Two cities loom large in the history of American urban restructuring. New York City's 1975 technical bankruptcy and Detroit's 2013 Chapter 9 bankruptcy have played an oversized role in urban theory. This is currently reflected in competing theories of post–recession urban restructuring. “Austerity urbanism” uses Detroit as an exemplar, whereas “pragmatic municipalism” adopts the converse position arguing post–recession reform is defined by local context. This paper draws on the small cities literature to generate a different account of recent municipal bankruptcies and their broader impacts. It uses qualitative methods to survey the causes and outcomes of all eight post–recession Chapter 9 bankruptcies. The research recognizes the potential nationwide significance of these extreme events but avoids focusing on big city examples. The paper's findings suggest small and medium sized cities play a significant role in shaping recession–related restructuring.

中文翻译：

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从大城市到小城市：经济衰退后市政破产的原因和结果的定性分析

有两个城市在美国城市重组的历史上举足轻重。纽约市 1975 年的技术破产和底特律 2013 年的第 9 章破产在城市理论中发挥了过大的作用。这目前反映在经济衰退后城市重组的竞争理论中。“紧缩城市主义”以底特律为例，而“务实的城市主义”则采取相反的立场，认为后衰退改革是由当地环境定义的。本文借鉴了小城市的文献，对最近的市政破产及其更广泛的影响进行了不同的描述。它使用定性方法来调查经济衰退后第 9 章破产的所有八项原因和结果。该研究认识到这些极端事件在全国范围内的潜在意义，但避免将重点放在大城市的例子上。