A 'Welcome to Detroit' sign is seen along 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan. The city used to be the hub for the US automotive industry but has declined into a hollowed-out relic. Throughout its long decline, Detroit has sought ways to restore to its former glory a city that was home to 1.8 million people.Reuters
A 'Welcome to Detroit' sign is seen along 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan. The city used to be the hub for the US automotive industry but has declined into a hollowed-out relic. Throughout its long decline, Detroit has sought ways to restore to its former glory a city that was home to 1.8 million people.ReutersIn November 2008, US auto executives warned Congress on Tuesday that their industry was teetering on the brink of disaster as they pleaded for a bn aid package. General Motors Corp.'s world headquarters (R, tallest building) is seen along the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan.ReutersA woman walks next to the abandoned Packard Motor Car Company building. In December 2008, US automakers were preparing to shut down all of their factories for a month.ReutersDespite government efforts to keep the auto industry afloat, car companies shut down factories and axed thousands of jobs, as they faced bankruptcy.ReutersDetroit’s population dropped from 1.8 million in 1950 to less than 700,000 by 2012. The existing population are now focused on making less populated neighbourhoods viable and repurposing land.ReutersCity tax rates are at legal limits and expenditures have exceeded revenue for six years.ReutersAccording to the bi-annual report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one in every four households lives on social security payments. The annual cost of welfare has increased to 9 billion, equivalent to ,300 for every person including children.ReutersThe murder rate is at its highest level in nearly 40 years. An unidentified woman (C) is consoled as she cries at the scene of a murder in Detroit, Michigan. It takes police an average of nearly an hour to respond to calls while the national average is 11 minutes.ReutersDetroit files for Chapter 9. Negotiated settlements on city debt are not possible outside of bankruptcy given the vast and fragmented pool of potential creditors. That pool includes city retirees, labour unions, bondholders and bond insurers.Reuters
While the demise of the auto industry's hub for production has eventually thrown in the towel, as it can't pay back its creditors $18.5bn (£12.1bn, €14.1bn), Detroit's demise has been a long time coming.
With mass job losses, poverty and a decline in the resident population, IBTimes UK takes a look at the hollowed out relic's journey to bankruptcy.
