Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in Detroit

Abstract Introduction Many scholars have discussed urban decline, and one of the emerging discourses has called for redefining the crisis as an opportunity to establish new urban governance models. This paper evaluates the outcomes of such innovative approaches to managing urban decline by identifyi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nebojša Čamprag
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2018-05-01
Series:City, Territory and Architecture
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40410-018-0078-4
_version_ 1818486749260677120
author Nebojša Čamprag
author_facet Nebojša Čamprag
author_sort Nebojša Čamprag
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction Many scholars have discussed urban decline, and one of the emerging discourses has called for redefining the crisis as an opportunity to establish new urban governance models. This paper evaluates the outcomes of such innovative approaches to managing urban decline by identifying its major implementation challenges, effects and outcomes, and pointing out long-term development perspectives. Case description The focus was on Detroit, the ‘greatest failure’ among the troubled large cities in the US, whose municipal government, policy makers and elites have invested a great deal of effort to stem the city’s rapid decline. Discussion and evaluation Of particular interest was the period since 2013 when the city government declared bankruptcy. An innovative strategy based on stabilisation, recovery, and irreversible degrowth was then embraced. The research method to investigate the efficiency of its implementation is centered on analysis of the secondary literature, strategies and official documents designed by the local government and private foundations in Detroit, as well as of supporting news reports. Conclusions In conclusion, besides the importance of redefining approaches to urban policy-making in declining cities, the study illustrated the necessity of developing equally innovative alternative ways for their successful implementation.
first_indexed 2024-12-10T16:27:09Z
format Article
id doaj.art-6ca9860e9fc444058e1f5988e47ba6c7
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2195-2701
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-10T16:27:09Z
publishDate 2018-05-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series City, Territory and Architecture
spelling doaj.art-6ca9860e9fc444058e1f5988e47ba6c72022-12-22T01:41:39ZengSpringerOpenCity, Territory and Architecture2195-27012018-05-015111110.1186/s40410-018-0078-4Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in DetroitNebojša Čamprag0Faculty of Architecture (Mundus Urbano), Technical University of DarmstadtAbstract Introduction Many scholars have discussed urban decline, and one of the emerging discourses has called for redefining the crisis as an opportunity to establish new urban governance models. This paper evaluates the outcomes of such innovative approaches to managing urban decline by identifying its major implementation challenges, effects and outcomes, and pointing out long-term development perspectives. Case description The focus was on Detroit, the ‘greatest failure’ among the troubled large cities in the US, whose municipal government, policy makers and elites have invested a great deal of effort to stem the city’s rapid decline. Discussion and evaluation Of particular interest was the period since 2013 when the city government declared bankruptcy. An innovative strategy based on stabilisation, recovery, and irreversible degrowth was then embraced. The research method to investigate the efficiency of its implementation is centered on analysis of the secondary literature, strategies and official documents designed by the local government and private foundations in Detroit, as well as of supporting news reports. Conclusions In conclusion, besides the importance of redefining approaches to urban policy-making in declining cities, the study illustrated the necessity of developing equally innovative alternative ways for their successful implementation.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40410-018-0078-4Declining citiesUrban governanceStrategic responseUrban renewalDetroit
spellingShingle Nebojša Čamprag
Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in Detroit
City, Territory and Architecture
Declining cities
Urban governance
Strategic response
Urban renewal
Detroit
title Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in Detroit
title_full Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in Detroit
title_fullStr Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in Detroit
title_full_unstemmed Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in Detroit
title_short Innovative post-neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis? Another reflection on the case of urban decline in Detroit
title_sort innovative post neoliberal policy as a way out of crisis another reflection on the case of urban decline in detroit
topic Declining cities
Urban governance
Strategic response
Urban renewal
Detroit
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40410-018-0078-4
work_keys_str_mv AT nebojsacamprag innovativepostneoliberalpolicyasawayoutofcrisisanotherreflectiononthecaseofurbandeclineindetroit