Product Description
This history of a well-known Kansas City church was a labor of love for its members. St. Paul's was founded over 100 years ago in the frontier town of Westport. The book follows its impact on the community as the times changed. Throughout it all, the church served as an anchor in the community. Wonderful pictures from past eras and a chronology of church history. ... Read more

Product Description
The authors of this volume argue that urban education is in urgent need of reform and that, although there have been plenty of innovative and even promising attempts to improve conditions, most have been doomed. The reason for this, they agree, lies in the failure of our major cities to develop their "civic capacity"--the ability to build and maintain a broad social and political coalition across all sectors of the urban community in pursuit of a common goal.

Drawing upon an ambitious eleven-city study funded by the National Science Foundation, the authors synthesize and make sense of the enormous amount of data from Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Not only is this a vivid report from the front lines of big city schooling, but this work challenges us to rethink our approach to the crisis in our schools.

The authors vigorously contend that it is essential for all (or most) important actors in an urban community to join together in a shared vision of what is wrong in the schools and how to fix it, and to pursue that vision strongly and systematically over a long time. That can only happen, however, if those same actors develop the ability and willingness to set aside narrow aims and opportunistic behavior in favor of pursuing the collective good.

Written for a wide spectrum of potential readers-including educators, social scientists, policymakers, and every citizen who cares about his or her child's education--this book restores coalition politics to the center of educational reform and reminds us to look well beyond pedagogy and management theory for solutions to problems that are immune to the usual remedies. Drawing on select cases, the authors show that effective civic coalitions can be built. The struggle for reform can be won.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Product Description
When Art Agnos campaigned for mayor of San Francisco in 1987, he articulated and defended the "left" isms--liberalism, environmentalism, and populism. He won.

Seeing Agnos as a defender of slowgrowth vs. progrowth, the city's progressives had high hopes. But to their disappointment, in the wake of the passage of Proposition M--the most restrictive growth control legislation of any large U.S. city--Agnos supported waterfront development and proposals to build a new baseball stadium in China Basin and a large residential and business development in Mission Bay. In 1991 Agnos ran for reelection. He lost.

Left Coast City provides insight into how San Francisco's progressive coalition developed between 1975 and 1991, what stresses emerged to cause splintering within the coalition, and how the coalition fell apart in the 1991 mayoral campaign.

Focusing on San Francisco's turbulent political history, non-conformist traditions, and ethnic and cultural diversity, political scientist Richard DeLeon analyzes the successes and failures of the progressive movement as it topples the business-dominated progrowth regime, imposes stringent controls on growth and development, and achieves political control of city hall.

Although the movement has achieved national recognition as a possible vanguard of social and political change in this country, DeLeon argues that a new progressive regime has not yet emerged to replace the defunct progrowth regime. Having helped to create chaos out of order, progressive leaders now face the task of creating order out of chaos.

"What the city has now is, at best, an antiregime, a transitional political order set up defensively to block the Lazarus-like re-emergence of the old progrowth regime," DeLeon writes. "Such an order cannot last." The key to survival of the progressive movement, he contends, is creation of a progressive urban regime, where public and private entities function together.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Essential in understanding San Francisco Politics
I have read this book and learned about San Francisco politics in a manner that could only be paralleled by an education at San Francisco State University.Highly informative and highly recommended.

A must read for those interested in San Francisco politics
If you are at all interested in the new role of cities in the global economy or San Francisco politics, this is the book to have. The most informative book on San Franicisco politics to date. Theoretically sophisticated and a readable case study at the same time ... Read more

Product Description

One of the most hotly debated issues in the historical study of race relations is the question of how the Civil War and Reconstruction affected social relations in the South. Did the War leave class and race hierarchies intact? Or did it mark the profound disruption of a long-standing social order?

Customer Reviews (1)

Thank you
Thank you to the author who wrote on a subject I have been unable to find very little about. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1847 General Winfield Scott boldly led a small but undaunted army from the Mexican coast all the way to the Halls of Montezuma, routing Mexican forces at every turn while pacifying the countryside. Scott's military campaign--America's first ever in a foreign country--helped pave the way for victory in the wider war against Mexico and also posed new challenges for discipline, logistics, and the treatment of civilians. Yet it has remained largely neglected by historians.

