http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAjLIVISqRw
Gordon Lightfoot, Black Day in July.

The downsizing of the auto industry was a big thing but I don't think it was the main problem. I don't think it was about race either.
I saw a lot of cities lose their core. It has got to where I always expect to see slums in the shadows of the office towers.

To put a survival slant on it I will say that living in a good community gives you a better chance, that is if you must live in a city.
Jane Jacob's "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" (1961) explores what makes for good safe communities inside cities.


_________________________
May set off to explore without any sense of direction or how to return.