Date and time
Wednesday 9 January 2019
16.00 – 18.00
Location
Graham Wallas Room, 5th Floor, Old Building
London School of Economics and Political Science
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
Why Detroit Matters: Decline, Renewal and Hope in a Divided City
Chair
Prof Hyun Bang Shin (LSE)
Introduction
Prof Loretta Lees (Leicester)
Speaker
Dr Brian Doucet (University of Waterloo, Canada)
Discussant(s)
Prof Phil Hubbard (KCL)
Detroit has come to symbolise deindustrialization and the challenges, and opportunities, it presents. As many cities struggle with urban decline, racial and ethnic tensions and the consequences of neoliberal governance and political fragmentation, Detroit’s relevance grows stronger. In this talk, Brian Doucet bridges academic and non-academic responses to this extreme example of a fractured and divided, post-industrial city. He critically assesses the two dominant narratives which have characterised Detroit: that of the city as a metonym for urban failure, and a new narrative of the comeback city. Through including the perspectives of visionary Detroiters who do not normally feature in academic, policy or political debates, Doucet’s work documents many visions of hope which offer genuine alternatives for an inclusive and just city. This talk will discuss the main findings of the edited book Why Detroit Matters, as well as Detroit’s relevance for cities around the world.
Biography of the Speaker
Brian Doucet is a Canada Research Chair the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo in Canada. His work focuses on gentrification, neighbourhood change and urban inequalities. Originally from Toronto, he lived in the Netherlands between 2004 – 2017 where he taught urban geography at Utrecht University, and urban studies at Erasmus University College.
