Life at the outer limits of urban austerity: Burn, a new documentary about Detroit’s fire department, tells a story that could perhaps echo throughout many U.S. cities: At a certain point in a city’s decline its financial resources are so diminished that life-or-death services like policing and firefighting have to be cut back at the…
Tag: detroit
Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law: Good for banks, not so good for people
Michigan’s Emergency Manager law is a big part of my dissertation, so I haven’t written about it much here. But after wading through the overwhelming media support for Proposition 1, which will affirm the Emergency Manager law passed by Republicans in 2011, a rare piece on the underlying issues caught my eye: Those who like…
Detroit’s emergency, to be continued
Detroit’s City Council adjourned last Thursday, vowing to come back Monday to consider the state’s proposed consent agreement. Yesterday’s deliberations didn’t produce a decision, although it became clear that several members would not vote for the agreement. Tuesday afternoon, the Council again announced that it would not yet be voting on the agreement. But the…
Detroit, in limbo
So much going on in Detroit, after several weeks of uncertainty about whether the financial review team appointed by the Governor would be able to move forward (punctuated by court orders requiring them to stop secret meetings, and the dismissal and then reinstatement of Flint’s emergency manager). The review team missed its original deadline in…
Detroit financial review team hearing
This clip is an interesting glimpse into the financial review process underway in Detroit. Governor Snyder of Michigan proposed a consent agreement that would set up a financial advisory board for the city, removing authority for fiscal decisions from the Mayor and City Council, but falling short of dismantling the city government (which an emergency…