Detroit's Municipal Bankruptcy and the Case of Austerity Urbanism

Abstract

Urban theorist Jamie Peck theorizes austerity urbanism as a dominant state practice of financially “restructuring” the fiscal agendas of local governments in order to reduce government budget deficits in times of economic recessions. This thesis examines how austerity urbanism as a theoretical lens can be used to describe urban transformations in the City of Detroit. My central argument is that Detroit, specifically following its municipal bankruptcy, is experiencing an austerity moment as a result of the United States’ shift towards neoliberalism that dismantled Keynesian principles and compelled the federal and state government to withdraw their presence in fiscal aid transfers to local governments. This era created a reinvigorated neoliberal politics of austerity in the City of Detroit that is based on balancing state budgets and favouring cuts in government expenditure.