Abstract

Right sizing has become an essential talking point in discussing next steps for postindustrial and shrinking cities as they struggle to maintain outdated, outsized infrastructure. Yet the literature has been clear that balancing economic and social objectives must be a key part of the discussion, especially given that historical patterns of disinvestment have disproportionately affected socioeconomically disadvantaged and racial/ethnic minority populations. In this Viewpoint, we illuminate concerns on a recent article published in this journal on right sizing that Flint (MI) should have enacted in the wake of its catastrophic water crisis. We present the nature of decline in Flint, as well as evidence from Flint’s recent master plan and its history with urban renewal that demonstrates why recommending such a policy not only goes against common urban planning practice but misses the local context in Flint, which is marked by deep-seated apprehension of the inequitable underpinnings of historical urban planning practice.

摘要

在讨论后工业化和收缩城市的下一步行动时，由于他们努力维护过时的、超大的基础设施，正确的规模已成为一个重要的话题。然而，文献清楚地表明，平衡经济和社会目标必须是讨论的关键部分，特别是考虑到历史上的撤资模式对社会经济弱势群体和种族/少数民族人口造成了不成比例的影响。在这个观点中，我们阐明了对最近发表在该杂志上的一篇关于正确调整规模的文章的担忧，弗林特 (MI) 在其灾难性的水危机之后应该制定。我们展示了弗林特衰落的本质，