As some of you may know - 2 years ago first US city became bankrupt and withdrew to pay its liabilities. It was a huge shock for investors and Detroit's creditors, because everyone knew that the city's economical situation wasn't perfect, but no one expected such a move.
Detroit was one of the richest cities in the United States after II World War till the end of the70s. It was home for huge automotive corporations such as General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. Nowadays Detroit is a poor city with one of the biggest crime rates in the country. In 1950 Detroit had 1.85mln citizens, in 2010 only 0.7mln, in 2013 it became the first city in US, which filed for bankruptcy.
Detroit was one of the richest cities in the United States after II World War till the end of the70s. It was home for huge automotive corporations such as General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. Nowadays Detroit is a poor city with one of the biggest crime rates in the country. In 1950 Detroit had 1.85mln citizens, in 2010 only 0.7mln, in 2013 it became the first city in US, which filed for bankruptcy.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/detroit-fight-shows-why-public-pensions-are-bound-for-problems1-450x337.jpg
What were the reasons of that fall ? It’s really hard to choose one key reason, because there were a lot of them. Some of the most important are deindustrialization process, very bad tax system, demographic changes and also the 1967 Detroit riot. What happened in 1967 ? In the early morning hours of July 23 – police made a police raid on illegal bar “Blind Pig”. That action changed into one of the biggest riots in US history. 43people died, 7200 were arrested and more than 2000 buildings were burned or destroyed.
In 1970 55% of the Detroit’s population were white, in 2010 only 10%. Many white people who left the city were employers. They failed, because of the tax system, which firstly was an obstacle to development, than caused the fall of their business. Because of that, educated, well-situated people also had to leave the city as they weren’t able to find a job in Detroit.
http://watchmen-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Detroit-Hiroshima.jpg
Unemployment and social benefits caused the growth of criminal activity and also increased the city’s debt . Gangs took the charge of the city and made the situation in Detroit even worse.
I'm very interested in your opinion about Detroit's future ? Do you think that the city could reach its previous position on the US map ? Do you think that a similar situation could happen in Poland ? How should the government defend our cities from bankruptcy?
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I'm looking for this situation for lat year it's really amazing that it happend, it's so postapocalyptical! this is how I see the apocalypse, there wont be any large explosion, just small apocalypse in each city, anyway did you see this?
http://www.weather.com/travel/news/modern-ruins-abandoned-detroit-photos-20130715
Detroit's future? I don’t know. I don’t interested in it. I don’t think the Detroit could reach its previous position on the US map. Uhm, it might be in the very remote future.
I’m afraid that a similar situation could happen in Poland. If we look for our taxes, we can be fearful. Of course I hope in Poland will be good.
We can only hope that the same fate doesn't meet any city in Poland.
When it comes to Poland I'm not sure. One part of me says that we are far from this situation, but on the other hand I personally saw an effect of harsh taxes in my district (in Warsaw). There is a street where, in a very short time, all the shops got closed, one by one, and the buildings were empty for a long time, nobody was interested in renting. Later some places were taken by banks and pharmacies - obviously such companies have more money than a simple grocery shop. It seems that the street is recovering, slowly though.
I also have one other personal observation and that is the city of Łódź. I visit it from time to time and it always has this feeling of an ruined and abandoned city. It isn't abandoned per se, but definitely feels quite empty - not many people on the streets, except for the city center.
Referring to Łódź, a city condition is caused by the collapse of flax industry. Currently Łódź is trying to regain its luster. I've heard of a few large companies from the IT sector who place their offices just in Łódź.
I agree that rebuilding Detroit is a great challenge for the United States.
Is it possible that a similar thing will happen in Poland? Of course, however I doubt that it will happen any time soon.
Our cities budgets are way more controlled than in USA so I think that it's not likely to happend in Poland. Our government is doing great job on this topic.
As for Poland here is another dimension. First of all being part of the European Union and accepting numerous policies, that in one or another way are controlled by intergovernmental bodies makes it is harder to bankrupt a city. To do it, your officials have really try to distabelise numerous policies of the city and probably they will end up in jail
I think at this point it have to start restructuring from residents. After several years with out work. It's hard to start over.