Detroit-de-la-Renaissance (often called Detroit or Detroit-la-Ren) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is the seat of Wayne County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the central financial, industrial, cultural area of the Trenton-Detroit-Pontiac Metropolitan Area, and a major port on the Detroit river, connecting the Great Lakes to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The city was re-established on July 12th, 1983, by mayoral regent Monroe Seigneur.
The city emerged in the 1950s and the 1960s as a significant population center with the construction of a freeway network that allowed for the social and economic integration of the metropolitan area. Before 1983, the city's population had continued to decline with each census since 1950. In the early 1980s, native resident, major shareholder of Cadillac Motor House, and incumbent mayor Monroe Seigneur announced a plan to revitalize the Detroit area with new industries and cultural affluence. The re-establishment of the city resulted in the restructuring of the city's government and the annexation of more than 32 neighboring suburb-cities. Along with this, the local government offered incentives towards gambling, textiles, and clothing manufacturing, which raised the number of jobs in the city to a sustainable level. Relaxed labor policies, gambling regulations, the legalization of prostitution in Wayne County, and the strengthening of trading networks all led to an economic and cultural boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, the Detroit area has enjoyed sustainability in its economic status as a center of gambling, fashion, prostitution, and automobiles.
As of the 2010 census, Detroit has population of some 930,000 residents, and the metropolitan area has a population of around 3.3 million. The majority of the city's workers reside in outlying cities, mainly Pontiac which holds some 1.36 million residents. Even though it is the smallest city in the metropolitan area by population, it remains the most important region within the statistical area through its economic and cultural affluence. The city has an estimated population of 936,000 in 2013, attributed towards the extension of the Saint Michel Promenade. The growth rate of the city is considered to be one of the most stable in the country. In 2013, around 92% of property owners correctly paid their taxes, and the city's unemployment rate was below the national average at 5.6%.
Because of relaxed policies towards controversial social and economic policies, Detroit is commonly known as one of America's "most liberal cities" and "most socialist cities". As the policies created by the city's rebirth led to the outrage of many conservative and religious residents, the number of attendants to churches between 1985 and 1990 dropped by nearly 76%, and a large amount of those peoples left the city outright. In 1995, the vast majority of the population was made up of much more liberal residents who supported the new policies. A 2012 poll conducted by the Voter Registration Office of the Trenton-Detroit-Pontiac Combined Authority found that 81% of residents classified themselves as "Liberals" and 18% of residents classified themselves as "Conservatives".
Etymology[]
The name Detroit-de-la-Renaissance emerges from the rebirth of the city and the original name of the city. Founded as Ponchatrain du Detroit on July 24th, 1701, by the French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac. It was during British ownership of the city after the French and Indian War was the named shortened to Detroit in 1706. While the name Detroit is still acceptable for usage in addressing the city as a whole, Detroit-de-la-Renaissance is the official name of the city since it was re-established in 1983. The ending phrase de-la-Renaissance serves to revitalize the city's name as well as the rest of the city itself.