Planning and Industrial Decline Lessons from Postwar Detroit

Abstract

This article examines one city's public policy reaction to industrial change during the postwar period. The city of Detroit's efforts to implement a creditable program to counter industrial exodus faltered both because of problems that faced other rustbelt cities and because of particular local political circumstances. Although the city began to participate more actively in economic development in the early 1970s, much industrial employment had already left the city, making the improved economic development tools less effective. Economic development efforts must adjust to new realities; rustbelt cities like Detroit need broader policies designed to help remedy important social and economic problems.