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Early settlers: 0:22 Auto age: 2:32 Urban decline: 4:00 Reverse time-lapse: 7:03 Credits: 8:33

This film traces Detroit’s evolution from its origins as a French trading post in the 1700s, to its explosion as a metropolis, followed by its precipitous decline as a symbol of America’s post-industrial urban landscape. The film weaves in details about the city’s politics, population, and technology – all of which influenced the city’s geography and built environment. At each phase in urban history, the built environment grew and was modified in direct response to political events like racial segregation, population changes like the Great Migration, technology developments like the mass-produced car, and government interventions like urban renewal.

Created in gratitude to the University of Michigan’s PhD program in architecture
Music by Philip Glass, "Pruitt Igoe" from the 1983 film Koyaanisqatsi