This talk reviews the mid-century dreams for redevelopment in the city of Detroit, starting in the 1950s. We will discuss what city leaders and their urban planners set out to do; barriers that they faced; and their successes, failures, and shortcomings. We will compare several urban renewal projects from the 1950s to the 1970s to contemporary development, pointing out the linkages and implications for today’s downtown, Midtown, and residential neighborhoods.

June Manning Thomas is Centennial Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Dr. Thomas has authored, co-authored or contributed to numerous books, articles and reports.

This is the third lecture in a six-lecture series entitled “Detroit: Complex Past, Promising Present, Uncertain Future.”