The City after Property: Abandonment and Repair in Postindustrial Detroit

Sara Safransky's book "The City after Property" challenges myths about Detroit's abandonment and explores how property regimes have shaped urban policy and politics. She argues that private property is a racialized construct that shapes selves and worlds, offering alternative ways of imagining and organizing urban life.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 03 October 2023
Publisher: Duke University Press

In her book "The City after Property," Sara Safransky delves into the intricate dynamics of postindustrial decline, shedding light on the emergence of novel urban land politics. In the 2010s, Detroit government officials categorized an astounding 150,000 lots, representing more than a third of the city, as "vacant" or "abandoned." Through a comprehensive analysis of subsequent efforts to reduce Detroit's footprint and budget, Safransky presents a fresh perspective on urban abandonment. She challenges prevalent myths that portray Detroit as an empty metropolis and narratives that attribute its historical decline solely to capital and white flight. By intertwining contemporary debates on neoliberal urbanism with Cold War histories and the enduring political legacies of global movements for decolonization and Black liberation, Safransky underscores how the creation and challenges to modern property regimes have shaped urban policy and politics. Drawing upon critical geographical theory and community-based ethnography, Safransky demonstrates how private property operates as a racialized construct, an ideology, and a moral force that shapes individuals and societies. By contemplating the city "after property," Safransky offers alternative frameworks for imagining and organizing urban life, offering a thought-provoking exploration of the complex interplay between urban decline, property regimes, and the shaping of urban futures.

Weight: 522g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478020783