After the Factory (2012)

• 57%
• 2012

The global economy is in crisis. More and more businesses are outsourcing their manufacturing. And former industrial towns-- whether they're in Ohio, Mississippi, or Poland-- are left asking the question, 'What comes after the factory?' For questions like this, the best answers come from the people who have been there. Detroit, Michigan has been running on fumes since the fall of the auto industry and Poland's textile industry in Lodz has been hanging by a thread since the fall of communism. In both cities, their populations have fled, their unemployment has spiked, and now, they're both on the front lines of re-building their economies. After the Factory presents an opportunity to learn from these two diametrically different cultures as their entire way of life transitions to something new. Stories from the citizens are inspiring. Ideas from community leaders are thought-provoking. Free-thinking entrepreneurs are putting a new spin on traditional concepts of growth. Change is inevitable. And as the people in each city propel Detroit and Lodz into the future, this trans-continental dialogue allows communities worldwide to see how these fallen giants, troubled as they are, just might be the innovators writing the new rulebook for next generation cities.