In this first book-length study of Scott's brilliant six-month campaign, Timothy Johnson shows how Scott overcame such obstacles as inadequate supplies, intense officer rivalries, and lack of support from President Polk--not to mention a country full of potentially hostile Mexicans--to keep his army intact deep in enemy territory and win the war. He interweaves a compelling narrative of the campaign-including detailed battle replays, terrain descriptions, and eyewitness accounts--with a comprehensive analysis of strategy, operations, and tactics. Along the way, he also provides considerable insight into Scott's efforts to fight a "limited war" by combining military force with diplomatic negotiation and by implementing a pacification plan that now seems far ahead of its time.

Scott developed a sophisticated strategy of moderation to end the war by employing a sword-and-olive-branch approach. Although his army repeatedly won battles against superior numbers as it drove ever deeper into Mexico's interior, Scott paused after each contest to give the enemy an opportunity to sue for peace. And by respecting civilian property and purchasing supplies from the populace, his troops limited local support for guerrillas that threatened communication lines. Meanwhile on the battlefield, Scott successfully executed surprise flank attacks at Cerro Gordo and Padierna, tactical masterpieces that inspired a generation of Civil War generals--like Grant, Lee, McClellan, and countless others.

Providing the definitive work on the Mexico City campaign, A Gallant Little Army highlights the visionary command of a legendary general, the flinty toughness of the troops he led, and the emergence of the United States as a potential global military power.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Nice War Book with Maps
I have been enjoying the book, but it just another version of the Mexican American War by the author.To learn more about the subject, the reader should study the Mexican verisons of the war, such as Ramon Alcaraz (1850) The Other Side: Notes for the History of the War Between Mexico and the United States.

Excellent military narrative of remarkable campaign
This well-written analytical narrative provides the best account to date of the climatic campaign of the U.S.-Mexican War, equal in drama to that of Hernan Cortez along the same route over 300 years earlier. The author makes no attempt to cover the Mexican side of the conflict in any detail, nor does he deal with the causes of the war or its morality, but he brings Winfield Scott and his invading army vividly to life, making good use of contemporary letters and diaries of junior officers (many of whom became Civil War generals). His portrayal of Winfield Scott, while not uncritical, highlights Scott's talents not only as military strategist, but as one who pioneered methods of dealing with the population of an invaded country. Scott, he argues, pursued a policty of "sword and olive branch" pausing after each victory to give the Mexican government the opportunity to sue for peace (a policy that did not always work) and for the most part he treated the Mexican civilians decently, paying for goods rather than pillaging, and striving to keep his soldiers from abusing the populace. Whatever the reader's view of the morality of the U.S. conquest of half of Mexico, this book belongs in the library of students of pivital and tragic conflict.

Better Than Brilliant
This book is so good that I felt compelled to write to the author to ask questions and obtain more information. When he wrote back he referred to the many years it took him to write both this book and also his earlier biography about Winfield Scott. After reading A Gallant Little Army from cover to cover and studying the appendices and footnotes, the care and time spent by Professor Johnson in making this slice of history the best it can be is obvious. Also, there are lessons from Scott's campaign that have relevance to today's world, particularly the war in Iraq. Our former Secretary of Defense should have read this book before he recommended the Iraq campaign to the President. You should read this book as well to get an idea of how well a campaign can be run even though political irritations were present then, as well as now, eventually leading to the commanding general, Scott, running afoul of that political pressure. I am writing this review in southern California, a part of the United States, and I speak English. Without Winfield Scott, I might still be in southern California, but it might still be part of Mexico, and I might be speaking Spanish. Thank you Winfield Scott and thank youProfessor Johnson for explaining Scott's strategy so well.

Excellent book
Last night, Dr. Johnson was the guest speaker at our SCV meeting and for well over one hour, everyone was listening intently to what Dr. Johnson was saying. After hearing him, this book and the Biography he wrote on Winfield Scott will definitely be an addition to my Civil War library.

Best History Book I've Read All Year
I have been devouring volumes of American and Latin American History books over the past year from the Revolution up until modern times.Having recently finished the rather disappointing "Americanos" book about Latin American independence, I had low expectations for "A Gallant Little Army".I was pleasantly elated.

