Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-20-2020
Publication Title
Journal of Urban Affairs
Volume
42
Issue
8
Pages
1141-1163
Abstract
Scholars and practitioners have argued that authentic public participation is crucial in developing strategic plans for so-called shrinking cities, not only for informing the content of the resulting plans but also for fostering public support, civic capacity, and equitable outcomes. The Detroit Works Project, launched in 2010, provided an opportunity to examine the crafting of a high-profile strategic plan for a major U.S. city challenged by decades of population loss and disinvestment. We find that the project was yet another instance of urban planning that began with an assurance that public involvement would play a central role but then failed to fulfill that promise. Transparency and accountability were compromised as a result of the privatization of public responsibilities. The resulting plan did not reflect the priorities, insights, or needs of most Detroiters. Justice was subordinated to the perceived imperative of the market within an ideological frame of neoliberal austerity.
Recommended Citation
Markus, Gregory B. and Krings, Amy. Planning, Participation, and Power in a Shrinking City: The Detroit Works Project. Journal of Urban Affairs, 42, 8: 1141-1163, 2020. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2020.1779009
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Taylor & Francis
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Urban Affairs on July 20, 2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2020.1779009