Editing Flint, Michigan (section)

===Late 20th century: deindustrialization and demographic changes===
Since the late 1960s through the end of the 20th century, Flint has suffered from [[disinvestment]], [[deindustrialization]], [[Population decline|depopulation]] and [[urban decay]], as well as high rates of crime, unemployment and poverty. Initially, this took the form of "[[white flight]]" that afflicted many urban industrialized American towns and cities. Given Flint's role in the automotive industry, this decline was exacerbated by the [[1973 oil crisis]] with spiking oil prices and the U.S. auto industry's subsequent loss of market share to imports, as Japanese manufacturers were producing cars with better [[fuel economy in automobiles|fuel economy]].<ref>Peter Cheney, 'Globe and Mail,' November 5, 2015, "The rise of Japan: How the car industry was won" https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/adventure/red-line/the-rise-of-japan-how-the-car-industry-was-won/article27100187/</ref>

In the 1980s, the rate of deindustrialization accelerated again with local GM employment falling from a 1978 high of 80,000 to under 8,000 by 2010. Only 10% of the manufacturing work force from its height remains in Flint. Many factors have been blamed, including [[outsourcing]], [[offshoring]], increased [[automation]], and moving jobs to [[Labor unions in the United States|non-union]] facilities in right to work states and foreign countries.

This decline was highlighted in the film ''[[Roger & Me]]'' by [[Michael Moore]] (the title refers to [[Roger Smith (executive)|Roger B. Smith]], the CEO of General Motors during the 1980s). Also highlighted in Moore's documentary was the failure of city officials to reverse the trends with entertainment options (e.g. the now-demolished [[AutoWorld (theme park)|AutoWorld]]) during the 1980s. Moore, a native of [[Davison, Michigan|Davison]] (a Flint suburb), revisited Flint in his later movies, including ''[[Bowling for Columbine]]'', ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'',
and ''[[Fahrenheit 11/9]]''.