The Author writes in an engaging manner, immersing the reader in the Mexico City campaign.Like modern times, the book is quick to point out where military decisions take a backseat to political squabbles.While not passing any judgement, there is a distinct tone in the book that recognizes the similarities to the Mexico City campaign and more modern US "interventions".In addition to the military aspects, the book contains interesting cultural details about old American and old Mexican life that leave you feeling positioned smack in the middle of Winfield Scott's army.

Of course, the best part about this book is that it relates the first military experiences of some Civil War Legends.If you are a Civil War buff, then this is a must read for you.Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, AP Hill, George McClellan, Pickett, Beuregard and others all show up in this book's riveting pages.Knowing that these young men were to battle and kill each other twenty years later makes you wonder who really was the victor in this war.

Buy this book, read this book. ... Read more

Product Description
When the big ball drops on New Year's Eve, thousands are there to witness that great glittering sight, while millions more watch on national television. Times Square may be the cultural hub of America, the "Crossroads of the World," but its lights have not always shone as brightly as they do now.

Once a glamorous theater district, Times Square and 42nd Street had degenerated into a neighborhood known for the winos and sex shops of "Midnight Cowboy" until New York's business and arts communities stepped in. These advocates of urban revitalization exploited cultural and historic preservation arguments to transform a low-income entertainment district into a Disney-fied tourist mecca. Where Ratso Rizzo once kicked cars and "hookers" plied their trade, Mickey Mouse now greets visitors from atop a Disney superstore surrounded by rising office towers, theaters, and theme restaurants--all thanks to huge tax subsidies and government support.

Alexander Reichl tells the fascinating story of how cultural politics and economic greed transformed the city's physical and social environment with an ongoing multibillion-dollar redevelopment program, changing the district from a symbol of urban decline to one of urban renaissance. He explains the political significance of the historic preservation and arts-related approach to urban revitalization, showing how it was used to appeal to the upscale values of middle-class New Yorkers often hostile to urban renewal. He also examines the role of the Walt Disney Company in the project and demonstrates its power to redefine a premier public space.

In telling the story of Times Square, Reichl reveals much about politics and power at the city level and their relationship to the development of urban space. He frames his lively narrative with an illuminating account of how historic preservation initiatives at all government levels have displaced large-scale federal urban renewal programs as the dominant approach to urban development, and he shows the importance of political discourse and cultural politics in mobilizing public support for urban redevelopment.

Now that it has been reconfigured for the 21st century, Times Square provides a rich and multifaceted case for exploring the latest trends in urban renewal. Yet Reichl suggests much that has happened here is regrettable: the ousting of low-income citizens to serve commercial interests, the loss of a culturally diverse entertainment district, and the failure to address persistent class- and race-based segregation in a central urban area. By getting to the heart of the Great White Way, Reconstructing Times Square provides an important look at urban renewal--and politics--in a changing America.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Product Description
As the might and capabilities of American airpower have grown during the last sixty years, so has the controversy about its use in the intentional and indiscriminate wartime bombardment of civilians.

In Bombs, Cities, and Civilians, Conrad Crane maintains that, for the most part, American airmen in World War II remained committed to precision bombing doctrine. Instead of attacking densely populated urban areas simply to erode civilian morale, Army Air Forces adhered to a policy that emphasized targeting key industrial and military sites. He demonstrates that while the British, Germans, and Japanese routinely conducted indiscriminate aerial bombardment of enemy cities, American airmen consistently stayed with daylight raids against carefully selected targets, especially in Europe. Daytime precision missions were usually far more dangerous than night area attacks, but such Army Air Force tactics increased bombing efficiency and also reduced the risk of civilian casualties.

This is the first book to respond to recent assertions by other historians that due to military necessity, vague policies, or the desire to maximize technology, Army Air Forces bombers in World War II exercised little restraint on attacks against civilians. Even though bombing policy was influenced more by the attitudes of airmen in operations rooms and in combat than by directives from leaders in Washington, Crane contends that air commanders in the field did consistently conform to the guidelines of precision doctrine.

Crane also shows, however, that different leaders, command arrangements, and combat conditions in the Pacific led to bombing policies that were much less discriminating concerning target selection. Focusing on specific operations and key operational commanders, such as Carl Spaatz in Europe and Curtis LeMay in the Pacific, he illustrates how different situations and personalities influenced bombing policies.

