Facts for Kids

Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan. It sits on the banks of the Detroit River, facing the Canadian city of Windsor across the water. Many people travel through this spot between the United States and Canada every day. The area around Detroit is called Metro Detroit and has over four million people, making it one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the country.

Detroit is known for many things: music, art, buildings, design, and especially cars and factories. It is also the county seat of Wayne County, which means it is the center for local government.

Motown is a famous nickname for Detroit music that started in the late 1940s and 1950s. It grew into a style of soul and pop music recorded by many popular singers and bands. Because of this history, Detroit is known for its lively music scene and for making records that people all over the world love.

Today the metro area has many places to hear music, from clubs and concert halls to outdoor stages. Big promoters bring in touring acts, and the city is part of the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, where Broadway shows and big plays often stop. That means people can hear both popular concerts and musical theater close to home.

Motor City is a nickname for Detroit because cars and car-making have been very important here. Many people drive on wide streets and highways, but not every family owns a car. In 2016, about 25 out of every 100 Detroit households did not have a car, and on average families had a little more than one car each. That means people often share rides, take buses, or walk.

Because some families do not have cars, Detroit also has buses, a streetcar line in the downtown area, bike lanes, and places where people can use shared rides. These choices help kids and adults reach school, work, and parks.

Metro area means a big city plus the towns and suburbs around it that work together. Detroit is the center of a large metro region that spreads across many counties. In the smaller three-county part, about 3.7 million people live in an area a little bigger than 1,300 square miles. A larger six-county region has about 5.3 million people and covers almost 4,000 square miles. When even more counties are included, the whole combined area reaches about 5.3 million people across more than 5,800 square miles.

Because so many people live nearby, Detroit is a hub for jobs, sports, and places to visit. Many people drive or take trains and buses into the city each day, and the area shares schools, stores, and parks across the counties.

Anishinaabe is a name used by some Native peoples who lived in the Great Lakes area long before Europeans arrived. For them, the place now called Detroit was named Waawiiyaataanong, which means “where the water curves around.”

Long ago—thousands of years—people like the Paleo-Indians and the Mound Builders lived near the rivers and lakes. By the 1600s groups such as the Huron, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Iroquois lived, fished, farmed, and traded in this region. These communities shaped the land and helped make the area an important meeting place for people and goods.

Fortune 500 is a name for the 500 biggest companies in the country. Downtown Detroit hosts offices for big companies, and the city has a mix of different businesses. People in Detroit work in car-making, health care, technology, schools, shops, and the arts. Having many kinds of jobs helps the city stay strong when one business changes.

In recent years, leaders have tried to bring more jobs and new buildings to downtown and nearby neighborhoods. These projects try to create places where people can work, live, and visit, and they often include small shops, offices, apartments, and green spaces.

Ford Motor Company began in 1903 when Henry Ford started a business to make cars. Other car makers and builders, like the Dodge brothers and others, helped make Detroit the center of car making in the United States. In 1907 the Detroit River carried huge amounts of shipping, and the busy factories and ports helped the city grow quickly.

Workers formed unions such as the AFL and the UAW to ask for shorter workdays, better pay, and safer conditions. At the same time large numbers of people moved to Detroit—both from other countries and from the American South. This fast change caused problems, including racial discrimination and serious conflicts. During World War II Detroit became an important place for making ships, planes, and other war supplies, and many new workers came to the city to help.

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit was built in 1701 by the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and his partner Alphonse de Tonty on the north side of the Detroit River. The fort began a small town called Détroit, and soon a church community called Sainte-Anne de Détroit started there in 1701. That parish still exists today and is one of the oldest in the country.

The French traded furs with Native peoples and sent missionaries and traders to the area. To grow the settlement, France offered free land to people willing to live there. By the middle of the 1700s the town was an important stop between eastern and southern colonies.

Lafayette Park is one special place on Detroit’s east side. It is part of a thoughtful residential area designed by a famous architect. The neighborhood includes a 19-acre park, low-rise apartments, and quiet streets with little through traffic so people can walk and play safely. Other parts of the city, like Downtown, Midtown, Corktown, and New Center, have lots of old buildings, shops, and busy streets.

Some neighborhoods have empty lots or houses that are not used. The city and local groups try different ideas to fix this, such as removing unsafe buildings, planting urban gardens, and supporting new shops started by immigrants who bring new life to places like Southwest Detroit and Mexicantown.

Detroit Public Schools and other local schools teach children from kindergarten through high school. Younger kids usually go to elementary school, then middle school, and finally high school. Detroit has different kinds of schools: district-run public schools, charter schools that try new ideas, and some private schools. Many schools offer music, art, sports, and after-school clubs so students can try new things.

Because some families do not have cars, schools often arrange buses or students walk together. Schools also work with community groups to help children learn reading, math, and other skills in and out of class.