Regional Restructuring and Urban Regimes: A Comparison of the Pittsburgh and Detroit Metropolitan Areas

Jo, H.J. 2002. Regional Restructuring and Urban Regimes: A Comparison of the Pittsburgh and Detroit Metropolitan Areas.
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Regional restructuring is defined as the economic actors’ response to resolve a crisis on the regional level. The industrial cities of the Midwest and Northeast have tried to respond to the common impacts of economic crisis caused by de-industrialization, such as plant closings and mass unemployment. However, while these cities experienced the common trend of de-industrialization, they followed different paths in their responses. Some cities have succeeded in revitalizing their economies, while others have failed to regain the vitality of their economy. This gives rise to several questions. Why have major industrial cities restructured their regions via different paths? Why have major industrial cities shown varying results from regional restructuring? To answer these questions, we will compare the regional restructuring that took place in two major American industrial cities, Pittsburgh and Detroit, and examine how the different paths gave rise to different outcomes. In other words, the objective of this study is to compare the regional restructuring of Pittsburgh and Detroit, focusing on the presence or absence of a regional coalition. A regional coalition is defined as a broadened governing coalition that is functioning at the regional level.