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Detroit HistoryRevolution DetroitStrategies for Urban ReinventionJohn GallagherAfter decades of suburban sprawl, job loss, and lack of regional government,Detroit has become a symbol of post-industrial distress and also one ofthe most complex urban environments in the world. In Revolution Detroit:Strategies for Urban Reinvention, John Gallagher argues that Detroit’sexperience can offer valuable lessons to other cities that are, or will soonbe, dealing with the same broken municipal model. A follow-up to hisaward-winning 2010 work, Reimagining Detroit, this volume looks at Detroit’ssuccesses and failures in confronting its considerable challenges. It also looksat other ideas for reinvention drawn from the recent history of other cities,including Cleveland, Flint, Richmond, Philadelphia, and Youngstown, aswell as overseas cities, including Manchester and Leipzig.Revolution Detroit surveys four key areas: governance, education and crime, economic models, and therepurposing of vacant urban land. Among the topics Gallagher covers are effective new urban governancemodels developed in Cleveland and Detroit; new education models highlighting low-income-but-highachievementschools and districts; creative new entrepreneurial business models emerging in Detroit andother post-industrial cities; and examples of successful repurposing of vacant urban land through urbanagriculture, restoration of natural landscapes, and the use of art in public places. He concludes with acautious yet hopeful message that Detroit may prove to be the world’s most important venue for successfulurban experimentation and that the reinvention portrayed in the book can be repeated in many cities.Readers interested in urban studies and recent Detroit history will appreciate this thoughtful assessmentof the best practices and obvious errors when it comes to reinventing our cities.2013 / 6 x 9 / 208 pp / 44 illus / ISBN 978-0-8143-3871-1, $24.95t paperISBN 978-0-8143-3857-5 eA Painted Turtle bookReimagining DetroitOpportunities for Redefining an American CityJohn Gallagher2011 Michigan Notable Book!As selected by the Library of Michigan2011 Eric Hoffer Book AwardsFinalist in the category of Culture2010 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year!Finalist in the category of Social Science“Written with footnotes for the academic reader and the author’s ownphotography, Gallagher places Detroit in the context of other cities that arereinventing themselves; while shrinking, but growing through qualitativedevelopment.” —Model D MediaExperts estimate that perhaps forty square miles of Detroit are vacant—from a quarter to a third of thecity —a level of emptiness that creates a landscape unlike any other big city. Author John Gallagher, whohas covered urban redevelopment for the Detroit Free Press for two decades, spent a year researching whatis going on in Detroit precisely because of its open space and the dire economic times we face. Insteadof presenting another account of the city’s decline, Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining anAmerican City showcases the innovative community-building work happening in the city and focuses onwhat else can be done to make Detroit leaner, greener, and more economically self-sufficient. Some ofthe topics Gallagher discusses are urban agriculture, restoring vacant lots, reconfiguring Detroit’s overbuiltroad network, and reestablishing some of the city’s original natural landscape. He also investigates newmodels for governing the city and fostering a more entrepreneurial economy to ensure a more stablepolitical and economic future. Along the way, Gallagher introduces readers to innovative projects thatare already under way in the city and proposes other models for possible solutions—from as far away asDresden, Germany, and Seoul, South Korea, and as close to home as Philadelphia and Youngstown—tocomplement current efforts.2010 / 6 x 9 / 176 pp / 33 illus / ISBN 978-0-8143-3469-0, $19.95t paperISBN 978-0-814-33605-2 eA Painted Turtle book(800) 978-7323 wsupress.wayne.edu 21