Segment Information (Details 1) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2013	Jan. 31, 2012	Jan. 31, 2011
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
EBDT	$ 297,296	$ 334,384	$ 309,875
Depreciation and amortization	(229,661)	(208,801)	(225,082)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	(12,112)	(11,317)	(11,000)
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups	47,590	(53,770)	68,162
Straight-line rent adjustment	15,024	6,326	12,085
Net gain (loss) on land held for divestiture activity	7,314	(115,411)
Net loss on land held for divestiture activity of unconsolidated entities	(40,777)	(41,902)	0
Preference payment		(1,732)	(2,341)
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties, net of tax			125,026
Gain on Disposition of Unconsolidated Entities, net of tax			14,362
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties	0	17,665	257,990
Gain on disposition of unconsolidated entities	51,066	12,567
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			(1,980)
Impairment of unconsolidated entities net of tax			(43,932)
Net gain on change in control of interests	4,064
Impairment of real estate	(30,660)	(235)	(4,763)
Impairment of unconsolidated real estate	(390)	(40,284)	(72,459)
Allowance for projects under development revision		1,000	(1,000)
Discontinued operations:
Straight-line rent adjustment	135	882	6,075
Gain on disposition of rental properties	99,935	51,796	27,998
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			(49,980)
Impairment of real estate	(4,254)	(13,692)
Income tax benefit (expense):
Deferred income taxes	(29,472)	48,508
Current income taxes attributable to above dispositions	(16,427)	(49,984)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	36,425	(86,486)	58,048
Preferred dividends	(13,060)	(15,400)	(11,807)
Preferred dividends and inducements of preferred stock converstion	(32,129)	(15,400)	(11,807)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders	4,296	(101,886)	46,241
Real Estate Groups [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
Depreciation and amortization	(295,278)	(268,436)	(266,335)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	(14,749)	(13,823)	(12,810)
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups			(33,926)
Discontinued operations:
Depreciation and amortization - Real Estate Groups	(6,159)	(13,268)	(19,707)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs - Real Estate Groups	(243)	(847)	(1,531)
Deferred Taxes - Real Estate Groups			(3,831)
Commercial Group [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
EBDT	258,799	316,812	272,705
Depreciation and amortization	(165,393)	(155,848)	(171,200)
Straight-line rent adjustment	15,324	6,125	11,620
Net gain (loss) on land held for divestiture activity	0	0
Net loss on land held for divestiture activity of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Preference payment		(1,732)	(2,341)
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties, net of tax			106,943
Gain on Disposition of Unconsolidated Entities, net of tax			3,436
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties		15,410
Gain on disposition of unconsolidated entities	16,107	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			(964)
Impairment of unconsolidated entities net of tax			(30,115)
Net gain on change in control of interests	4,064
Impairment of real estate	(30,660)	0
Impairment of unconsolidated real estate	0	(40,284)
Allowance for projects under development revision		700	(700)
Discontinued operations:
Straight-line rent adjustment	135	882	6,075
Gain on disposition of rental properties	40,645	51,796	26,899
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			(49,980)
Impairment of real estate	(4,254)	(13,692)
Income tax benefit (expense):
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Current income taxes attributable to above dispositions	0	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	82,022	123,925	107,886
Preferred dividends		0	0
Preferred dividends and inducements of preferred stock converstion	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders	82,022	123,925	107,886
Commercial Group [Member] | Real Estate Groups [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
Depreciation and amortization	(202,511)	(190,427)	(192,592)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	(11,466)	(10,085)	(10,026)
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups			(11,260)
Discontinued operations:
Depreciation and amortization - Real Estate Groups	(3,961)	(10,790)	(16,944)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs - Real Estate Groups	(200)	(790)	(1,461)
Deferred Taxes - Real Estate Groups			(3,409)
Residential Group [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
EBDT	130,535	100,924	106,556
Depreciation and amortization	(52,882)	(51,199)	(51,779)
Straight-line rent adjustment	(438)	255	522
Net gain (loss) on land held for divestiture activity	0	0
Net loss on land held for divestiture activity of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Preference payment		0	0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties, net of tax			18,083
Gain on Disposition of Unconsolidated Entities, net of tax			10,926
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties		2,255
Gain on disposition of unconsolidated entities	34,959	12,567
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of unconsolidated entities net of tax			0
Net gain on change in control of interests	0
Impairment of real estate	0	(235)
Impairment of unconsolidated real estate	0	0
Allowance for projects under development revision		300	(300)
Discontinued operations:
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	0
Gain on disposition of rental properties	59,290	0	1,099
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Income tax benefit (expense):
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Current income taxes attributable to above dispositions	0	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	132,141	32,322	54,661
Preferred dividends		0	0
Preferred dividends and inducements of preferred stock converstion	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders	132,141	32,322	54,661
Residential Group [Member] | Real Estate Groups [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
Depreciation and amortization	(86,893)	(77,760)	(73,479)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	(3,071)	(3,449)	(2,511)
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups			(2,980)
Discontinued operations:
Depreciation and amortization - Real Estate Groups	(2,198)	(2,478)	(2,763)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs - Real Estate Groups	(43)	(57)	(70)
Deferred Taxes - Real Estate Groups			(422)
Arena [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
EBDT	4,659	8,251	4,775
Depreciation and amortization	(8,888)	0	0
Straight-line rent adjustment	138	(54)	(49)
Net gain (loss) on land held for divestiture activity	0	0
Net loss on land held for divestiture activity of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Preference payment		0	0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties, net of tax			0
Gain on Disposition of Unconsolidated Entities, net of tax			0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties		0
Gain on disposition of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of unconsolidated entities net of tax			0
Net gain on change in control of interests	0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Impairment of unconsolidated real estate	0	0
Allowance for projects under development revision		0	0
Discontinued operations:
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	0
Gain on disposition of rental properties	0	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Income tax benefit (expense):
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Current income taxes attributable to above dispositions	0	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	(497)	8,197	4,726
Preferred dividends		0	0
Preferred dividends and inducements of preferred stock converstion	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders	(497)	8,197	4,726
Arena [Member] | Real Estate Groups [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
Depreciation and amortization	(5,213)	0	0
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	(81)	0	0
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups			0
Discontinued operations:
Depreciation and amortization - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Deferred Taxes - Real Estate Groups			0
Land Development Group [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
EBDT	10,812	8,541	2,376
Depreciation and amortization	(840)	(240)	(334)
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	(8)
Net gain (loss) on land held for divestiture activity	7,314	(115,411)
Net loss on land held for divestiture activity of unconsolidated entities	(40,777)	(41,902)
Preference payment		0	0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties, net of tax			0
Gain on Disposition of Unconsolidated Entities, net of tax			0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties		0
Gain on disposition of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			(1,016)
Impairment of unconsolidated entities net of tax			(13,817)
Net gain on change in control of interests	0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Impairment of unconsolidated real estate	(390)	0
Allowance for projects under development revision		0	0
Discontinued operations:
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	0
Gain on disposition of rental properties	0	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Income tax benefit (expense):
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Current income taxes attributable to above dispositions	0	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	(23,833)	(149,310)	(13,593)
Preferred dividends		0	0
Preferred dividends and inducements of preferred stock converstion	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders	(23,833)	(149,310)	(13,593)
Land Development Group [Member] | Real Estate Groups [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
Depreciation and amortization	(661)	(249)	(264)
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	(131)	(289)	(273)
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups			(591)
Discontinued operations:
Depreciation and amortization - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Deferred Taxes - Real Estate Groups			0
The Nets [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
EBDT	(4,672)	(26,814)	9,651
Depreciation and amortization	0	0	0
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	0
Net gain (loss) on land held for divestiture activity	0	0
Net loss on land held for divestiture activity of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Preference payment		0	0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties, net of tax			0
Gain on Disposition of Unconsolidated Entities, net of tax			0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties		0
Gain on disposition of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of unconsolidated entities net of tax			0
Net gain on change in control of interests	0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Impairment of unconsolidated real estate	0	0
Allowance for projects under development revision		0	0
Discontinued operations:
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	0
Gain on disposition of rental properties	0	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Income tax benefit (expense):
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Current income taxes attributable to above dispositions	0	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	(4,672)	(26,814)	9,651
Preferred dividends		0	0
Preferred dividends and inducements of preferred stock converstion	0
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders	(4,672)	(26,814)	9,651
The Nets [Member] | Real Estate Groups [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
Depreciation and amortization	0	0	0
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	0	0	0
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups			0
Discontinued operations:
Depreciation and amortization - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Deferred Taxes - Real Estate Groups			0
Corporate Activities [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
EBDT	(102,837)	(73,330)	(86,188)
Depreciation and amortization	(1,658)	(1,514)	(1,769)
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	0
Net gain (loss) on land held for divestiture activity	0	0
Net loss on land held for divestiture activity of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Preference payment		0	0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties, net of tax			0
Gain on Disposition of Unconsolidated Entities, net of tax			0
Gain on disposition of partial interests in rental properties		0
Gain on disposition of unconsolidated entities	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of unconsolidated entities net of tax			0
Net gain on change in control of interests	0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Impairment of unconsolidated real estate	0	0
Allowance for projects under development revision		0	0
Discontinued operations:
Straight-line rent adjustment	0	0	0
Gain on disposition of rental properties	0	0	0
Impairment of real estate, net of tax			0
Impairment of real estate	0	0
Income tax benefit (expense):
Deferred income taxes	(29,472)	48,508
Current income taxes attributable to above dispositions	(16,427)	(49,984)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	(148,736)	(74,806)	(105,283)
Preferred dividends		(15,400)	(11,807)
Preferred dividends and inducements of preferred stock converstion	(32,129)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders	(180,865)	(90,206)	(117,090)
Corporate Activities [Member] | Real Estate Groups [Member]
Reconciliation of EBDT to Net Earnings (Loss) by Segment
Depreciation and amortization	0	0	0
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs	0	0	0
Deferred taxes - Real Estate Groups			(19,095)
Discontinued operations:
Depreciation and amortization - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Amortization of mortgage procurement costs - Real Estate Groups	0	0	0
Deferred Taxes - Real Estate Groups			$ 0