Detroit City Guide

DETROIT

Detroit has long been known as the heart of the automotive industry, and has also been starting point for many music legends. Detroit is also known as "Motor City", and is located on the Canadian border.

Downtown
The busy section of downtown Detroit includes the areas of: Midtown, Islandview, New Center, University Commons, Krainz Woods, North Corktown, North End, Lafayette Park, Mexicantown, Palmer Woods Historic District, Greektown, Foxtown, Old Redford, and Belle Isle.

Approximately 951,270 people live in the downtown area, a small level of continued population growth has also been evident. A growing number of Lebanese, and Eastern European groups are now calling downtown Detroit home. The population of Detroit is primarily African American, with smaller numbers of the following ethnic making up several communities in the inner-city area: Irish, Germans, Poles, Arabs, Jews, Italians, Scots, Albanians , Lebanese, Armenians, Greeks, and a quickly emerging community of Belgians. Detroit officials have been fighting the image of a crime ridden city for decades. Most of the violent crimes have been linked to the drug trade, and gang activity. A large number of hospitals and clinics are located in the downtown area and include: the Detroit Medical Center, Henry Ford Health System, St. John Health System, the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, the Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Center, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Harper University Hospital, Hutzel Women's Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Henry Ford Hospital, Sinai-Grace Hospital, and the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

The New Center area is the main commercial district in the city of Detroit. A Cultural Center is also located on Woodward Avenue, as well as the General Motors headquarters.