Appropriating the Past: Urban Exploration and Loft Living in Deindustrialized Detroit.

Joseph Schumpeter's notion of creative destruction permeates discussion of plant closures, capitalist landscapes, and urban crises. Yet what of destructive creation? Through ruins photography and luxury loft apartments, urban exploration and downtown revitalization are radically altering the landscape, memory, and market base of Detroit, colonizing the city's industrial past and separating the emotion of history from its lived experiences. These markets strip buildings of their history and workers of their voices, focusing instead on sublime awe, aesthetic qualities, and middleand upper-class residence and entertainment. This appropriation positions the city between a dual past of industrial might and abject decay, and an uncertain future promising profound changes how we conceive of an authentic Detroit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]