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The Changing Face of Inequality: Urbanization, Industrial Development, and Immigrants in Detroit, 1880-1920
Originally published in 1983, The Changing Face of Inequality is the first systematic social history of a major American city undergoing industrialization. Zunz examines Detroit's evolution between 1880 and 1920 and discovers the ways in which ethnic and class relations profoundly altered its urban scene. Stunning in scope, this work makes a major contribution to our understanding of twentieth-century cities.
502 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 16, 2014
Detroit, in the 1880s, was an ethnically fragmented, open city in the early stages of large scale economic and industrial transformation. By 1920 Detroit became an urban, industrial leader and the first city to experience a class reordering. Other studies have focused on ethnic fragmentation in Detroit, most recently by Richard Oestreicher's Solidarity and Fragmentation, which studies how the ethnic cleavage was briefly overcome in the late 19th century by the labor unions. This analysis was transcended by Oliver Zunz's, The Changing Face of Inequality (1983), which offers a highly detailed study that examines the spatial, ethnic, demographic, and social forces that resulted in Detroit's shift from a city of ethnic division in 1880 to a class-based metropolis in 1920.
Zunz, a social historian, successfully incorporates disparate sources, such as labor, anthropological, and urban histories, along with numerous demographic studies and census data to examine Detroit as it slowly evolved and changed. He proposes that the 19th century industrial city was segregated on ethnic lines. Upward mobility reinforced the ethnic bonds, and they remained strong throughout the industrialization process despite the fact that native white Americans' control of industry unknowingly limited their mobility. Because these bonds remained cohesive, the American social structure was free from class conflict. As the 20th century began, the transformation between ethnic and class organization altered the spatial organization of Detroit and was responsible for redistributing land from ethnic communities to specialized industrial uses.
The book is divided into three chronological time periods: 1880, 1900, and 1920.
The 1880 study is limited to social geography and describes Detroit as neither extreme "ghetto like concentration nor melting-pot dispersion" (46) but as exhibiting subtle forms of ethnic dominance within a concentration. Detroit was symbolized as an "urban quilt" with the primary colors representing a convergence in socioeconomic, ethnic, and demographic characteristics. An example of this would include a German neighborhood of single family households, headed by a craftsman, with a large number of children. Other, less-defined areas would represent various shades on the quilt.
The main focus of the book was on the turn of the century when Detroit was transforming into a major industrial center with emerging ethnic inequalities. City services to ethnic areas, such as the water system, were neglected in part by discrimination and the ethnic resistance to unification by the city engineers. Yet, the greatest inequality among Detroit's population were the "abilities to give life and prevent premature death" (242). It was the nuclear family that fought the "survival cycle" of keeping children alive.
By 1920, due to the automobile industry, Detroit had become a metropolis. Race and class had replaced ethnicity in dividing the city and determining its spatial organization. The most striking example of this was the black ghetto as blacks were increasingly segregated into separate, homogenous neighborhoods. Old ethnic groups tended to blend together as Irish, German, and native white Americans mixed residentially. "Ethnicity remained an important force" (357), but it would no longer be the dominate aspect of social division.
Zunz introduces a new approach for studying social divisions as represented in terms of demography, ethnicity, and occupation. He faults past studies of electoral units which he claims are too large, while the samples of a single block are too small and unrepresentative. Zunz's solution is to study six "block frontages" for a sample unit which is defined as the four fronts of a block and two randomly selected fronts across the street. This is an example of Zunz's successful originality in his use of statistics to ferret out the changing social structure of Detroit.
Statistical studies can often become bogged down by its own weight if they are not kept in check by an effective narrative and descriptive data. Zunz achieves the perfect equilibrium by providing numerous and informative charts, graphs, and maps to augment his clear discussion of statistical procedures. The result is a wealth of evidence for the reader despite the fact that the 1920 census will only be fully disclosed in 1992.
Though this book deserves much praise, there are also problems which stem from overgeneralization. The main fault of Zunz is his failure to discuss the representativeness of his study to other cities. Was this history endemic only to the people of Detroit, or did it extend to the other cities in the industrial belt such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or Chicago? Did the automobile industry have specific effects on Detroit which would not be represented in other areas? Zunz must more clearly define the impact and influence this work has on urbanization and industrial development in general.
