The Grand Plans that Failed to Save Detroit

The $500 million Renaissance Center, a 2.9-mile People Mover, and new downtown sports stadiums are just some of the grand schemes that were supposed to help arrest Detroit's decades-long decline.

1 minute read

August 11, 2013, 9:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj

ellenm1 / flickr

"Nobody has done an accounting of the money that has flowed to Detroit through the years in the name of urban renewal," writes Michael A. Fletcher. "But researchers note that the city has been a major recipient of federal money since the Model Cities program was launched as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society."

“Detroit has certainly seen its share of urban initiatives,” said Eric Scorsone, an economist and faculty member at Michigan State University.

"Few have fared particularly well," adds Fletcher, who chronicles some of the grand plans - both public and private - that failed to arrest the city's economic meltdown.

FULL STORY: Grand plans by presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, fail in Detroit

Thursday, August 8, 2013 in The Washington Post

Community / Economic Development Government / Politics Michigan Detroit Urban Renewal

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