Despite deviations from precision bombing doctrine in the Pacific that led to incendiary raids on Japanese cities, Crane contends that the pursuit of accurate bombing remained a primary goal throughout World War II and remains one today. Beginning with the lessons gleaned from World War I, he traces the evolution of American doctrine and technology for conventional bombing through the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. In the process, he demonstrates how public opinion, combat conditions, technological innovation, and the search for "Victory through Airpower" have affected bombing operations and military policy.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Review of Bombs, Cities, & Civilians
This is not an action-packed blow-by-blow account of battles, it's about U.S. WW II bombing strategy -- the most analytical, insightful, source material based book I've read in my admittedly limited WW II reading.The author is a real scholar -- I'll be passing this book to friends and reading other books by the author.

an informative account of the air war
According to Crane, Allied air commanders in Europe prioritized accuracy while General LeMay valued the psychological aspects of delibrately targeting civilians. American commanders such as Spaatz advocated precision bombing even if it meant greater causalties. Crane writes that civilian causalties became more acceptable when the Army Airforce began bombing transpotation targets in Europe and thereby incuring greater civilian causalties. Plus both Fifteenth and Eighth airforces began using radar directed bombing practices that were less accurate. General LeMay completely ignored the accuracy doctrine and started to delibrately bomb civilian areas. The aim of LeMay's stragedy was to shock the Japanese to surrender. Crane concludes his book by writing about the mediocre record of strategic bombing since the Second World War. Bombing was ineffective against preindustrilized countries such as North Korea and Vietnam, but was effective in shocking Iraq ground soldiers to surrender in the Gulf War. The only weakness of this book is that Crane ignored close air support doctrine within the airforce. But if one wants to study about the American bombing campaigns this is a highly informative study. ... Read more

Product Description
Topless bars, casino gambling, needle exchange programs for drug addicts-there's no question, morality issues remain front and center in urban politics.

Presenting a systematic analysis of culture-war issues at the local level, Elaine Sharp shows how American cities deal with these ongoing concerns. Drawing on a sample of ten strategically chosen cities, she explains differences in how municipalities respond to controversies surrounding sex business, abortion clinics, legalized gambling, gay rights, and drug use. By analyzing the relative importance of subculture, economics, and institutional arrangements in the disputes, she points the way toward richer and more complete understanding of how different cities respond differently to these hot-button issues.

Far more than a statistical study, Morality Politics in American Cities is a collection of fascinating stories of real people grappling with down-to-earth issues and real-life drama-richly informative case studies that will captivate students and interested citizens alike. Mayors, public health directors, activists, and others speak their minds about the pros and cons of these controversies. Here are officials in one city confronting the Vatican over funding for abortion services, those in another battling a local university over its refusal to provide health benefits to gay partners of faculty members, and still others mounting a massive, community-sponsored attack on topless clubs.

These stories provide detailed evidence to support classifications needed for comparing cities' experience with each of the five morality issues. They also corroborate inferences drawn from the comparisons by showing what considerations were in play as local officials grappled with these issues. Overall, the study shows that cultural factors usually dominate policymaking in local politics-except when specific economic interests are at stake-and also observes that county-level governments are more important than previously thought in terms of morality-issue decisions.

As provocative as it is informative, Morality Politics in American Cities demonstrates that such issues-same-sex marriage, for example-are multidimensional and often difficult to resolve. Its conclusions, however contingent, mark an important step in the ongoing process of understanding important differences in approaches to these issues and clearly show how moral conflicts continue to define American politics.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Product Description
A richly detailed ethnographic study of transnational families.

Chronicling the experience of young Andean families as their lives extend between the Ecuadorian highlands and New York City, this book takes an in-depth look at transnational labor migration and gender identities. Jason Pribilsky offers an engrossing and sensitive account of the ways in which young men and women in these two locales navigate their lives, exploring the impact of gender, generation, and new forms of wealth in a single Andean community.

