American urban neighborhoods. There was a spark around this time in America in the 30's and 40s when Robert Moses plans for urban renewal in Manhattan, New York became very admired with his super blocks, gardens, neat parking structures and promotion of good residential life. The national housing act of 1934 created the federal housing administration which guaranteed loans to white people while reducing the risk for lending institutions, which helped the economy and u.s citizens get back into housing after the great depression. But they would not guarantee loans to black people, and thus they were forced to live in neighborhoods in inner cities. But the policies of the housing act ultimately resulted in white flight of the city and mass suburbanization, which was made possible by the automobile. The housing act of 1949 under president Truman was a continuation of the slum clearance and urban renewal promoted during the national housing act of 1934, which promoted slum clearance under provision of title 1, which focused on inner cities. They designated places as blighted and made black people in Detroit leave, displacing several black neighborhoods, trying to replace them with affordable housing. This added to racial tension. The urban renewal act of 1954 under Eisenhower focused on nonresidential development and non-slum cities, which only further displaced African Americans. The federal highway act of 1956 made this segregation and suburbanization possible, as it was a federal fund which paid for highways so people could move further and further away from each other. This changed the industry in cities as well because now companies did not have to be centrally located, which added to abandonment and problems in cities. Also according to Smith, its also important to notice that Detroit's segregated racial history has its roots in industry, irrespective of urban renewal policies. But Henry Ford's complicated history with Detroit did not help racial problems, as white workers who returned to war in the 40's were outraged when they came home to a 12% African American work base and some of them have taken their jobs, which also fueled white flight and suburbanization. Mayor Albert Cobo of Detroit was known for having racist tendencies during his stint in office in the 1950s, and urged urban renewal polices and the federal highway act of 1956 despite it literally cut through black neighborhoods. Some of the worst federal urban policies in the past 60 years were said to be done under Democratic mayor of Detroit Mayor Cavanaugh in the 1960s when he built large buildings in a time when it was not needed. Urban renewal continued through Mayor Coleman Young's term in office which began in 1974, some of his urban renewal programs included the people mover, the renaissance center, and Joe Louis Arena.

How does Michigan's Industrial Facilities Tax Abatement Program work? What do researchers have to say about its effectiveness? Why or why not is it effective economic development in cities?

Michigan's Industrial facilities tax abatement program was a state program designed to help aid urban economic development at a state level. It was started by Michigan in 1974, the PA 198 public act, which gave businesses tax cuts/breaks in cities. The reason this came about was Chrysler, one of the Big three automakers at the time and a huge center of business and tax revenue in Detroit, had asked Detroit for a tax break for adding onto their east Detroit plant, they expanded the Plant by less than 50%. Chrysler wanted a tax break for this new project in order for it to happen, and they got a new law passed that reduced their property taxes, property taxes are usually based upon improvements you have done to the property and they have a time in which they expire, if you want to build new stuff under a PA 198 zone, then you could get a 50% tax break, it was a good incentive for existing businesses to further invest in the city and thus the State. Researchers said that PA 198's became competitive, and if cities didn't use this legislation to stimulate industrial economic development then business would simply up and move to areas with a PA 198 to save money, it was a tool used to steal other businesses. Researchers have indicated there are limited economic development effects from PA 198s, from a data set that included 13,000 PA 198 data, the researchers didn't find a lot of real effects or change resulting from the use of PA 198s, because they were so ubiquitous they didn't have real effects, they weren't special, every city has the possibility of having them. Eventually PA 198's became more of a requirement so cities wouldn't lose business, rather than being a bonus or incentive and thus not particularly effective in aiding economic development in cities.

From lecture, fully describe L'Enfant's plan for Washington DC.

