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To: Kieri
I was living in SE Michigan at the time. As I recall, GM wanted to build a new Cadillac assembly plant. They didn't want to shut down and rebuild their existing one because they didn't want the down time. They somehow obtained the right to level a big chunk of a neighborhood in Hamtramk (a separate incorporated town geographically located within the city of Detroit) called Poletown. It was a bunch of brick homes, apartments, churches, etc. long inhabited by predominantly Polish, Catholic, working-class Americans. A community was destroyed. If I am not mistaken the Cadillac plant was soon after closed down and replaced by assembly plants in Mexico.
7 posted on 04/03/2004 4:14:48 PM PST by rogue yam
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To: rogue yam
Yep, GM & Detroit mayor Coleman Young were seduced by this vision of a "public-private partnership", where the government could hand over what was once a neighborhood to a private company. Surely shining new neighborhoods would grow in the shadow of the new plant.

I don't know if the Poletown plant was shut down soon after being built, but AFAIK it never did live up to expectations, nor did it turn out to be much of a net positive for Detroit.

(It sure didn't keep me from leaving. :-)

8 posted on 04/03/2004 5:07:42 PM PST by jennyp (http://crevo.bestmessageboard.com)
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