Governmental Fragmentation In Metropolitan Detroit

McNair Scholars Research Journal
Volume 4 | Issue 1

Article 4

1-26-2012

Governmental Fragmentation in Metropolitan
Detroit
Kristal D. Davis
Eastern Michigan University, [e-mail]

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Recommended Citation
Davis, Kristal D. (2012) "Governmental Fragmentation in Metropolitan Detroit," McNair Scholars Research Journal: Vol. 4: Iss. 1,
Article 4.
Available at: http://commons.emich.edu/mcnair/vol4/iss1/4

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at DigitalCommons@EMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in McNair
Scholars Research Journal by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@EMU. For more information, please contact [e-mail].
Joseph Ohren, Mentor
ABSTRACT
At its population peak in the 1950’s, Detroit, Michigan was inhabited by almost two million residents and served as the car capital of the country. Today, however, the population has dropped by more than fifty percent. With the loss of Detroit residents to surrounding cities and counties, the wedge between Detroit and the suburbs has grown wider. Detroit, once considered the crown jewel of the state of Michigan, is now treated as an immovable stain by its surrounding municipalities. What this means for the metro Detroit area is a high level of governmental fragmentation, preventing economic opportunities for both the city and its suburbs. This is especially unfortunate for the economy of the metro Detroit area because of the current economic crisis in the state of Michigan. With the state’s long tradition of home rule and pride in autonomous, municipal decision-making, municipalities in the metro Detroit area might better realize economic opportunities and the relief they can bring to their own local economies by not only collaborating with the city of Detroit, but with neighboring cities as well.

INTRODUCTION
The metropolitan Detroit area is compromised of seven counties—Wayne,
Suburban cities within the metro Detroit area have attempted to create communities that are socially and economically independent from the city of Detroit. For the city

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Davis: Governmental Fragmentation in Detroit

of Detroit and suburban municipalities to experience growth, a first step is to pursue intergovernmental cooperation to create economic growth for the region as a whole.

LITERATURE REVIEW
The history of Detroit plays an important role in the formation of communities in the metro Detroit region. In the early to mid-twentieth century, thousands of people, both white and black, flocked to Detroit for auto-plant assembly jobs that offered average, unskilled workers a salary sufficient to attain a middle-class lifestyle. However, the desire to buy a nice home and earn a decent living was not a strong enough motive to end segregation in the city of Detroit.
Although there were plenty of jobs in the city, African Americans were denied employment because of their race. Some manufacturing plants were known to have no African Americans employees. Often managers and supervisors discriminated against African Americans