Urban Ecology: Detroit and Beyond

Under the confluence of nomadic economics, technologies and industries--commonly known as "suburban sprawl"--the city of Detroit, segregated and isolated, constitutes one of the great monuments to decay by a Modernist city. It is perhaps the clearest and earliest example of the effects of a globalized economy and labor market. Urban Ecology contains a collection of projects generated by the International Center for Urban Ecology (iCUE), a nomadic laboratory for future cities. Since its founding in 1998 by Kyong Park, iCUE has accomplished five significant projects through international workshops like "Architecture of Resistance," installations, videos and urban designs. The laboratory investigation promotes discourse on the decomposition and possible reconstitution of a "moving city"--a more useful term through which to identify a city like Detroit. iCUE's projects have taken anti-architectural and non-urban perspectives, using multi-disciplinary processes and integrated collaboration with local communities and activists. Urban Ecology brings together essays on Detroit and many other cities in crisis around the world.