Coleman A. Young was mayor of Detroit from 1974 to 1994.

Coleman Young plays an integral role in several competing narratives of Detroit's history. In the standard narrative, Young is one cause of Detroit's decline (in the words of a Time report, "more interested in retribution than revitalization"). He was also a champion of mega-projects to precipitate the city's renaissance. And despite his origins in Black Bottom, he had a hand in both empowering and attacking local communities -- for example, working for labor rights and destroying Poletown to make way for GM development.

Mayor Young used aggressive and highly visible development projects to attack economic decline. He built a new sports arena, downtown apartment buildings, and industrial plants, giving Detroit the appearance of a comeback.

Legacy (aka "Things Named After Coleman Young") 

Detroit City Airport, a general aviation facility serving downtown Detroit, has since been renamed Coleman A. Young International Airport.

The Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.

School

References

Thomas, June (1997). "Coleman Young and Redevelopment." Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit.