一年后，其他城市能从底特律的破产中学到什么？

    最后，每个大城市都有一些值得奋斗而不是争斗的东西。底特律艺术馆（Detroit Institute of Arts）就把这样一个破碎的区域聚合在了一起。2012年，底特律郊区的投票者同意向他们征税来维持这座艺术馆。虽然平摊在每家的钱很少，但它的象征意义却很重大，因为它表明底特律的郊区居民也将这座艺术馆视为整个地区的资产，而不仅仅是城里人的资产。就在底特律艺术馆的收藏品几乎要拿出来拍卖给城市还债的时候，底特律艺术馆以及慈善机构、各大企业和密歇根州政府发起了“大谈判”活动来支持该市的养老基金，由此也拯救了艺术馆自己。

    面对异乎寻常的挑战，底特律展示了一种新的精神，一种新的民间和政治文化，这是我们以前从未在这座城市看到过的。

    底特律的经验告诉我们，一座困难重重的城市，也可以非常有创意和韧性。一年前，权威人士曾警告我们，底特律破产后，还将出现一股地方政府的“破产潮”。但美国各大城市的表现却证明了他们的判断是错误的：破产并不是传染病，但是复苏却可能会传染。

    本文作者布鲁斯•凯茨是布鲁金斯学会的副总裁，也是都市政策项目（Metropolitan Policy Program）的共同主任。另一名作者詹妮佛•布拉德利是都市政策项目的研究员。他二人也是《都市革命》（The Metropolitan Revolution）一书的作者。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    Finally, every metro area has something worth fighting for, rather than fighting over. The Detroit Institute of Arts brought a fractured region together. Back in 2012, suburban voters agreed to tax themselves to support the museum. The dollar amount per household was small, but the symbolic importance was huge, since it showed that suburbanites saw the DIA as a regional, not just city, asset. When it looked like the DIA’s collection would be dismantled to pay the city’s bills, the DIA itself, philanthropies, businesses, and the state of Michigan created what’s termed the “grand bargain” to shore up the city’s pension fund and thereby save the art.

    Even with its extraordinary challenges, there is a new spirit, a new civic and political culture that’s unlike what we’ve seen in the city before.

    Detroit’s experience has taught the country how a challenged cities can be creative and resilient. A year ago pundits warned darkly that there would be a cascade of municipal bankruptcies. But America’s cities proved the doubters wrong: Bankruptcy is not contagious, but revival may well be.

    Bruce Katz is a vice president at the Brookings Institution and co-director of the Metropolitan Policy Program. Follow him @bruce_katz.Jennifer Bradley is a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program. Follow her @JBradley_DC. Both are co-authors of The Metropolitan Revolution.