|
|
|
Place Name
|
Flint
|
|
Place Status (Type)
|
city
|
|
Capital Of
|
Genessee County
|
|
Population
|
140,761 (1990)
|
|
Location
|
Michigan, United States, North America
|
|
Latitude
|
43°01'N
|
|
Longitude
|
83°41'W
|
Flint
, city (1990 pop.
140,761),  Genessee co., SE Mich., on the Flint R.; 43°01'N
83°41'W. Elev. 750 ft/229 m. RR junction.
Mfg. (transportation equip., fabricated metal prods., chemicals,
publishing, meat processing, consumer goods). Since 1902 it has been
one of the chief automobile-mfg. centers of the world, paralleling the
success of the nearby Detroit auto industry. The huge General Motors
Corp. had its beginnings (1908) in Flint, and many other major
automobile makers (Chrysler, Chevrolet, Nash, Champion, Buick) also
started here. The early fur-trading post (1819) was succeeded by a
settlement with lumbering and then cart and carriage making as Flint's
major industry. In 1937, sitdown strikes by the United Auto Workers
(UAW) in the factories of General Motors led to widespread labor
organization. The auto industry has faltered in the latter 20th cent.,
in part due to foreign competition, and during the 1980s massive
layoffs at General Motors devastated Flint's single-industry
economy. Attempts at economic diversification and revitalization have
had limited success. Bishop Internatl. Airport in SW city. In the city
are a branch of the Univ. of Mich., Charles Stewart Mott Community
Col., Art Institute, Mich. School for the Deaf, Alfred P. Sloan Mus., a
planetarium, I.M.A. Sports Arena, Guy Houston Stadium, and a nature
preserve. Inc. 1855.
|
