Shrinking Cities and First Suburbs : The Case of Detroit and Warren, Michigan

This Book Examines Warren, A Suburb Of Detroit, Michigan, As A Shrinking City Facing A Crisis Of Economic Downturn, Automotive Restructuring, High Unemployment, And Real Estate Foreclosures. The Author Explores Warren's Attempt To Develop Planning Strategies, Culturally-based Initiatives, Community Design Projects, And Creative Partnerships In The Region In Order To Address The Challenges Of Shrinkage And Foreclosures At Multiple Scales. Global Urban Development Is Currently Characterized By Varied Combination Of Metropolitan Growth And Urban Core Shrinkage. While Much Of The Shrinkage Is Concentrated In Central Cities, First Suburbs Are Now Facing The Same Problem. The Warren Case Illustrates Opportunities For Flexible Policies Combining Rightsizing, Shared Maintenance, And Incremental Development In Struggling First Suburban Communities, Which Are Less Studied And Often Ignored. Introduction : The Shrinking City Phenomenon -- Detroit Metropolitan Area And Warren -- The Shrinking Context Of Warren -- Warren As A Case Study -- First Suburbs And Challenges Of Shrinkage In Warren -- Current Efforts In Warren -- Conclusion : Lessons From Warren. Anirban Adhya. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 81-84) And Index. Shrinking Cities and First Suburbs 3 Preface 6 Acknowledgment 9 Contents 11 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms 12 List of Figures 13 List of Tables 15 1 Introduction: The Shrinking City Phenomenon 16 Growth and Urban Development 16 Shrinking Cities: Definition and Formulation of a Phenomenon 18 Challenges of Shrinking Cities 18 Global Forces, Regional Dynamics, and Local Questions 19 Relevance of Shrinking Cities 20 Shrinkage at the Periphery: A New Crisis 21 Evolution of Urban Edges and First Suburbs 22 2 Detroit Metropolitan Area and Warren 26 Everyday Life in Warren 26 Dynamic Urban Condition 27 Behind the Scenes 31 3 The Shrinking Context of Warren 33 Changing Phases of Warren 33 Origins of Warren as a Small Settlement Town 34 City of Progress 35 From Boomtown to a Shrinking Suburb 37 Rethinking Current Efforts in Warren 38 Future as City of Projects 39 Into the Twenty-First Century and Beyond 40 4 Warren as a Case Study 42 Case Study as a Research Design 42 Warren as an Example of a First Suburb 44 An Empirical Approach 45 Multiple Data Sources 46 City of Warren DDA Development Plan and TIF Plan 46 Macomb County Planning and Economic Development 48 Detroit Non-Motorized Transportation 48 5 First Suburbs and Challenges of Shrinkage in Warren 50 Understanding First Suburbs 50 First Suburbs 51 Specific Challenges in Warren, a Midwest First Suburb 51 Declining Housing and Infrastructure 53 New Suburban Demographics 57 Labor-Market Restructuring 58 Metropolitan Fragmentation 60 From Crisis to Projects 61 6 Current Efforts in Warren 63 Small Steps with Limited Resources 63 Neighborhood Stabilization Program 64 Cultural Initiatives 66 Project-Based Initiatives 68 Informal Collaborations and Creative Partnerships 69 7 Conclusion: Lessons from Warren 76 Challenges and Opportunities 76 Intended Implications 77 A Two-Way Approach 82 Strategic Regionalism 83 Everyday Urbanism 84 Toward a Harmonious and Humanizing City-Region 85 Implications for Spatial Planning 86 Implications for Policy Formulation 87 Bibliography 92 Index 96 This book examines Warren, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, as a shrinking city facing a crisis of economic downturn, automotive restructuring, high unemployment, and real estate foreclosures. The author explores Warren's attempt to develop planning strategies, culturally-based initiatives, community design projects, and creative partnerships in the region in order to address the challenges of shrinkage and foreclosures at multiple scales. Global urban development is currently characterized by varied combination of metropolitan growth and urban core shrinkage. While much of the shrinkage is concentrated in central cities, first suburbs are now facing the same problem. The Warren case illustrates opportunities for flexible policies combining rightsizing, shared maintenance, and incremental development in struggling first suburban communities, which are less studied and often ignored.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xix Introduction: The Shrinking City Phenomenon....Pages 1-10 Detroit Metropolitan Area and Warren....Pages 11-17 The Shrinking Context of Warren....Pages 19-27 Warren as a Case Study....Pages 29-36 First Suburbs and Challenges of Shrinkage in Warren....Pages 37-49 Current Efforts in Warren....Pages 51-63 Conclusion: Lessons from Warren....Pages 65-80 Back Matter....Pages 81-90