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The late 20th and early 21st centuries have seen a process of radical transformation: While the Sunbelt cities grew both in their populations and economies, cities in the Rust Belt, such as Detroit, Michigan, or Gary, Indiana, have experienced the massive shrinkage of their population, the loss of jobs and, by consequence, the large-scale abandonment of both industrial buildings and homes. Since, economists, artists, urban planners, investors, and many others have engaged in various ways with this post-industrial landscape, have compared it to a new kind of frontier but also to a “third world” city, have tried to re-build old structures, or argued for the greening of sites the industry had left behind.

My paper engages with the process of radical urban transformation and the challenges of talking and writing about its landscape.

Access link: uni-konstanz-de.zoom.us/j/95271253841