Genuine Progress Indicator
Alexander Di Franco
TA Victoria Fast
Geography 108
18 November 2012
The Motor City: Industrial Hero to Zero
The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) is a fantastic model to measure the overall well being of the economy in great detail. Opposed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which only takes into account total dollar value, the GPI does just that, but also includes figures that represent the cost of the negative effects related to economic activity. It gives the important details of the economy and the state of the citizens within in it that the GDP simply cannot. Look at Detroit, Michigan; the “Motor City”, was at one time one of the most prosperous cities in the world, and a global industrial giant. Today, it’s a ghost town, not to mention a hellhole. The collapse of the automotive industry from the early 2000’s to the present has completely destroyed the former global giant in every way. The precipitous decline of the Detroit economy can be substantiated by using both the GPI and GDP method. Using academic and popular media references, these two approaches will be compared using the issue of the collapse of the automotive industry in the “Motor City”. The GPI approach represents this situation most accurately, and is most relevant because it not only takes the financial state of Detroit into consideration; it takes the environmental and well-being factor of the citizens into consideration as well. The GDP does not. Through the disappearing population, the rising rates of unemployment and poverty, and the exploding crime rate, it is clear that the costs of the overall well being of this city are much more important than just the economic costs.
The city of Detroit, Michigan was once the most prosperous, ‘booming’ cities in the world, especially in the second half of the twentieth century. This was thanks to their automotive industry, ‘the Big 3’. ‘The Big 3’ included Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, who all have their world
TA Victoria Fast
Geography 108
18 November 2012
The Motor City: Industrial Hero to Zero
The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) is a fantastic model to measure the overall well being of the economy in great detail. Opposed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which only takes into account total dollar value, the GPI does just that, but also includes figures that represent the cost of the negative effects related to economic activity. It gives the important details of the economy and the state of the citizens within in it that the GDP simply cannot. Look at Detroit, Michigan; the “Motor City”, was at one time one of the most prosperous cities in the world, and a global industrial giant. Today, it’s a ghost town, not to mention a hellhole. The collapse of the automotive industry from the early 2000’s to the present has completely destroyed the former global giant in every way. The precipitous decline of the Detroit economy can be substantiated by using both the GPI and GDP method. Using academic and popular media references, these two approaches will be compared using the issue of the collapse of the automotive industry in the “Motor City”. The GPI approach represents this situation most accurately, and is most relevant because it not only takes the financial state of Detroit into consideration; it takes the environmental and well-being factor of the citizens into consideration as well. The GDP does not. Through the disappearing population, the rising rates of unemployment and poverty, and the exploding crime rate, it is clear that the costs of the overall well being of this city are much more important than just the economic costs.
The city of Detroit, Michigan was once the most prosperous, ‘booming’ cities in the world, especially in the second half of the twentieth century. This was thanks to their automotive industry, ‘the Big 3’. ‘The Big 3’ included Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, who all have their world