ABSTRACT
The political rationalities and policy technologies of neoliberalism are well suited to the moments of crisis. The critical analysis of neoliberalism must involve acts of deconstruction as well as reconstruction. Detroit was actively exploring how it might learn to live in the context of diminished means, to cope with a downsizing economy and a depopulating city, while also authorizing strategies of revitalization. Across the field of critical urban studies, explanatory invocations of neoliberalism have acquired something akin to a default position in recent years. Much of this work, understandably, has been concerned with the real-time analysis of the various breaking edges of transformation, often tagged to processual understandings of neoliberalization as an adaptive technology of governance repeatedly reanimated by crisis conditions as well as strategic considerations. The bankruptcy has only made Detroit a more attractive investment. Bankruptcy often means good investments at a great price.
