底特律今昔
07/24/2013
底特律申请历史上最大的城市破产案； 市民抗议。
Protest, Detroit
Protest, Detroit
被誉为「世界汽车之都」的底特律，早在100年前就是「汽车工业」的代名词，曾是美国最大的城市之一，美国第一条水泥马路、第一盏红绿灯、第一条高速公路、第一家百货商店，都出现在这里。美国三大汽车巨头通用、福特与克莱斯勒的总部均设于此。
但近几十年来，底特律衰落了。由于高失业率、高犯罪率、政府发生严重财政危机，底特律的房地产业也急剧衰落，2012年「富比世」(Forbes)杂志将底特律评为「美国最悲惨的城市」。
底特律从巅峰到深渊，可以说「成也汽车，败也汽车」。早在1896年，福特公司就在这里制造出美国第一辆汽车。1904年，T型福特汽车推出，开启了「美国全民汽车新时代」。上世纪60年代初底特律进入全盛期，人口达180多万。汽车制造工厂也使在那里上班的工人群体成为庞大的中产阶级。
但随后劳资冲突爆发，不断的骚乱影响了社会治安。接着日系与欧系汽车的崛起又分割了底特律的汽车市场。上世纪90年代起，底特律经济开始复甦，然而2008年的一场经济危机，又使它再遭重创。盛极而衰的一条曲线，标志着往昔一个辉煌时代的结束。
底特律到底如何衰落，外界有四种说法：一是人口大量外流，二是人才素质下降，三是产业过分单一，四是缺少发展规画。
分析人士指出，人才缺乏是底特律的致命伤。由于底特律拥有众多汽车工厂，年轻人只要获得中学文凭就能找到工作，而且生活水平还不错。这就误导了当地政府与民众，使得他们看不到人力资本投资的重要性，看不到培养和吸引人才以及合理的人才规画对一个城市有多么重要。
此外，底特律的汽车工业产值占当地生产毛额(GDP)的80%。这样的经济结构，势必经不起市场变化冲击。一旦汽车销量下滑，危机立即到来。多少年来，底特律一直沉醉于「美国制造」的美梦中，却不曾料到，在新形势下，制造业利润急剧下滑，而设计、研发、销售将占据「微笑曲线」的两端，攫取巨大的利润。汽车制造业的衰退，终于导致整个汽车之都的破产。
Detroit 2013
Detroit 2013
Abandoned House, Detroit
The Ballroom in Lee Plaza Hotel
Detroit 2013
Beautiful skyline, Detroit
Boblo Harbor, Detroit
Abandoned House, Detroit
God has left Detroit
Historical Building, Detroit
Crumbling House
Park Avenue, Detroit
Skykline at night, Detroit
Detroit skyline
Detroit skyline -- Two stadia
Detroit skyline
Detroit skyline
Detroit skyline covered in smoke. Photo by Cosmin Nahaiciuc
Detroit 2013
Abandoned Factory yard
The Glorious Days , Detroit "Used to Be"
By Heidi Ewing, CNN
The American automobile industry has been centered in Detroit. Rows of these behemoths in a city parking lot around 1960 show the industry at its height.
Music also played an important role in the success of Detroit, where Motown Records was headquartered in the 1960s. Here Stevie Wonder, left, and Marvin Gaye record in a Motown studio in Detroit in 1965
Detroit has become the largest American city to declare bankruptcy. People who spend any time there grow accustomed to hearing the words "used to be," says Heidi Ewing, co-director of "Detropia," a documentary about the Michigan city and its uncertain future. An aerial view, circa 1950, of the old Tiger Stadium and the downtown skyline shows the Motor City in all its former glory.
Pete Babando, left, and Harry Lumley of the Detroit Red Wings celebrate in the locker room with the Stanley Cup after defeating the New York Rangers in the 1950 Stanley Cup finals in Detroit.
A mother gives her child advice during a boxcar race in Livonia, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, circa 1955. The move to the suburbs accelerated, especially after rioting that devastated Detroit in 1967.
Downtown Detroit is full of people on a rainy afternoon circa 1955. Looking at old photos of the Motor City, Ewing says she always was a bit envious of the city life that eluded her and her siblings who grew up in the suburbs.
Tugboats race on the Detroit River in 1954.
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