Document and Entity Information (USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2011	Jul. 31, 2010	Dec. 01, 2011 Common Class A [Member]	Dec. 01, 2011 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	FOREST CITY ENTERPRISES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000038067
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Oct. 31, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float		$ 1,578,541,801
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			150,156,140	20,959,481