Reimagining Detroit Opportunities for Redefining an American City

"John Gallagher's Reimagining Detroit provides a thought-provoking analysis of a city devastated by deindustrialization and a clear vision for a future Detroit as a smaller, vibrant city. This thinking goes against the grain as many public policy experts and planners believe that fixing Detroit requires a repopulation of the city's current footprint. Policy makers and community leaders should examine Gallagher's paradigm-shifting idea that when you plan for shrinkage, growth happens. Reimagining Detroit is a must-read for all engaged in the hard work of rebuilding Detroit."-Sheila Cockrel, former Detroit city councilwoman and adjunct professor in the Wayne State University Irvin D. Reid Honors College "John Gallagher has done a great job of synthesizing a host of important and emerging ideas that could dramatically change Detroit's future and of presenting them in ways that are clear and vivid and that both practitioners and laypeople will readily grasp. This is a valuable book, not only for Detroiters, but for anyone with a physical, financial, or emotional stake in the future of America's shrinking industrial cities."-Alan Mallach, non-resident senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution and author of Bringing Buildings Back: From Vacant Properties to Community Assets" What is really distinctive about John Gallagher's contribution to the Detroit saga is his perspective. This important and timely book reflects his design/architectural background, his business experience, and the investigative skills he honed at the Detroit Free Press. This rich background is badly needed, as much of the writing about the post-industrial urban future, including Detroit's, is narrow or opinionated or worse, both. Gallagher's book will not be the last to explore the journey that Detroit might take through the twenty-first century, but this road map will be essential reading for all."-Robin Boyle, director of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at Wayne State University "Whether urban or rural dweller, academic or practitioner, the reader takes from Gallagher a deeper appreciation of both the challenges and opportunities that exist within our cities, challenges and opportunities that will ultimately impact our country."-Jay Williams, mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, from the foreword