Description:
Detroit has come to symbolise deindustrialization and the challenges, and opportunities, it presents. As many cities struggle with urban decline, racial and ethnic tensions and the consequences of neoliberal governance and political fragmentation, Detroit's relevance grows stronger.
Why Detroit Matters bridges academic and non-academic responses to this extreme example of a fractured and divided, post-industrial city.
Contributions from many of the leading scholars on Detroit are joined by influential writers, planners, artists and activists who have contributed chapters drawing on their experiences and ideas. The book concludes with interviews with some of the city's most important visionaries who are engaged in inspiring practices which provide powerful lessons for Detroit and other cities around the world.
The book will be a valuable reference for scholars, practitioners and students from across disciplines including geography, planning, architecture, sociology, urban studies, history, American studies, and economics.
Brief description: Brian Doucet is the Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Social Inclusion and an Associate Professor in the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo, Canada.
Review Quotes: "This is a most welcome addition to the growing body of literature that not only is bringing long overdue attention to Detroit but also seeks to provide much needed nuance and complexity to Manichean debates. Doucet challenges readers to dissect the conscious choices that led Detroit into and out of bankruptcy rather than accept what transpired as inevitable." Journal of Urban Affairs