experienced an urban renewal with diversified economies. of course government corruption was cleaned up. detroit never did that. population is now estimated to be just 700,000. down from a peak of 1.8 million during the auto industry boom years of the 50s. population has plunged 25% in just the last decade. roughly 78,000 city structures had been abandoned. the city s unemployment rate has nearly tripled since 2000. and is more than double the national average. and the even bigger fear now is whether detroit is the first example of what a lot of states and cities are fearing. that they re going to get crushed by pension obligations that they can t meet. that s at the core of this bankruptcy. it s unique and trainingi tragi. when does it become a crushing burden for then to meet those same obligations? the bankruptcy filing lists more than 100,000 creditors. the biggest ones are all related to retirement and pension funds period. that will surely be a major part of today s explanation