Migration has been a part of the Andes for centuries, yet the effects of transnational labor on the individuals and communities remain largely undocumented. The author draws on firsthand observations of everyday lives to explore issues of transnational marriages and material consumption in the region. Pribilsky presents a study that is both engaging and challenging, a vital contribution to the fields of Latin American studies and immigration studies. ... Read more

Product Description
An account of the introduction of gas and electricity to the "instant cities" of Kansas and Denver in the late 19th century. The book describes how the technology spread quickly to homes, urged on by the prevailing attitudes of cleanliness, comfort and gender. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Middle chapters are the Best
Being a Masters student of History in Denver, Rose's work is recommended reading.Unless the processes and politics of technology and industrialization turn you on, the first two and final two chapters will be slow going.But in the middle three chapters Rose hits his stride describing how the utility companies placed appliances andpower tools into turn-of-the-century "home ec" and "shop" classes to get an entire generation hooked for later consumption.He also details how the marketers focused pressure on husbands to buy these "labor-saving" devices for their overworked wives.Even if you are not into the techno-politico history, those middle three chapters are worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
New edition of a classic. Three distinguished scholars challenge us to put the urban crisis back on the national agenda, both as a moral challenge to our conscience and an economic challenge to America's prosperity and our families' pocketbooks. Focusing on the growing concentration of poverty in our cities and older suburbs and the mounting costs of suburban sprawl, they argue that these problems have political origins and can thus be resolved through political means--but only if we fully understand the power of place.

Despite modern telecommunications--faxes, linked computers, etc.--where we live shapes our lives and fortunes as much as ever. Place affects our access to jobs and public services (especially education), our access to shopping and culture, our level of personal security, the availability of medical services, and even the air we breathe. Economic segregation is increasing in American metropolitan areas--the rich and poor continue to move apart from one another. This has devastating effects on those who are forced to live in areas of concentrated poverty. But it also imposes costs, often unrecognized, on middle class and rich families who in their effort to escape the problems of concentrated poverty, undermine the quality of their own lives by suffering the effects of unrestricted sprawl.

The central thesis of Place Matters is that economic segregation between rich and poor and the growing sprawl of American cities and suburbs are not solely the result of individual choices in free markets. Rather, these problems have been powerfully shaped by short-sighted government policies. The first order of business must be to overhaul those policies. In the process, both urban and suburban citizens will gain a keener awareness that they are all ultimately bound by common interests and share a common fate.

Not simply another polemic on the plight of the inner-city poor, Place Matters provides a practical road map for reform based on penetrating analyses of economic and demographic trends, voting patterns, and congressional politics. While "sounding the alarm," it also provides guidance and hope for elected officials at local, state, and federal levels, as well as policy makers, scholars, teachers, community activists, business leaders, economists, social workers, and the urban clergy.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Some Good Some Bad
This book is very much an academic book.Some of the recommendations are very mainstream that cities are doing already.Many cities are dedensifying the inner cities to spread the poverty around.(I think that is likely a good thing--it has a good chance of reducing spatial mismatch.)However, their plan for diversifying suburbs with minorities and women who will likely vote democratic because more people in the suburbs vote than in inner cities . . . and therefore congress will be predominantly democratic and voting for those policies favorable to cities . . . is not exactly absurd, but it is a bit forced.

Excellent
This book details in stark clarity the dilemma facing our urban environment today. We ignore it's lessons at our peril. Place Matters shows how we have systematically set up a system of the haves and have nots. Literally a tale of two cities. It is crucially important that we involve ourselves in the electoral process because who we elect most definitely determines how wealth and power are distributed in the United States of America. This book is a cogent coherent collection of mind blowing data about discriminatory social engineering against our urban environment.

i.e. How Progressives Think, For Dummies
This book is beneficial to both Progressives, and their arch-enemy, the Conservatives

For Progressives ---

the book is a Bible of Progressive politics. It gives readers a backround and a full instuctional book on how to create the policy-jewel of the Progressive movement, which is merging counties so that everyone shares the same tax duties (in other words, a contemporary form of Socialism)

Aside from tax-base sharing, the book offers other Progressive arguements that are very in tune with the Progressive movement --- a great book for anyone aspiring to become a Progressive Poseur

For Conservatives ---

Do you ever watch Progressives debate on Fox News and think to yourself, "What the heck is their logic??? What planet are they coming from??" If you would really like to get INSIDE the mind of a Progressive, and finally see what they truly think, their logic behind their thinking, and the ways that they reach their conclusions, then this is the book for you!

The book is a roadmap of all Progressive policies, allowing Conservatives to truly dissect their policy approaches, in a manner that would allow them to have the upper hand in a debate after thorough analyzing.

Conclusion ---

Many of the policy recommendations in here are far-fetched and are not very likely to occur anywhere in America ---- but nonetheless, it serves as a great Bible for Progressives, and for Conservatives, as an excellent reference to a Progressive cause that is extremely difficult to comprehend.

