Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2012	Jul. 31, 2011	Mar. 21, 2012 Common Stock Class A	Mar. 21, 2012 Common Stock Class B
Entity Registrant Name	FOREST CITY ENTERPRISES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000038067
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Jan. 31, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
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		$ 2,498,982,278
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			150,141,368	20,911,371