The Renaissance Center, Detroit, along the Detroit River

city, seat of Wayne county, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Detroit River (connecting Lakes Erie and St. Clair), opposite Windsor, Ont., Can. It was founded in 1701 by a French trader, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who built a fort on the river and named it Fort-Pontchartrain-du-Detroit in honour of his patron (the French word detroit meaning “strait”); later the British called it simply Detroit. In the 20th century the city's name became synonymous with the American automotive industry.

The city layout.

Detroit is situated on a broad, generally flat plain. The downtown area retains vestiges of a hexagonal street pattern laid out early in the 19th century that largely disappeared as the city expanded. Most of the city's commercial and civic buildings are concentrated in the downtown area near the river and include the City-County Building; Cobo Hall, a convention and exhibit building; Cobo Arena; and the Renaissance Center (completed in 1977), which includes a 73-story hotel. Many of the city's museums and the public library, however, are located about 2 miles (3 km) to the northwest in the Detroit Cultural Center. Suburbs ring Detroit, including across the Detroit River in Canada, andthe city completely surrounds the communities of Hamtramck and Highland Park.

The people and economy.

Detroit's population grew dramatically between 1850 and 1950. The city's industrial growth was a magnet for migrants, at first chiefly European immigrants and later blacks from the South. The population has declined steadily since the mid-1950s, however, in part because much of the white community moved to the suburbs and also because of the loss of industry. By the early 1990s, some three-fourths of the population was black.

Detroit has a diversified manufacturing and shipping base, but the city's economy remains unusually sensitive to the fortunes of the automotive industry. As a result, economic booms and depressions have been felt more heavily in Detroit than in most areas of the country. In addition to motor vehicles and automotive parts, the city's factories produce machinery (including industrial robots), steel, and chemicals; the service industry has become increasingly important.

Roads dominate Detroit's transportation system and include an extensive network of express highways. The city is connected to Windsor by a bridge and a tunnel. The Detroit River is heavily used by Great Lakes shipping, and the region's port facilities handle large quantities of raw materials. The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is located about 17 miles (27 km) southwest of downtown.