1st Edition

Urban America: Growth, Crisis, and Rebirth Growth, Crisis, and Rebirth

By John Mcdonald Copyright 2008
    408 Pages
    by Routledge

    408 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book will change the way Americans think about their cities. It provides a comprehensive economic and social history of urban America since 1950, covering the 29 largest urban areas of that period. Specifically, the book covers 17 cities in the Northeast, 6 in the South, and 6 in the West, decade by decade, with extensive data and historical narrative. The author divides his analysis into three periods - urban growth (1950 to 1970), urban crisis (late 1960s to 1990), and urban rebirth (since 1990). He draws on the concepts of the vicious circle and the virtuous circle to offer the first in-depth explanation for the transition from urban crisis to urban rebirth that took place in the early 1990s. "Urban America" is both a message of hope and a call to action for students and professionals in urban studies. It will inspire readers to concentrate on finding ways and means to ensure that the urban rebirth will continue.

    List of Tables; Preface; Introduction; Part I. Urban America in 1950; 1. Urban Areas of the Northeast; 2. Urban Areas of the Sunbelt before Air Conditioning; 3. An American Dilemma in 1950; Part II. Urban Growth and Prosperity: 1950-1970; 4. The Industrial Northeast and the Great Migration; 5. The New Sunbelt Takes Off; 6. Suburbanization: 1950-1970; 7. Signs of Trouble Ahead; 8. August 1965; Part III. The Years of Urban Crisis: 1970-1990; 9. The Great Society and the Urban Riots; 10. Urban Employment Trends in the Northeast; 11. Urban Growth in the Sunbelt: 1970-1990; 12. New Urban Scholarship; 13. The Vicious Circle in Urban America; Part IV. The Rebirth of Urban America after 1990; 14. Rebirth in America's Cities; 15. Urban Rebirth in the Northeast: 1990-2000; 16. Urban Growth and Rebirth in the Sunbelt; 17. Trends after 2000: What Is Next for Urban America?; Bibliography; Index; About the Author.

    Biography

    John F. McDonald