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Abstract

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Could metro dynamics, which have long eroded Detroit's economy, have changed so drastically that they now might help stabilize it? Advocates of the new regionalism contend that increasing economic interdependence within metro areas has boosted the propensity for metro scale mobilizations to address troubles of city and suburb alike. I use the case of Detroit to examine the nature of metro economic relationships and novel episodes of metro regionalism. I find the continued effect of racial segregation, in combination with other factors, has caused Detroit blacks to be more vulnerable to recent declines in manufacturing and to be less likely to benefit from recent knowledge economy investments. New forms of metro regionalism are unlikely to economically stabilize less advantaged households or municipalities in the Detroit area, but may be creating frameworks that enable more progressive mobilizations by Detroit CBOs.

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Detroit's Regional Question

Abstract

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