Since Paris, France had such a reputation for baroque planning in the 18th century, George Washington, the first president of the newly independent United States hired Pierre L'Enfant to design Washington D.C, which beat out New York for the nation's capital destination. The reason for this was because there were concerns about the influence of capital becoming too great on government being centrally located in the business center of the country which was NYC, so they put it the capital in undesirable swamp land, with muggy summers to try to discourage corruption. D.C is a grid pattern design with a lot of unique planning styles. D.C. is a highly accessibly city by car, with many roads connecting to the main center- where the capital is, which overlooks the national mall, which literally built the traditions that this country relies on, the tradition of democracy, of the citizens voice, in the capital. They did not build the White house in the center because they thought this would be too easy to attack, so they kept it separated. They had to drain the swamp under a drain commissioner, and L'Enfant designed and built baroque buildings and large elegant structures which set the tone for the United states government.

17. From the text, discuss at least five of the differences in urban development in Africa as distinct from the West, as described by the geographer William Hance.

The Geographer William Hance has described some interesting differences in urban development in Africa which are very distinct from the west. To begin, the rates of growth- specially in south Africa, are much more rapid in Africa then in the west. Some have achieved their present position in 1/5 or even 1/10th of the time as the west, high birth rates have helped this along with modern medicine which allowed their population to grow rapidly. Next, Hance concludes that the rate of growth of urbanization is often not paralleled by a comparative revolution in African rural areas. Rural areas continue to lag way behind in Africa, whereas in the west rural areas do no struggle. Third, there is less specialization African cities, the division of labor is less developed. Because of poor education opportunities, the skilled labor force in Africa is extremely low. Fourth, there is less correlation between a cities rate of growth and the measures of economic growth in Africa countries. The cities in Africa continue to grow despite the low level of economic development in other parts of the country, which is a unique feature of their urban economic development. And lastly, Hance says that differences in outlook and values may slow down the adjustment to the city and reduce the tempo of its economic life. This will likely be a huge barrier inhibiting urban development in Africa for decades to come.

16. From the text, compare and contrast the Indian cities of Mumbai (Bombay) and Kolkata (Calcutta).

The Indian cities of Mumbai and Kolkata are similar in the sense that they're both originally colonial background cities, but they are now growing into some of the largest cities in the world. Both are located in India. Mumbai and Kolkata were both primarily oriented toward exportation of goods and commercial activities along seaports in order to facilitate trade and communication with western countries. Mumbai is economically dominant while Kolkata is more economically stagnant. Mumbai is the nations most dynamic city, being the heart of India's finance and industrial life, it is also the center of the nations larger and colorful film industry, Bolly wood. India's abandonment of its controlled market economy for a free market in the 1990s made the economic boom in Mumbai possible. Greater Mumbai provides for 1/3 of all of India's overall income tax and 30% of its gross national product. For a decade Mumbai has been experiencing a major building boom accompanied by skyrocketing land prices. Mumbai gains 10,000 residents daily and is on a peninsula with only 2 rail lines, which is becoming dramatically overcrowded. The municipal, sewage, and school systems are overwhelmed and need upgrading. The rich continue to become richer while the poor get poorer- half of the Mumbai population earn less than $2 a day. While Mumbai is better off than many other developed world cities, urban planners admit they are losing the battle. Many people migrate to Mumbai for any employment, not good employment. Mumbai is designed to hold 10 million residents and already holds double that, and urban stress is likely to continue. But there is promise in Mumbai with their industrial business and computer-based info sector taking off along with their beloved film industry. Kolkata is not growing as rapidly as Mumbai nor is much of its aging industrial economy. Kolkata is opposite of Mumbai both geographically and emotionally, with 2/3 of Kolkata's population living under India's poverty level. New Kolkata is moving towards advancements however, with autos, busses and late model cars and plush living accommodations available for the upper and middle class. Their once active machine shop industry has not been able to keep up with other parts of India, and the Hooghly River that runs through the city which used to transport goods has dried up. Up until recently Kolkata didn't have a computer tech center, but new tech firms have been springing up in Kolkata suburbs. For decades Kolkata has a radical Marxist government with extensive labor laws, but now it behaves as a capitalist economy. ¾ of Kolkata live in bustee huts and 1-1.5 million live on the streets. The city of Kolkata's attempts to upgrade are also tampered by their unique land-tenure system that promotes non-maintenance of slum properties. Kolkata has no working sewage treatment plant, and water, electricity, and school systems are overwhelmed and need upgrades. Kolkata does enjoy their vibrant cultural scene despite all of this, with impressive Bengali poets, literature and theater.