Think of the book as 'American Progressivism for Dummies' ... Read more

Product Description
It is difficult to ignore the fact that, even as the United States becomes much more racially and ethnically diverse, our neighborhoods remain largely segregated. The 1968 Fair Housing Act and 1977 Community Reinvestment Act promised to end discrimination, yet for millions of Americans housing options remain far removed from the American Dream. Why do most neighborhoods in American cities continue to be racially divided?

The problem, suggests Mara Sidney, lies with the policies themselves. She contends that to understand why discrimination persists, we need to understand the political challenges faced by advocacy groups who implement them. In Unfair Housing she offers a new explanation for the persistent color lines in our cities by showing how weak national policy has silenced and splintered grassroots activists.

Sidney explains how political compromise among national lawmakers with divergent interests resulted in housing legislation that influenced how community activists defined discrimination, what actions they took, and which political relationships they cultivated. As a result, local governments became less likely to include housing discrimination on their agendas, existing laws went unenforced, and racial segregation continued.

A former undercover investigator for a fair housing advocacy group, Sidney takes readers into the neighborhoods of Minneapolis and Denver to show how federal housing policy actually works. She examines how these laws played out in these cities and reveals how they eroded activists' capability to force more sweeping reform in housing policy.

Sidney also shows how activist groups can cultivate community resources to overcome these difficulties, looking across levels of government to analyze how national policies interact with local politics. In the first book to apply policy design theories of Anne Schneider and Helen Ingram to an empirical case, Sidney illuminates overlooked impacts of fair housing and community reinvestment policies and extends their theories to the study of local politics and nonprofit organizations.

Sidney argues forcefully that under-standing the link between national policy and local groups sheds light on our failure to reduce discrimination and segregation. As battles over fair housing continue, her book helps us understand the shape of the battlefield and the prospects for victory.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Product Description
In the past twenty years the study of urban politics has shifted from a predominant concern with political culture and ethos to a preoccupation with political economy, particularly that of urban development. Urban scholars have come to recognize that cities are shaped by forces beyond their boundaries. From that focus have emerged the views that cities are clearly engaged in economic competition; that market processes are shaped by national policy decisions, sometimes intentionally and sometimes inadvertently; and that the costs and benefits of economic growth are unevenly distributed. But what else needs to be said about the policies and politics of urban development?

To supplement prevailing theories, The Politics of Urban Development argues that the role of local actors in making development decisions merits closer study. Whatever the structural constraints, politics still matters. Collectively the essays provide ample evidence that local government officials and other community actors do not simply follow the imperatives that derive from the national political economy; they are able to assert a significant degree of influence over the shared destiny of an urban population. The impact of the collection is to heighten awareness of local political practices and of how and why they make a difference.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Product Description
Since the 1950s and the advance of urban renewal, local governments and urban policy have focused heavily on the central business district. Today, promoters of downtown development still emphasize office and retail expansion, convention centers, sports arenas, festival market places, and tourist attractions. But, as the authors of this volume demonstrate, such development has all but ignored the inner-city neighborhoods that continue to struggle in the shadows of high-rise America.

Revitalizing Urban Neighborhoods addresses that alarming oversight. This up-to-date analysis of urban neighborhoods in the United States from 1960 to 1995 presents fifteen original and thought-provoking essays by many of the leading scholars of urban planning and development. Together they show how urban neighborhoods can and must be preserved as economic, cultural, and political centers.

In this unique resource, the authors examine the growth and evolution of urban neighborhoods; illustrate what approaches have and haven't worked in a number of U.S. cities, including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Boston, and Minneapolis; investigate the expansion and widespread successes of Community Development Corporations in neighborhoods around the country; provide a comprehensive analysis of federal policies; and discuss the prospects of urban neighborhoods from a realistic perspective.

These authors remind us that, as Americans lead more mobile and private lives, the role of urban neighborhoods has changed dramatically in the wake of declining population, jobs, and community spirit. After reviewing these unsettling trends, they assess the current status of urban neighborhoods and revitalization projects and point the way to alternative policies.

While other works have addressed individual issues of urban revitalization, none provide the comprehensive and practical overview found in this volume. It is an invaluable source for students, educators, and practitioners of urban planning and development and anyone concerned with the prosperity of America's cities and the future of her neighborhoods.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more