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Detroit’s population drops by one-fourth in the last decade
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March 24, 2011
Original URL: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Detroit%E2%80%99s_population_drops_by_one-fourth_in_the_last_decade



Figures released by  the  census on Wednesday show that the city of  
has lost nearly one million  people, one-fourth of its total,  since .
Detroit,  once one of the top five U.S. cities in population, has its 
lowest number of residents since 1910.

Population numbers affect  the the amount of federal and state funding a
city  receives. In the last few decades, dozens of  state laws have been
passed allowing Detroit, because its population was at least 750,000, 
special measures to raise revenue and  allocating it a  larger share of
Michigan's state revenue than its population warranted. Now that 
Detroit's population has fallen to 713,777, it is no longer eligible for
these financial advantages.
 
 after , it's basically the largest drop for a U.S. city in
history.|source=''Andrew Beveridge, Sociology professor''}}
The major of Detroit,  plans to appeal the census results. He says more
than 35,000 residents were not counted.
  

"Every person that’s counted in the census brings approximately $10,000
to Detroit over the next decade for schools, roads, hospitals, and
social service programs," Bing explained. "Additionally, we could lose
millions in  sharing from the state. We are in a fiscal crisis and we
have to fight for every dollar. We can’t afford to let these results
stand."

Detroit was  the fifth largest  U.S. city in 1950.  The decline of the  
hastened the population loss already diminished by the   that
precipitated    to the suburbs.  Approximately  23 percent of the city’s
living quarters are now empty.  To reduce the city's size  there is a
program in progress to demolish 10,000 abandoned or vacant buildings 
and turn the land into  farms or  by 2014.

Detroit's congressional power has been steadily decreasing. It  already
lost one congressional seat since the 1980s. 

 forbid drawing  that dilute minority voting strength.  The 2000
redistricting rules for the  mandated that Detroit's two  congressional
districts  must be  60 percent black voters, since four out of five of
Detroit's residents are black. To comply, the two remaining
congressional  districts will have to expand into Detroit's mostly 
white suburbs to attain enough minority voters to meet the 60 percent
target, reducing the clout of black Detroit.

Andrew Beveridge,  sociology professor, attributed Detroit's population
decline to the loss of its industrial base. He  said:  "Except for 
after , it's basically the largest drop for a U.S. city in history. They
have to find an economic base or the decline will continue."

== Sources == 

* http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2011/0323/Detroit-fights-back-against-plummeting-population
* http://abcnews.go.com/US/detroits-mayor-bing-challenge-census-figures/story?id=13203061
* http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=134804233
* http://www.freep.com/article/20110324/NEWS06/103240530/Lower-census-means-Detroit-may-lose-millions-dollars



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