As discussed in the assigned reading "The Damning Mark of False Prosperities: The Deindustrialization of Detroit" what were the major factors that led to the city's deindustrialization? Describe each in detail.

The Major factors that led to deindustrialization in Detroit include many reasons which have been explained in the article, "The damning mark of false prosperities: the deindustrialization of Detroit". To begin to explain it should be known that in the early part of the 20th century, Detroit enjoyed a reputation as one of the largest industrial cities in the world, thanks to the boom of automobile production taking place in Detroit which employed hundreds of thousands of workers. But by the 1950s the industry began to slow down in the Detroit area quite dramatically with layoffs and plant closings. The 1950s marked a huge down turn in deindustrialization for Detroit, which it never fully recovered from. Between 1949-1963 the city suffered four major recessions which hit the auto industry hard. The unpredictability in demand for vehicles were a factor that led to deindustrialization in Detroit, with slight changes in interest rates of auto sales resulting in automatic layoffs. Auto manufacturers and suppliers began to pull out of Detroit in the 1950s, between 1947-1963 Detroit lost 134,000 manufacturing jobs. The transformation of industrial technology, the acceleration of regional and international competition and the expansion of industry in low-wage regions, especially in the southern states, reshaped American industrial cities in the U.S. The new deal gave a disproportionate advantage to the south and the federally funded highway after 1956 made centralization for businesses less necessary, which was a major pulse for Detroit. These forces of capital mobility made it easier to locate plants further from each other while keeping costs down in these new areas. This was a way to control labor costs and weaken the power of trade unions, but the lack of new land to expand on also has to be taken into consideration, with the new assembly line production system multistory facilities became outdated and this required a lot of space. The most important force that altered Detroit's economy was the advent of new automated processes in automobile auto parts and machine tools. Automation is having machines replace the work of employees, which eliminated a lot of jobs and helped keep production costs low. Although it eliminated very risky jobs for workers, it replaced thousands of jobs and was a weapon in the employers antilabor arsenal. The scramble to automate also hurt independent auto and steel firms such as Packard, Hudson, Kaizer-Frazer and Studebaker who struggled to stay open, who mainly ended up leaving Detroit and merging companies. High wages were marked as a big motivator for companies to want to leave Detroit and change states, they cited an ill business economy because of the powerful influence of unions in Detroit. Tax rates in Detroit increased in the 1960s which also led to the other remaining businesses to want to leave, and other states took advantage of this and offered low business taxes to lure in Michigan firms. Also, during WWII the federal government encouraged industrial decline by not following the pattern of centralization and they built their weapon arsenals in suburbs a lot of the time, which helped to create a bad pattern. Also, the auto companies quickly changed back to auto production following WWII instead of continuing to make weapons which limited their economy and added to deindustrialization in the Detroit area as well.

Fully describe the facts of the case, the legal basis, and the significance of the court's opinion of the Michigan Supreme Court case Poletown v General Motors. How does this case compare with the US Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London?

