The Ghost City
As a
planner, I am concerned about the whole plan of a city if its aggregate
planning is appropriate. And I just heard of a news which attracted my eye on
it which is the Detroit Bankruptcy. The city of Detroit, Michigan, filed for
Chapter 9 bankruptcy on July 18, 2013.
In my
opinion, the city of Detroit was famous for its automotive industry, and it is
the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the largest city on
the United States-Canada border.
Because of
the federal bankruptcy, the Detroit became a ghost city with few people lived
there. The housing price in this city is extremely low same as the social
security. This kind of issue obviously has adverse impact on the whole
country's development, and it violates the sustainable development.
The reasons
for abandonment can be defined as the following aspects:
- Economic activity shifting elsewhere
- Human intervention
- Disasters, actual and anticipated
- Disease and contamination
The city of Detroit became a ghost city because of the economic
activities. And I think this is the main cause of forming a ghost city. In
China, there are also some ghost area which are caused by the economic
activities such as real estate transaction.
In many
Chinese cities, especially those second-tier cities, the governments do not
consider the practical situation of the demand of housing, they just want to
gain more political achievements in their official careers, so they construct
more houses which exceed the demand of the city. Those houses or apartments are
abandoned.
This kind
of issue is also a result of unsustainable development. This phenomenon is a
social issue that impact citizens' daily life. The specific reason why the
Detroit bankruptcy is the shortage of manufacture. Without manufacture, people
have no chance to get jobs, so they move to another cities to find jobs, the
city of Detroit bankruptcy. Similar with the Detroit, Chinese cities which lack
the industries providing jobs and necessity of daily life, the city is easier
to become a ghost city. Another factor is infrastructure. A developed service
system can help to attract people to live in the city and provide a better life
quality.
From the
case study of the city of Detroit, the elimination of ghost city is not
complex. If the government can provide the factories which means the job
opportunities, thus the people can live, the city won't be a ghost city then.
Pictures from the
following websites:
没有评论:
发表评论