From Detroit to Bochum – What happens when the automotive industry disappears? | DW Documentary

The automotive industry has shaped both Detroit, in the US, and Bochum, in Germany. The film illustrates the dramatic developments occurring in these two cities on different continents – and how the people living there are affected.

Bochum, an industrial city in the Ruhr valley region of western Germany. And Detroit, in the Rust Belt of North America. These are two very different cities. But they have one important thing in common: their fortunes have been shaped by the automotive industry. The beginning and end of Bochum’s automotive industry can also be traced to Detroit.

Since the end of the industrial age, people on both sides of the Atlantic have been searching for a new identity. This film introduces us to those affected by the developments, and to the planners, scientists and politicians who have been actively involved in the cities’ transformation. What are their promises and visions of the future, in these uncertain times? Despite their differences, the people of Bochum and Detroit are connected by their desire for a dignified and happy life. This cinematic exploration of the two cities is a journey into the hearts of the people who live in these two cities.

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43 comments

  6. GREED: What happens when you send all your manufacturing to a communist regime called CCP for slave labor. SINS of human nature have remained the same for thousands of years & everybody wonders why we annihilate ourselves. VIOLATE GOD’S WAYS & WE DESERVE NO PITY.

  7. Können wir uns einfach darauf einigen, dass zum Brunch immer bodenlose Mimosen gehören und kein Urteil über den Nachschlag gefällt werden sollte✨

  8. Ein Date in den Dreißigern ist wie die Suche nach einem Parkplatz bei Costco an einem Samstag – anstrengend, aber man ist bereit, auf die guten Sachen zu warten💖

  10. It was the riots that killed Detroit more than anything else. Surrounding areas did fine. Detroit, Baltimore, Newark, Camden all ruined

  13. That’s why the struggle to try and slow the move to EVs is so incredibly stupid. China is now producing 3rd gen cars, South Korea too. Whilst EU manufacturers are still working out the bugs from their 2nd gen cars. Let’s not even begin about US car manufacturers because they barely produce more than compliance cars.

  15. That's old stuff! Stead of crying they should look at all these land and resources for new technology and business models. There is a lot potential for green energy and technologies. Stead of miss that days of active factories and heavy pollution they should be happy and forget that dirty business that left all that garbage and pollution behind….the heritage of this industry is alarming cancer rates

  16. We humans tend to think that things are never supposed to come to an end. Capitalism has taught us that there's supposed to be eternal growth and if anything stops growing we claim it's disaster.
    When something start we assume it's supposed to go on forever!???
    Even population growth slowing down is seen as terrible thing…
    I wonder why we think this way

  19. Companies should be required to fully restore the sites they tear down and at least leave it clean and in grass. Michigan is littered with the post apocalyptic mess left by heavy industry. As population declines in the west, everything could look like Detroit leaving only an eco of who we were. Props to the urban agriculture guy. We need more people with a can do spirit like that.

  21. I am living in Thailand. At the moment, Japanese cars industries in Thailand are moving out. May be it will be ended like in Bochum.

  22. By the 1970's so many people had left Detroit, a bunch of people ran around each year burning down empty dilapidated buildings and houses on "Devil's Night", which was the night before Halloween.

  24. i remember going through Detroit many years ago. it felt like the most desolate place i'd ever visited… not a single soul in the streets. i was running low on gas and it felt like if i would run out of gas out there, that would also be the end of my life there like nobody could reach me.

  26. Plenty of places in the UK similar, old mining towns, the industrial north east and now seeing the decline of the textiles in my old city Leicester.

    With regards Detroit, do we need to talk about the effects of air conditioning and Detroit’s decline? For me, if the plant is to be replaced with high tech engineering for example, I’d prefer to be in Phoenix than Detroit. Discuss …

  30. I don't think the auto industry will disappear completely – cars will always be needed for the odd trips, but hopefully they won't be privately owned (eg ride shares, taxis, car shares, car hire).

    There will also be a demand for public transit vehicles etc. This is necessary to bring urban integration & connectivity via affordable urban mobility to everybody not just the wealthy. The switch to EVs has the added advantage of reducing urban pollution. Switching to active mobility & public transit will reduce congestion, reduce travel time awa traffic accidents etc.

    Cities like Amsterdam have separate infrastructure for cars, bikes & public transit thereby eliminating conflict between road users. Portland (Oregon) has developed separate infrastructure for active mobility that avoids roads & cars.

    The auto industry in Detroit became a victim of globalisation (moving production to countries with low wages & enviro standards etc). Cities need a diverse economy for stability & security and not rely on a single employer / industry.

  35. They banker's wall street city of London moved it all to ASIA, and more has moved by Biden to INDIA

    INDIA 2020-2030 WEST/EAST AFRICA is next, including ISLAM. Part of banker's globalization

  36. Where is the data on the annual depreciation of automobiles since Sputnik? How much was the result of planned obsolescence? When do economists talk about the depreciation in the Net Domestic Product (NDP) equation?

  37. Move to Asian (china), Eurasia, Africa, Dubai, India, Mexico, Pakistan, iran, Israel, Abu Dhabi, QUATAR, etc

    Wall Street City of London under demographic dividen

  42. This is just a small glimpse into the economic decline of the Ruhrgebiet, or Greater Ruhr region. Some of its cities like Duisburg and Essen used to be the richest cities in the country. Now, many Ruhrgebiet cities are on the brink of bankruptcy. It's not only the car industry as in Bochum. It was the steel, mining and coal industries that left the region destitute when they disappeared. In this regard, we are truly similar to not only Detroit but also the Rust Belt as well as much of North England.

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