During the second world war, Detroit was titled the "Arsenal of Democracy" as it armed America for battle overseas. The Willow Run Bomber Plant was one of the largest manufacturing and testing facilities in county. Because land was scarce in the city of Detroit, the plant was located outside the city. Transportation became a problem during the operation of the plant so to remedy this problem, a highway as well as tract housing units were built to accommodate the workers. Although the idea of a suburb was nothing new, the shift in industry (in Detroit) from a centralized urban center to a rural landscape was. Through the support system of highways, localized housing units and lower taxes,  industry could operate a a considerably lower cost. 

When the war ended, many came home to a city without a home. Like most American post war cities, Detroit had experienced a housing shortage, and real estate prices in the city where at an all time high. Many veterans could not afford to own or rent in the city off of their modest pensions, so an alternative was set up. In the spirit of Levittown, mass tract housing was erected in the outlying suburbs of Detroit at a break neck speed. Sleepy suburbs like, Southfield,  Dearborn, Livonia, and Bloomfield Hills became the new epicenters of the American Dream. They were democratically created for modest comfort and stability which was made accessible for all to attain. As more and more people moved out of the city, the reliance on the automobile was stronger than ever. In 1955 the John Lodge/Edsel Ford system of  Freeways would meet the needs of the suburbs and transport suburbainites to the city. Although this large scale project benefited those living outside the city, it had a devastating affect on those still living in the core. The once cohesive unit of neighbourhoods and commercial areas was dissected by these submerged highways turning various parts of town into isolated islands. The demolition of houses did nothing to help the cities housing situation as hundreds of houses were torn down. The mid fifties also brought the end of the Detroit Street Railway system. In 1956 the public transit system was completely motorized due to pressure from the major automobile manufacturers. The intricate network of streetcars that connected the city was gone and replaced with a bus system that (as we can see to this day) never worked. In 1959 the population of Detroit had fallen 9.6% as industry and residents left.

The sixties were a period of unease in Detroit. Industry was either leaving the city for the suburbs, migrating to the sunbelt, or closing up altogether. With that, people who were unemployed either fled north or left the area altogether.  Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh was making big headway in the city due to his progressive stance on racial issues and in 1963, he marched arm in arm with Dr. Martin Luther King down Washington Blvd. Detroit has always been a black and white city and with the black population sitting at over 40% in the mid sixties, the white population continued to flee. The riots of 1967, would be what so say the catalyst to the emptying of Detroit, but most feel that had begun long ago. The riots were just the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. What was a light trickle became a leak and eventually a flood as white residents left the city. The outcome of the "white flight" as it was known polarized the city into rich and poor. Due to the lack of residents city, services began to decline because of the lack of tax payer funds. With a rising unemployment rate, city residents were scrambling to stay afloat.

With the election of Mayor Coleman Young in 1973, Detroit would enter a new era. Love him or hate him, Young would give a new voice to the black population of the city. Still with all of Young's "good intentions" he couldn't repair the damage that had been done and many of his actions and remarks continued to segregate the city. The seventies were not kind to Detroit as more and more abandoned buildings littered the landscape. Hotels, theaters and other commercial venues were closing up shop and moving to the suburbs. Detroit was quickly turning into a ghost town. The fluctuations in industry and the oil scare in the mid seventies emptied the majority of industry from Detroit and left the automobile industry reeling. Layoffs rippled through the economy and the poverty levels sky rocketed in the rust belt.   The eighties would see such landmarks as the Book Cadillac Hotel, Michigan Central Station, Tuller Hotel, Hudson's, Wolverine Hotel, National Theater, United Artist Theater, Broderick Building, Kales Building, and Metropolitan Building either be abandoned or torn down. Abandoned buildings gave way to vacant lots through arson and demolition. The Paris of the Midwest was starting to resemble 3rd century Rome A.D.

All of these factors have contributed either directly or indirectly to the depopulation of the city. Currently metropolitan Detroit is divided into either the suburbs or the city. The population of Detroit proper currently sits under a million from just under two million in 1950. Entire sections of the city have been boarded up abandoned and in some cases, just plain disappeared. Since the election of former Mayor Dennis Archer, the city has been slowly recovering from years of neglect. Industry and commerce have slowly started to trickle back into the city with offers of tax breaks and other incentives. The rebuilding process is slow and it remains to be seen if Detroit will ever resemble it's post war self. For now, Detroit is a city in transition with big dreams of attaining the status it once had.