"Underfunded pension liabilities threaten the fiscal stability of many cities. While Detroit's bankruptcy has dominated the headlines, the problem is widespread. With ongoing battles in many localities, policymakers are increasingly turning their attention to the legacy issues surrounding the...

Acknowledgements -- Preface / Jamie Peck -- Introduction / Mark Davidson and Kevin Ward -- Austerity and the spectacle: urban triage and post-political development in Detroit / L Owen Kirkpatrick and Chalem Bolton -- Austerity as the new normal : the fiscal politics of retrenchment in San Jose,...