Concluding that the fiscal health of America's cities has worsened since 1972, the authors call for new state and federal urban policies that direct assistance to the neediest cities.

An original work on American cities and the ongoing "urban crisis". Using the metaphor of the socially constructed organization of space, Bartlett takes a broad view of the evolution of urban America, from its historical roots to the present; he then examines the way in which current policies have responded to, and affected the organization of space (covering housing, transportation, government and other urban problems). He concludes with a look to the future of American cities, how they will impact and be impacted on by changing commercial and labor markets, by the problems of poverty and cultural change. In an epilogue, he explores possible ways to overcome the "social dilemmas", while recognizing the difficulty of this undertaking. A thoroughly unique perspective to the study of cities, this book is about how space is used in America and how it changes as the "logic of location" evolves historically. Starting with the assumption that cities are fundamentally unnatural" phenomena, it unravels the interactions of technological advances that have made them possible and policies that have given them shape.

The history of the American city is, in many ways, the history of the United States. Although rural traditions have also left their impact on the country, cities and urban living have been vital components of America for centuries, and an understanding of the urban experience is essential to comprehending America’s past. America’s Urban History is an engaging and accessible overview of the life of American cities, from Native American settlements before the arrival of Europeans to the present-day landscape of suburban sprawl, urban renewal, and a heavily urbanized population. The book provides readers with a rich chronological and thematic narrative, covering themes including: The role of cities in the European settlement of North America Cities and westward expansion Social reform in the industrialized cities The impact of the New Deal The growth of the suburbs The relationships between urban forms and social issues of race, class, and gender Covering the evolving story of the American city with depth and insight, America's Urban History will be the first stop for all those seeking to explore the American urban experience.

Winner of the Bancroft Prize In twenty-first-century America, some cities are flourishing and others are struggling, but they all must contend with deteriorating infrastructure, economic inequality, and unaffordable housing. Cities have limited tools to address these problems, and many must rely on the private market to support the public good. It wasn’t always this way. For almost three decades after World War II, even as national policies promoted suburban sprawl, the federal government underwrote renewal efforts for cities that had suffered during the Great Depression and the war and were now bleeding residents into the suburbs. In Saving America’s Cities, the prizewinning historian Lizabeth Cohen follows the career of Edward J. Logue, whose shifting approach to the urban crisis tracked the changing balance between government-funded public programs and private interests that would culminate in the neoliberal rush to privatize efforts to solve entrenched social problems. A Yale-trained lawyer, rival of Robert Moses, and sometime critic of Jane Jacobs, Logue saw renewing cities as an extension of the liberal New Deal. He worked to revive a declining New Haven, became the architect of the “New Boston” of the 1960s, and, later, led New York State’s Urban Development Corporation, which built entire new towns, including Roosevelt Island in New York City. Logue’s era of urban renewal has a complicated legacy: Neighborhoods were demolished and residents dislocated, but there were also genuine successes and progressive goals. Saving America’s Cities is a dramatic story of heartbreak and destruction but also of human idealism and resourcefulness, opening up possibilities for our own time.

A thoroughly unique perspective to the study of cities, this is the only available book that discusses how space is used in America and how it changes as the logic of location evolves historically. Bartlett starts with the assumption that cities are fundamentally unnatural phenomena and unravels the interactions of technological advances that have made cities possible and the policies that have given them shape. Bartlett examines --how current policies respond to and affect the organization of space (covering housing, transportation, government, and other urban issues) --the future of American cities: how they will impact and be impacted on by changing commercial and labor markets and by the problems of poverty and cultural change --the difficulties in and possibilities for overcoming social dilemmas where the best choices for individuals may lead to outcomes that are collectively worse. Anyone concerned about the future of America's cities will find this book invaluable.

Excerpt from Great Cities in America: Their Problems and Their Government Three years ago the author undertook to prepare a contribution on "The Government of Great American Cities" to be published in Germany in a series of articles and monographs devoted to a description of city government in several leading countries of the Western World. This series appeared in the Schriften des Vereins fur Socialpolitik under the general title, "Verfassung und Verwaltungsorganization der St dte." Although the author's contribution was published in English, both the form and the substance of the monograph rendered it practically unsuited for general use in America. Accordingly, the work has been thoroughly revised and prepared for publication here as a separate volume in The Citizen's Library. It is a matter of regret that the limitations of space have compelled the author, in this revised work, to confine the discussion to six cities only, - Washington, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Boston. If the method of treatment here adopted should prove acceptable to the public, it may be that at some future time the story will be extended to include Cleveland, Los Angeles, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Denver, Milwaukee, and other cities of the second class in which history is now being made. The present volume is offered to the public with considerable diffidence, for two reasons. In the first place, the method of treatment is experimental. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."