Detroit's Urban Culture

Performing arts: Music has been the main feature of Detroit nightlife since the1940s. The city has two top American live music competition venues: DTE Energy Music Theatre and auburn hills Palace. Detroit also has the second largest theater in America. In addition, the main theaters are Fox Cinema, Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theatre. Detroit Concert Hall is the home of Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The largest city in Michigan, USA, is a world-famous automobile city. Located in the southeast of the state, on the west bank of Detroit River, across the river from Windsor, a Canadian automobile city. 352Km downtown? The population is about 880,000, of which blacks account for about 80%. The metropolitan area includes six suburban counties such as Wayne and nearby small and medium-sized towns, with an area of 10400 Km? The population is about 4.35 million.

Detroit was originally inhabited by Indians, and later occupied by France and Britain. 1796 belongs to the United States. Established in 18 15. Later, with the opening of the Great Lakes shipping and the completion of the Erie Canal, it developed rapidly. 1852, the railway was connected with Chicago, and the city developed rapidly.

1899 the first automobile factory was established and the industry flourished. 1965438+After Henry Ford introduced the automobile production line in 2004, it developed into the world automobile center. Relying on the convenient conditions of nearby iron mines and refineries and cheap water transportation, a huge automobile industry has been formed. The automobile industry is the leading industrial sector with a high level of modern production, accounting for about 27% of the annual output of the United States. The headquarters of the three major American automobile companies, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, are all located here.

During the first and second world wars, it was an important military base, and military industries such as aircraft and tank manufacturing were developed. Other industries include steel, instruments, chemistry, metal processing, medicine, salt mining and so on. The factories are mainly concentrated in the west coast of Detroit and the satellite cities in the southwest and northwest of Detroit.

Detroit is an important port in the Great Lakes region, a major port for ocean-going ships and an important port for trade between the United States and Canada. There is a dense network of railways and highways connected with other cities. There are three airports. There are bridges and underground tunnels between Windsor.

There are circular tower buildings-73-story Renaissance buildings; General Motors Building (47th floor); A series of buildings such as the Veterans Memorial Hall and the longest suspension bridge in the world. There are Detroit Cultural Center, museums, art galleries, Henry Ford Automobile Museum, Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University and other cultural and educational facilities and institutions. There are more than 1000 churches, which are called church cities. Bell Island and Palmer Park, Royal Oak Park, one of the largest zoos in the United States, and ancient churches are tourist attractions.

Detroit has a variety of urban architectural styles, and it is one of the cities with the most preserved skyscrapers and historical buildings in the United States1920s and191930s. The representative works of Art Deco architecture in this period include the Guardian Building in downtown, Fisher Building and Cadillac Building in the new center near Wayne State University. The most famous buildings in Detroit are First Fox Cinema, Detroit Opera House and Detroit Art Museum. Coupled with the post-modernist Renaissance Center, * * * isomorphic became the urban landscape of Detroit.

There are many high-rise buildings in the city center and the new center; The rest of the city is made up of shorter buildings and family houses. There are many abandoned buildings and barren land in the southeast of Detroit, while the south and west show a prosperous scene. In 2005, the buildings in Detroit were rated as one of the best in America. Many of these important buildings are listed as national historical protection trusts.

Detroit has a professional association dedicated to urban design, historical protection, architecture and urban investment. A large number of urban renewal plans have revived Detroit. Detroit has professional teams in four major sports events in North America, including three in Detroit and one in the suburbs (Detroit Pistons in NBA). There are three main stadiums in the city: Lian Xin Park Stadium (MLB Detroit Tigers), Ford Stadium (American Football League Detroit Lions) and joe louis Stadium (American Hockey League Detroit Red Wings). The ice hockey fans in Detroit are so crazy that the city has a nickname "Hockey City".

As for college sports, university of detroit mercy participated in the first-class competition of NCAA, while Wayne State University participated in the first-class and second-class competitions. Motown Cup of NCAA Football Championship is held in Ford Stadium in June and February every year.

Since 1904, Detroit has been the venue of the American Motorboat Association Golden Cup Seaplane Competition. Detroit also hosted the World Formula One Championship from 1982 to 1988. In 2007, Detroit will return to the Indy Automobile League and the American Le Mans Series. The population of Detroit increased more than sixfold in the first half of the 20th century, and the emerging automobile industry attracted people from Eastern Europe and the southern United States, including whites and blacks. According to the 2000 US Census, the population of Detroit * * is 95 1, 270,336,428 families and 218,341family, with a population density of 2,646.7 people per square kilometer. There are 375,096 houses, and the density is 1.043.6 per square kilometer. By 20 10, the population of Detroit has shrunk to 7 13777, which is about 24% less than that of the 2000 census.