The Michigan supreme court made a significant decision regarding use of eminent domain or takings for private use in the Poletown Vs GM 1980 Case. Poletown was a neighborhood in Hamtramack occupied by polish settlers who were heavily employed by the dodge main plant. In the late 1970s GM comes to the city of Detroit and says their old Clark street assembly plant is out of date and they need a better, more centralized location, there was evidence they could have torn down their old factory and rebuilt in the same spot but they wanted a more centralized location in Poletown. At the time Mayor Coleman Young was facing reelection in 1981 and knew this would look very bad for him if he did not bargain with GM to keep jobs in Detroit at a time when the economy was not doing good at all. In fact, around this time the unemployment rate was 14-16%, it is currently at 4% for comparison. Inflation rate was also very high too. Ultimately the city of Detroit started to demonstrate a political economy, and let wealth and capital dictate government and the citizens. but the Supreme court withheld Detroits allowance of using eminent domain to seize 1200 residents and 200 private businesses to make way for GM's new plant in Poletown, citing that even though the takings clause, which is the 5th amendment states that the government can seize private land for public use with just compensation, and although this was for private use, the amount of money that GM would bring in through the Tax revenue and continue to bring it amounts to public use so this is therefore legal. These people were forced to sell their land, which really said a lot about how the government is extremely powerful and can take private property for private, capital use, if the community benefits from it. The power of capital in government was affirmed again in the Kelo Vs the city of New London (2005) case. Mrs. KElo was a homeowner in New London, Conetiticut, and new London was under hard times. So the city of new London began to condem a lot of land for condos and a large drug manufacturer named fizer. Fizer already had a presence in the area but they wanted to build an extremely large manufacturing plant, and needed Kelo's land to do this. The city of New London argued that the income in tax base from the new manufacturing plant would amount to public use, which compared to the poletown vs GM case this is very similar. This Kelo V City of New London case went all the way to the Supreme court, who withheld their argument and said that the city can use eminent domain for this private use because there is nothing in the constitution that goes against eminent domain as a land acquisition broker for capital. The city of new London was granted a quick take statute and they were immediately able to get land from people, to develop, this was an important part of this case, and strengthened the power of eminent domain. The reason they are different though is the government said that in the Kelo Vs New London case that there is nothing preventing states to put statues and citizen based initiaves that would prevent the use of eminent domain, as long as there is a city wide initiative enacted, which could be a possible positive outcome out this case compared to Poletown. Also, The fizer company never even built where they planned to so the government jumped through all these hoops for a development deal that fell through, compared to GM who has, up until recently, had brought steady employment and tax revenue from the outcomes of that case.

From the reading "The Potawatomi Indians of Detroit: The Great Lakes Pioneers," provide a summative review of this Native American tribe in early Detroit.

The Potawatomi Indians of the Detroit region experience extreme cultural and ethnic changes during the U.S Revolutionary era. The American takeover occurred in 1796, and this greatly changed life for the main 3 tribes that lived in this area, which were some of the original people of Michigan and had been French allies, but the Potawatomi's did everything possible to try to adapt and survive, however they eventually left their homes to become pioneers out in the West. The Potawatomi Indians were some of the original Indians or peoples who settled in Michigan, there was evidence that they viewed themselves as one people in various geographical regions, and would make decisions that affected the group collectively, not individually. When the Europeans discovered the Michigan Area, the French became allies of the Potawatomi's, who embraced their new cultural lifestyles very much. The Potawatomi's even fought alongside the French in the 7-year-war, with put them at odds with the British. The French were ultimately forced to leave. The Potawatomi's helped to develop Detroit. A French fort was built along the Detroit river and several thousand Potawatomi's moved to the Detroit area, they became and essential part of making Detroit the center of the Great lakes fur trade, and were included in efforts to try to force the British out of French forts, but were ultimately not successful. But the outcomes of the revolutionary war split their preferences and fractured the people once again, the Detroit area Potawatomi's supported the British while the Wisconsin and Illinois Potawatomi's sided with the Americans. Even after the Americans won the revolutionary war, Detroit Potawatomi's kept their loyalty with the British, but cut their ties with them when the British denied the Potawatomi's refugee when they were in a battle with Americans. After this a lot of Potawatomi's started to leave Detroit, or had already left, they transferred their land holdings to private land developers and headed to the other side of the state away from newly emerging immigrants in large numbers. Others were pushed out of their land, while some took this opportunity to head west away from settlers. The rest of their land in Detroit was lost through deceitful land leadings. Decades before the Indian removal act of 1830, most Detroit Potawatomi's had been pushed toward lake Michigan, but ultimately relocated West of the Mississippi river to unchartered land, remaining Pioneers in a new home.

10. How do the authors of the assigned reading "The Demise of Detroit: Why the Big Three Lost" support the conclusion offered in the title of their work?

