Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2013	Dec. 04, 2013 Common stock Class B	Dec. 04, 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	Oct. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		20,186,351	179,703,391