The Grand Plans that Failed to Save Detroit

"Nobody has done an accounting of the money that has flowed to Detroit through the years in the name of urban renewal," writes Michael A. Fletcher. "But researchers note that the city has been a major recipient of federal money since the Model Cities program was launched as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society."

“Detroit has certainly seen its share of urban initiatives,” said Eric Scorsone, an economist and faculty member at Michigan State University.

"Few have fared particularly well," adds Fletcher, who chronicles some of the grand plans - both public and private - that failed to arrest the city's economic meltdown.