Flint

In this essay from Places, architecture professor Wes Janz documents and ponders the economic decay of Flint, Michigan.

"More cities in the developed world shrank than grew in the last three decades. More than 40 of those cities were in the United States, according to City Mayors, an urban affairs think tank," writes Gordon Young.

Take two seemingly unrelated words: Flint and Gentrification. Now put them together. What you get is an unexpected rebirth in one part of the struggling city -- a neighborhood where home ownership and community investment are actually increasing.

According to this op-ed, allowing cities to de-densify undermines the importance of the city's role in society at large--namely, as a breeding ground for technological and cultural innovation.

With a focus on public spaces, Flint, Michigan, is looking to revitalize itself.