Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2013		Jul. 31, 2012		Jul. 31, 2013		Jul. 31, 2012		Jan. 31, 2013
Numerators
Loss from continuing operations attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	$ (27,530,000)		$ (43,921,000)		$ (57,588,000)		$ (26,077,000)
Preferred dividends	0		(3,850,000)		(185,000)		(7,700,000)		(13,060,000)
Loss from continuing operations attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc., common shareholders - Basic and Diluted	(27,530,000)		(47,771,000)		(57,773,000)		(33,777,000)
Net loss attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc.	(16,281,000)		(43,717,000)		(35,649,000)		(20,965,000)
Net loss attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders - Basic and Diluted	$ (16,281,000)		$ (47,567,000)		$ (35,834,000)		$ (28,665,000)
Denominators
Weighted average shares outstanding - Basic and Diluted	194,745,051	[1]	169,454,672	[1]	189,865,650	[1]	169,331,996	[1]
Earnings per share
Loss from continuing operations attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders - Basic and Diluted	$ (0.14)		$ (0.28)		$ (0.30)		$ (0.20)
Net loss attributable to Forest City Enterprises, Inc. common shareholders - Basic and Diluted	$ (0.08)		$ (0.28)		$ (0.19)		$ (0.17)

[1] Incremental shares from dilutive options, restricted stock, performance shares and convertible securities aggregating 29,282,326 and 33,430,831 for the three and six months ended July 31, 2013, respectively, and 52,436,282 and 52,535,035 for the three and six months ended July 31, 2012, respectively, were not included in the computation of diluted EPS because their effect is anti-dilutive due to the loss from continuing operations. Weighted-average options, restricted stock and performance shares of 3,759,294 and 3,952,633 for the three and six months ended July 31, 2013, respectively, and 4,474,149 and 4,479,739 for the three and six months ended July 31, 2012, respectively, were not included in the computation of diluted EPS because their effect is anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method.