The residents of Detroit suburbs in Oakland County and Markham County are mostly white, and Oakland County is one of the richest counties in the United States. By 2006, 0.55% of Detroit's population was black.

Detroit has the highest proportion of black people in big cities in the northern United States. The number of blacks in the entire Detroit metropolitan area exceeds 654.38+00,000, and about 80% of them live in Detroit. In Detroit, blacks account for 8 1.55%, whites for 12.26%, Indians for 0.33%, Asians for 0.97%, Pacific islanders for 0.03%, and other races for 2.54%. 4.8% of the city's population was born abroad, which is the lowest proportion among the 50 major cities in the United States.

The races in Greater Detroit include descendants of French colonists, as well as Germans, Poles, Irish, Italians, Scots, Armenians and Greeks, who immigrated during the industrial boom of the 20th century. Greater Detroit is the largest ethnic group of Belgian origin outside Belgium. Throughout Detroit, there are a large number of Assyrians in addition to dearborn, the largest Arab settlement in the United States.

Detroit's population is widely distributed, with 3 1. 1% below 65438, 9.7% above 65438, 29.5% above 25-44, and 65 19.3% above. The ratio of male to female is 89. 1: 100. Although since 1970, the crime rate in Detroit has been greatly reduced. However, according to the 2007 survey, Detroit ranks sixth among 25 big cities in the United States, and it is still one of the cities with the highest crime rate in the United States.

According to the survey of Neighborhoodscout, among the average 65,438+0,000 residents, 62. 18 people are involved in property-related crimes and 65,438+06.73 people are involved in violence-related crimes. (The average data of the United States in 2008 was 1 000, with an average of 32 people involved in property crimes and 5 people involved in violent crimes. According to the analysis of the Detroit government in 2007, 65-70% of murderers are related to drugs. Besides, there are about 70% unsolved murders. Detroit has long supported Democrats in state and national elections. However, according to a survey by the Bay Area Center, Detroit is actually the freest area in the United States according to the proportion of residents who voted for the Democratic Party.

In 2000, Detroit asked the US Department of Justice to investigate the Detroit Police Department. In 2003, the investigation ended and the Detroit police were charged with violating civil rights and abusing force. As a result, the Detroit Police Department has undergone a large-scale reorganization. All along,

Development and planning are the themes of Detroit. 1973, Detroit elected the first black mayor, Coleman Young. Although he is committed to urban development, his radical style is not accepted by most suburban residents. Another mayor, former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Denny Nisarcher, will focus on the construction of three downtown casinos. Holiday Inn of these three casinos started construction in 2008. There is a people mover sightseeing route in downtown Detroit, which runs on the elevated track and has 13 stops. Visitors can take the MRT to visit the city center and enjoy the high-rise buildings of GMC and the Canadian scenery across the Detroit River.

There is an island on the Detroit River called Belle Island, which belongs to American territory. In summer, many people will go to the island for leisure. Although it is very cold in winter, you can see many groups of migratory birds on the island, such as Canada geese.

There are many high-rise buildings in the city center and the new center, while the rest of the city consists of shorter buildings and family houses. There are many abandoned buildings and barren land in the southeast of Detroit, while the south and west show a prosperous scene. In 2005, Detroit's buildings were rated as one of the best buildings in the United States, and many of its important buildings were listed as historical sites of the American National Trust.

Other attractions include General Motors Headquarters, Beale Island, Detroit Art Museum, Detroit Science Center, Detroit History Museum, Detroit Nature Zoo and Ford Wayne Military Museum.

General Motors is headquartered in Detroit Renaissance Center, which is the most beautiful place in Detroit. The headquarters consists of five buildings. These beautiful buildings stand on the Erie River, facing the northern Canadian city of Windsor across the river, making the GM headquarters a landmark building on the Detroit map.

Bell Island is a small island on the Detroit River, which is connected with the urban area by a bridge. It covers an area of 100 acre with lush trees. The whole island is a beautiful natural park, with all kinds of amusement equipment, aquarium, swimming pool, a nine-kilometer-long highway around the river, canoes, sports squares, tennis courts, golf courses and zoos. It is the best leisure place for Detroit citizens.