The U.S. Auto industry has been a symbol of U.S industrial dominance that has traditionally centered around Detroit and the Big 3 auto companies- General Motors (GM), Ford, And Chrysler- all 3 companies had their roots in Detroit and enjoyed unrivaled success in the 1960s and 70s, and were so busy competing amongst each other they failed to take into account the foreign market that would become the source of their biggest problems. Foreign companies catered to consumer wants and needs in their vehicles and were able to sell a better quality product for cheaper than the big three. By the 1980s the Big 3 were suffering from serious decline in sales, diminishing market share and looming financial crisis. Foreign auto companies like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes Benz started to gain the loyalty of American car consumers and a lot of the foreign auto companies were no longer considered foreign, because they all had American facilities and plants by the late 1980s on U.S. soil. With the threat of the new market, the big three went on a discount spree, offering zero percent finance schemes to their consumers which brought short lived splurge in sales but fell mostly flat and badly hurt the credibility of their brands. The oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 were also a source of problems for the big three- demand fell for gas guzzling models that the Big Three offered- and US consumers began to prefer small and fuel efficient Japanese cars. This led to the big three investing in over $69 billion for new factories and updated equipment, but they still lost the small-car and mid-sized sedan market to Toyota's Camry and Hondas accord by the end of the 1980s. Their famed luxury car segment was also captured by Toyota's Lexus and BMW's and Mercedez Benz. The wacky economy after the Gulf war also added to their financial woes. The Big three enjoyed short lived success with their SUV and light truck segment which became very popular in the 90s and made 15,000 profit per vehicle, but the foreign market gained on them and released competitive and popular models, the Big Three put their problems on the back burner and once again underestimated the foreign markets. After 9/11 auto sales suffered again and the Big Three went on another credit binge, offering $2,000-3,000 sales per vehicle, while the foreign market was able to sell their cars at little to no discount. By 2002 GM was only making $330 per vehicle while Toyota made $1000 and Honda $1600. Another main reason for the decline of the Big three was the foreign manufacturers understood the pulse of the market and this was reflected in their manufacturing methods and fore cast system. They used a pull system for manufacturing which allowed them to quickly adapt and change their lines, which the Big three failed to do and still continued to use assembly line production. They used a lean model of production which allowed them to make rapid changes to their product lines and volumes when the Big three mainly used the mass production model system which is not as flexible. Also, the foreign companies preferred to set up their factories in the Southern, right to work states which were not unioniesed. The Big three was very much under the thumb of the Union for Auto Workers- the UAW- they had to console with them before they changed production or did just about anything, not to mention the benefits they had been paying their employees and high wages. Another reason the Big three lost was because the foreign market focused on eliminating defects in their products and waste in their production, they were able to keep the price down with the product getting better, which also helped reduce costs on warranty claims and product recalls, which the Big Three failed to do as well. By 2003 Toyota replace Chrysler as the third largest Auto maker in the US, and although the rough economy and influence of unions were a large source of the fall of the big three, their main issues were their failure to adapt in the competitive market, which continues to hurt them to this day.

Where is the fastest pace of urbanism occurring presently? Why? What are the forces causing the push of urbanism in these places?

