The Deindustrialization Of Northern United States And The Decline Of The Central Cities(1960-1990)

From the late 1960s to the 1980s,a large number of factory closures,relocation,conversion and massive structural unemployment were seen in the northern United States.Northern United States is the heartland of traditional manufacturing industry.At the same time,American manufacturing output increased year by year while in the proportion of GDP continued to decline,American economy appeared different situation,northern region has experienced the process of deindustrialization.Deindustrialization is the process of the decline of manufacturing industry in the national economy.The essence of deindustrialization is the adjustment of American industrial structure,the proportion of industry in the gross national product declines;the service industry occupies the dominant position in the economic structure,the United States from the industrial society into the service society,the economy to the high-level development process.In addition,the development of industry plays a decisive role in the development of cities.Northern United States is a traditional manufacturing accumulation zone.In the industrial restructuring process,the decline of the traditional manufacturing sector and the new economic sector is difficult to rise is bound to cause the decline of the central city.This paper is divided into four parts.The first part mainly introduces the background of the deindustrialization of the northern United States.There are several reasons for the occurrence of the deindustrialization of the northern United States,such as the progress of technology,the change of international economic pattern,the impact of trade unions and the attraction of good business environment of Southern America.The progresses of technology make the gathered advantage of northern traditional manufacturing gradually disappear and provide the necessary technique for capital flows.The change of international economic pattern leads to the decline of traditional manufacturing industry and promotes the development of service economy.Manufacturers' avoidance of trade unions and the attraction of good business environment of Southern America make a lot of capital escape from central city which in northern United States and the result is that the decline of central city.The second part mainly introduces the representation of the deindustrialization of the northern United States.There are four main features in the process which including plant closings,plant relocation,industrial transformation and foreign investment.Small businesses confront bankruptcy,close down themselves,or are bought up,milked dry,and then shut down later by larger firms.The largest,most powerful corporations in the nation shut down older plants in the industrial heartland to move to new industrial zones in the suburbs,southern United States and overseas.In view of the decline of traditional manufacturing profits,conglomerate and group company reduce investment in traditional manufacturing industry and diversify into a more profitable sector of the economy.As more and more corporations become multinational and conglomerate in nature,shifting finance capital all over the world in an effort to maximize their own profits and increase their span of control over the global economic system.In this process,traditional manufacturing in America was waning,emerging industry was booming,the main function of the central cities in the northern United States has also changed,which from industrial production switch into a decision-making center and control center.The third part mainly introduces the decay of central city which including unemployment,tax,city run-down three aspects.The large-scale structural unemployment makes the family income drop sharply.As a result,the number of poor households has increased and social welfare expenditure has soared.Meanwhile,a large number of highly educated young labour force migrated to the southern and western Sunbelt to find new jobs.The central city lost a large population.A large number of plant closures and plant relocation weakened the tax base of the central city and led to the decline of tax revenue.The municipal government had to raise local tax rates,many middle class and industrial enterprises can't bear the tax burden and fled the central cities in order to escape increasing local tax revenues.The vicious cycle brought the central city into a financial crisis.In face of reduced tax revenue and increasingly welfare burden,central cities cut a large number of municipal staffs.Therefore,central city has neither the ability nor sufficient funds to maintain the old infrastructure and central city can't solve the problem of poverty and crime which caused by unemployment,can only step by step toward decline.The fourth part is case study of central city.Detroit and Cleveland are heavy industry cities in the American Midwest.The decline of traditional manufacturing industry in the process of the deindustrialization of the northern United States makes the two central cities decline.Detroit overly depends on auto industry.The belief remained steadfast that the manufacturing sector would ultimately rebound,and many Detroit's efforts largely ignored calls to diversify the industrial base and failed to introduce new industries to replace auto industry as the leading industry to support the urban development.Eventually,Detroit became the largest bankrupt city in American history.However,Cleveland realized successful transformation.On the basis of reindustrialization,Cleveland diversified its industrial base and introduced high-tech industry and developed producer services.Furthermore,Cleveland makes itself as a center of cultural consumption.Through these measures,Cleveland has enjoyed an unexpected renaissance.