Name one city in the U.S. that did not experience the supposed, “white flight”? All of the causes to the problems he attributes to Detroit can be attributed to all U.S. cities. Detroit is just an extreme case and a large one at that.
They wanted “Chocolate Cities”, they got them.
A hundred years ago, people and businesses needed to be in cities. Businesses needed to be near suppliers and customers, workers needed to be able to get to work by either walking or public transportation, and public transportation needed a minimum population density to be viable.
The interstate highway system allowed businesses to relocate away from the cities, in office parks along the highways. Their employees could commute by car, and drive to suburban malls to shop. They could escape high city taxes, and get far from city crime, and still drive into the city to go see a play if it suited them.
This author would also blame the abused spouse after he/she left for the decline in the family income and the negative effect on the children....