The Changing Face of Inequality is an excellent study of the evolution of Detroit from an ethnically divided city to a racially segregated metropolis. The book clearly illuminates how society was transformed by urbanization and industrialization from 1880 to 1920. While failing to cite evidence regarding its representativeness to other developing cities, its novel approach and statistical excellence insure the importance of this book for all social historians for many years to come.
Zunz, a social historian, successfully incorporates disparate sources, such as labor, anthropological, and urban histories, along with numerous demographic studies and census data to examine Detroit as it slowly evolved and changed. He proposes that the 19th century industrial city was segregated on ethnic lines. Upward mobility reinforced the ethnic bonds, and they remained strong throughout the industrialization process despite the fact that native white Americans' control of industry unknowingly limited their mobility. Because these bonds remained cohesive, the American social structure was free from class conflict. As the 20th century began, the transformation between ethnic and class organization altered the spatial organization of Detroit and was responsible for redistributing land from ethnic communities to specialized industrial uses.
The book is divided into three chronological time periods: 1880, 1900, and 1920.
The 1880 study is limited to social geography and describes Detroit as neither extreme "ghetto like concentration nor melting-pot dispersion" (46) but as exhibiting subtle forms of ethnic dominance within a concentration. Detroit was symbolized as an "urban quilt" with the primary colors representing a convergence in socioeconomic, ethnic, and demographic characteristics. An example of this would include a German neighborhood of single family households, headed by a craftsman, with a large number of children. Other, less-defined areas would represent various shades on the quilt.
The main focus of the book was on the turn of the century when Detroit was transforming into a major industrial center with emerging ethnic inequalities. City services to ethnic areas, such as the water system, were neglected in part by discrimination and the ethnic resistance to unification by the city engineers. Yet, the greatest inequality among Detroit's population were the "abilities to give life and prevent premature death" (242). It was the nuclear family that fought the "survival cycle" of keeping children alive.
By 1920, due to the automobile industry, Detroit had become a metropolis. Race and class had replaced ethnicity in dividing the city and determining its spatial organization. The most striking example of this was the black ghetto as blacks were increasingly segregated into separate, homogenous neighborhoods. Old ethnic groups tended to blend together as Irish, German, and native white Americans mixed residentially. "Ethnicity remained an important force" (357), but it would no longer be the dominate aspect of social division.
Zunz introduces a new approach for studying social divisions as represented in terms of demography, ethnicity, and occupation. He faults past studies of electoral units which he claims are too large, while the samples of a single block are too small and unrepresentative. Zunz's solution is to study six "block frontages" for a sample unit which is defined as the four fronts of a block and two randomly selected fronts across the street. This is an example of Zunz's successful originality in his use of statistics to ferret out the changing social structure of Detroit.
Statistical studies can often become bogged down by its own weight if they are not kept in check by an effective narrative and descriptive data. Zunz achieves the perfect equilibrium by providing numerous and informative charts, graphs, and maps to augment his clear discussion of statistical procedures. The result is a wealth of evidence for the reader despite the fact that the 1920 census will only be fully disclosed in 1992.
Though this book deserves much praise, there are also problems which stem from overgeneralization. The main fault of Zunz is his failure to discuss the representativeness of his study to other cities. Was this history endemic only to the people of Detroit, or did it extend to the other cities in the industrial belt such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or Chicago? Did the automobile industry have specific effects on Detroit which would not be represented in other areas? Zunz must more clearly define the impact and influence this work has on urbanization and industrial development in general.
The Changing Face of Inequality is an excellent study of the evolution of Detroit from an ethnically divided city to a racially segregated metropolis. The book clearly illuminates how society was transformed by urbanization and industrialization from 1880 to 1920. While failing to cite evidence regarding its representativeness to other developing cities, its novel approach and statistical excellence insure the importance of this book for all social historians for many years to come.
December 1, 2020
This is a dry and very academic book, but contains a wealth of knowledge portrayed much differently than other Detroit-based history books. I highly encourage reading this for anyone interested in Detroit and how it became how it is now.
December 10, 2020
i read this whole thing....it gets the job done. favorite quote "men were often the ones who filled out the census, more likely to forget a few dead children." o, familial bonds!
February 1, 2013
If you have family who came to Detroit from Germany or Poland, chances are high that they arrived in the city between the years of 1880-1920. Packed with data and analysis about employment and demographics, this book explores the sociological and economic factors they faced. Dozens of charts are included containing insights into Detroiters' lives. A thorough and fascinating read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews