Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2013	Aug. 30, 2013 Common stock Class B	Aug. 30, 2013 Common stock Class A
Entity Registrant Name	FOREST CITY ENTERPRISES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000038067
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jul. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		20,194,160	179,690,820