The fastest pace of urbanism that is occurring presently is taking place in less developed third world countries that are going through the agricultural to manufacturing process, like Lagos, Nigeria and Canton, China. The main continents that are urbanizing exist outside the West, in South Africa and Asia (including China and India). A tremendous help to the world population explosion can also be traced back to importation of modern sanitation, public health and medicine. Before these things were implanted in developing countries, disease and bacteria would kill millions, and the result of this being stopped so rapidly is a huge influx in the world population and ultimately urbanism, China is currently the world's economic growth machine, with a 52% urban population, China has the largest amount of city Dwellers out of any nation on earth, this is due to mainly rural-to-urban movements, China has had 200 million migrant workers who left the farms for manufacturing jobs in the city. Four decades of anti-urban ideology emphasizing the reduction of urban growth has been reversed, allowing for an economic free enterprise system although the government is still communist, China's new Premir Li Keqiang has made urbanization the focus of the country's economic reform plans. In fear of potential for slums and political opposition in cities, the Chinese government is making a major effort to relocate industries to outlying areas in order to redirect the flood of rural to urban migrants, the Chinese government 2013 modernization plans calls for moving 250 million residents to newly constructed towns and cities in outlying areas by 2025. This will be the largest population movement in human history. Africa is currently the least urbanized of all the continents, as of 2014 only 39% of its overall population lived in urban places, but it is the continent with the highest/fastest rate increase in urban population. Population in African cities is expected to triple in the next 40 years, 2/3 of the Africa urban dwellers reside in slums so urban life is not that great but still an improvement for some people in Africa. Africa has a high average birthrate, in Sub-Saharan Africa the average birth rate per woman is 5.2, in Niger is it 7.6. Sub-Saharan cities are growing at a rate of over 6% per year. 60% of South Africa is urbanized with gold and other valuable natural resources being mined and a new-evolving technology industry. New low-priced AIDS medicine is helping to fight the AIDS problem which exists in Africa, and some areas in Africa they're focusing on population control to help decrease extremely high birth rates which deplete the governments already poor resources for citizens. 1.5 of all their grain still has to be imported. Urbanization has strengthened identity in Africa and has become associated as a symbol of belonging and prosperity. Some cities in India grow at a rate of over 10,000 citizens per day. While some places in India are rapidly urbanizing along with industrial cities, some cities are stagnant and remain extremely poor. While the richer get richer in India, a lot of their citizens are getting poorer. Urbanism has become so popular because it is an extremely dense country, India's population grows by 18-20 million persons, their markets, jobs, housing and government along with government services are exhausted. These continents have long been behind the well-developed nations of the West, but in the 21st century even third world countries have been making major advancements, and with this comes new industries. Just like it used to be possible in the U.S for the average low educated worker to make a good living because the industrial market was expanding so quickly in the 19th and 20th century, this is finally happening in developing world countries, it is that natural process of growth and supply and demand happening to these cities which have resulted in their fast rates of urbanism.

From the assigned Palen readings, fully describe the characteristics of third world cities.

Third world countries that're currently developing at rapid places are developing very differently from the Western world. First, they are developing at a much faster pace than the west, it took over 150 million years for New York and London to reach 8 million people, while Mumbai, India and Lagos, Nigeria will both house over 20 million people in under 10 years. Another characteristic unique to developing third world cites is industrialization and post-industrial economic activities trail behind the rate of urban growth rather than provide spur for urban reform. Growth is taking place @ low levels of economic development. People in developing world cities push to urban centers despite high unemployment rates because rural areas are overpopulated as well. Next, developing world cities are unique because continued high rates of growth have been developing due to natural forces, more births than deaths, opposed to Western nations who gain population in cities heavily from immigration, and the consequence of natural forces in developing cities is dramatic urban growth. Another unique characteristic of developing world cities today is they still reflect the legacy of colonialism. Although the days of colonialism are over, many developing world cities still reflect the legacy of colonialism and operate economically on trade patterns reflective of colonial influence and trade patterns. Colonialism was when western nations invaded foreign lands to exploit them for cheap labor and take their resources under unfair terms. Many developing nations still remain dependent on the international market and economically they're under the thumb of multinational corporations and are not in control of their economic futures. While each developing world city is unique, they all share levels of unemployment, overcrowding, poverty, slums and squatters, inadequate transportation systems and heavy pollution. Their population is also much younger in comparison to Western nations, which depletes their resources much faster. Developing world cities suffer from low economic output, inadequate housing, insufficient medical and school services, poor housing, roads and communication. They're too dependent on agricultural labor and have rates of illiteracy and have poor diets. Overurbanization is also a unique characteristic in developing world cities, which is when too many urban residents over crowd and exhaust jobs, housing, schools and other city services. Political instability and inadequate urban infrastructure are expected to be long term problems of developing third world cities.