Detroit Institute Of Arts, one of the largest art galleries in the United States, has a comprehensive collection, a complete historical arrangement of the development of art and culture, and displays famous art treasures from all over the world for people to visit for free. Among them, the paintings of Dutch and Dutch-born Belgians in the17th century, the armor exhibition collected by newspaper tycoon William Hastert, the rare exhibition of impressionist paintings and the African art exhibition are more distinctive.

Detroit Science Center, located at 5020 John R Street, has more than 50 kinds of science and technology exhibitions and live experimental performances. The circular three-dimensional cinema with a diameter of more than 20 meters shows free science films. sister city

Chongqing, China

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Minsk, Belarus

Kitwe, Zambia

Toyota of Japan

Nassau Bahamas

Turin, Italy Name: Detroit Piston

English name: DetroitPistons

City: Detroit, Michigan

Team building time: 194 1 year (1948 to join the NBA)

Boss: Tom Gols

Head of Coach: John kuster

Main Stadium: auburn hills Palace Arena.

Jersey color: home white, away blue

Enter the NBA: 1948

Number of wins: 3 times (1989, 1990, 2004).

1948 The Pistons who joined the league are one of the oldest teams in the NBA. After a long wait of 4 1 year, they won the NBA championship and became a typical late bloomer in the history of the league.

Pistons, formerly known as fort wayne Pistons, was founded in 194 1, headquartered in fort wayne, and successively dominated NBL and BAA. 1948, the team merged into the NBA with BAA, 1955 and 1956 reached the finals once, but both lost to their opponents by 1: 4.

1957, the team moved to Detroit, but failed to bring good luck. The head coach changed frequently, but the results still didn't improve.

198 1, the team won the "smiling assassin" Isiah Thomas, the all-around second defender. He has all kinds of unexpected shooting skills, acrobatic cutting, lightning speed and mysterious passing. During his 13 years with the Pistons, he won the championship twice, 12 was selected to the All-Star Team and 3 was selected to the Team of the Year.

1988, the powerful Pistons defeated the Bulls led by "Air Jordan" and the powerful Celtics, and played seven games with the Lakers in the finals, and finally lost by three points. 1989, "bad boy" made a comeback. This time, they didn't miss the opportunity. After defeating the Bulls again, with Du Masi's excellent performance, they beat the Lakers 4-0 cleanly and won the championship. The following year, they successfully defended their title after defeating the Blazers.

In 2004, the Pistons led by Larry Brown defeated the Lakers 4-/kloc-0 in the finals and won the third championship trophy in the team's history.

Since 2003. Pistons entered the Eastern Conference finals for six years in a row.

The boss is engaged in piston manufacturing, and "piston" has become the name of the team. 1957, the team still uses this name after moving to Detroit. On March 4th, 20 13 local time, Governor Snyder of Michigan announced that the state government would take over Detroit's finance, and appointed Kevin Orr, an expert on enterprise bankruptcy and restructuring, as the emergency financial manager to deal with the situation that the city was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Detroit used to be the headquarters of GM, Ford and Chrysler, but now it has become the "most miserable city".

The Detroit government is trapped by huge debts, and the local real estate has fallen to an incredible level. A 230-square-meter property in northern Detroit is currently being won at a price of $2,300, while its price before 2008 was $450,000.

For Detroit at present, the only possibility left is "speculative value". According to CCTV, a speculator even spent $2,300 to buy a house that could fetch $450,000 before 2008. "Someone spent 1 100 dollars on leather shoes, but I bought two houses with it, and now I have 100 dollars left in my pocket." Speculator Molly boasted to the media.

For Detroit, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, many people think that a single economic development model is the "culprit" of Detroit's current situation. As we all know, 80% of Detroit's fiscal revenue depends on the automobile industry, but in recent years, the American automobile market share has been continuously divided by Japanese and European automobile companies. At the same time, the popularity of industrial automation, coupled with the relatively low labor costs in Asia, has led to the layoffs of American auto companies, which in turn has led to the loss of Detroit's population and the shrinking of tax revenue.

According to the staff of a local real estate agent in Detroit, "1 dollar house" is nothing new in Detroit. Although the "1 USD house" is priced at 1 USD, buyers need to pay taxes, insurance and municipal evaluation and testing fees, and the actual cost needs thousands of dollars. In addition, property buyers need to pay taxes to the government every year after purchasing real estate.

According to Detroit News, in 20 12, half of the property owners in Detroit did not pay the property tax, amounting to 1.3 1 billion dollars, equivalent to 12% of the municipal government's fiscal revenue. In order to keep the city running and pay pensions for retirees, the municipal government has to borrow money to live.

20 13 in March, the Michigan government announced that Detroit entered a financial emergency, and Detroit became the sixth city in Michigan to be taken over by the state government to avoid financial bankruptcy. Up to now, Detroit's long-term debt is $654.38+04 billion and its fiscal deficit is $327 million. Cause of collapse

Data Detroit was once the fifth largest city in the United States, the center of American automobile industry, with a population of 654.38+0.8 million, and was called "Paris of the United States". But now, there are only 700,000 people left in this city, which is not only on the verge of bankruptcy, but also has a high crime rate and unemployment rate. It was named the most miserable city in America in 20 12 years by Forbes magazine.

Detroit's low housing prices began with the financial crisis. As the headquarters of the three major American automobile companies, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford, the financial crisis that broke out in 2008 hit Detroit hard. Many local people lost their jobs and couldn't pay their housing loans. Thousands of houses were auctioned back by banks. The Detroit real estate market, which peaked in 2007, collapsed and prices plummeted.

Areas with low housing prices

The overall house price in Detroit is not as low as several thousand dollars or even several hundred dollars. A three-bedroom and two-bedroom house costs at least $50,000. Shuai Ping, the teacher in charge of American programs at Shanghai University, stayed in Detroit for a year and a half and knew the local situation very well. She said: "Detroit in the report refers to Detroit, and the city on the verge of bankruptcy is also Detroit. What we call' automobile city' refers to the greater Detroit area, which is a different concept." Shuai Ping said that with the development of urban suburbanization, more and more people moved from Detroit to the suburbs, gradually forming a pattern of several satellite cities around the city center, while Detroit went into decline.

The gradual emigration of residents and the insolvency of owners led to the auction of houses, which led to the emergence of some very low-priced houses in Detroit real estate market. ChaceChace, an overseas student from China who is studying in Detroit, said that the satellite cities around Detroit, such as Ann Arbor, Troy and Livonia, have a good environment, but the housing prices are not low.

High maintenance cost

The price of the house itself may not be expensive, but some expenses behind it are much higher than the house price. She said many houses in Detroit are made of wood, and they are old houses. Subsequent maintenance costs are very high. If you buy such a house, the maintenance cost may be several times the house price.

Detroit's property tax is not low, about 2%-4% of the estimated value, and some houses may cost thousands of dollars a year.

A netizen knows the American real estate market very well. She said that low-priced houses are mostly because banks or owners can't afford housing taxes and corresponding maintenance costs, and the lots are not good, so they are eager to sell at ultra-low prices.

She made an account with Metropolitan Express: If you spend $65,438+$0,000 on a house, you may have to pay off the bank debt attached to the house, and you also have to pay off the property tax. The annual property tax is several thousand dollars, and the actual cost is much higher than $65,438+0,000, plus the monthly fixed expenses such as decoration, water and electricity, maintenance and property management.

Poor urban security

Policemen with poor public security dare not care about some expenses behind them, and the surrounding environment and public security conditions of low-rent housing should also be considered. Shuai Ping said that the racial problem in Detroit is more serious. Since the black riots in the 1970s, white people have moved out one after another, which has gradually led to the deterioration of local public security.

Downtown Detroit is gradually occupied by gangs, guns are rampant and drug trafficking is rampant. The local people never open the window when driving in the street, and the red light never stops. "I asked Americans what the police do, and they said that the police themselves are in danger."

The greater Detroit area is centered on Detroit and divided into blocks according to 1 mile (about 1.66 km). The areas within 8 miles (about12km) from the city center are poor areas with poor security and chaotic environment. Neither whites nor educated blacks live there. "Who dares to buy such a house at a lower price?"

China citizens can buy houses in the United States.

Hu Yifeng, an immigration expert at Zhejiang Foreign Service Center, said that there is no nationality restriction in buying a house in the United States, as long as you sign a contract with the seller, so China citizens can go to Detroit to buy these low-priced houses. However, according to the existing immigration law in the United States, buying a house alone is not enough to help buyers obtain the status of American green card.

Many of these low-priced houses have been bought by some investors, and there are also some universities around Detroit. Investors generally buy real estate at a low price and rent it to students after renovation, which makes considerable profits. But if you buy it and live by yourself, you have to think carefully.