Mapping Decline

Mapping Decline
Author: Colin Gordon
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2014-09-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812291506

Once a thriving metropolis on the banks of the Mississippi, St. Louis, Missouri, is now a ghostly landscape of vacant houses, boarded-up storefronts, and abandoned factories. The Gateway City is, by any measure, one of the most depopulated, deindustrialized, and deeply segregated examples of American urban decay. "Not a typical city," as one observer noted in the late 1970s, "but, like a Eugene O'Neill play, it shows a general condition in a stark and dramatic form." Mapping Decline examines the causes and consequences of St. Louis's urban crisis. It traces the complicity of private real estate restrictions, local planning and zoning, and federal housing policies in the "white flight" of people and wealth from the central city. And it traces the inadequacy—and often sheer folly—of a generation of urban renewal, in which even programs and resources aimed at eradicating blight in the city ended up encouraging flight to the suburbs. The urban crisis, as this study of St. Louis makes clear, is not just a consequence of economic and demographic change; it is also the most profound political failure of our recent history. Mapping Decline is the first history of a modern American city to combine extensive local archival research with the latest geographic information system (GIS) digital mapping techniques. More than 75 full-color maps—rendered from census data, archival sources, case law, and local planning and property records—illustrate, in often stark and dramatic ways, the still-unfolding political history of our neglected cities.

Revitalizing America's Smaller Legacy Cities

Revitalizing America's Smaller Legacy Cities
Author: Torey Hollingsworth
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Cities and towns
ISBN: 9781558443709

This report examines the unique challenges of smaller American legacy cities -- older industrial centers with populations of less than 200,000, located primarily in the Midwest and Northeast. These cities are critical sites for a number of global economic and demographic transformations, and must fundamentally reconsider how to rebuild and sustain strong economies, housing markets, and workforces. This report identifies replicable strategies that have assisted smaller legacy cities weather these transformations, find their competitive edge, and transform into thriving, sustainable communities.

Rebuilding the American City

Rebuilding the American City
Author: David Gamble
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1317631064

Urban redevelopment in American cities is neither easy nor quick. It takes a delicate alignment of goals, power, leadership and sustained advocacy on the part of many. Rebuilding the American City highlights 15 urban design and planning projects in the U.S. that have been catalysts for their downtowns—yet were implemented during the tumultuous start of the 21st century. The book presents five paradigms for redevelopment and a range of perspectives on the complexities, successes and challenges inherent to rebuilding American cities today. Rebuilding the American City is essential reading for practitioners and students in urban design, planning, and public policy looking for diverse models of urban transformation to create resilient urban cores.

Legacy Cities

Legacy Cities
Author: J. Rosie Tighe
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2019-06-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0822986884

Legacy cities, also commonly referred to as shrinking, or post-industrial cities, are places that have experienced sustained population loss and economic contraction. In the United States, legacy cities are those that are largely within the Rust Belt that thrived during the first half of the 20th century. In the second half of the century, these cities declined in economic power and population leaving a legacy of housing stock, warehouse districts, and infrastructure that is ripe for revitalization. This volume explores not only the commonalities across legacy cities in terms of industrial heritage and population decline, but also their differences. Legacy Cities poses the questions: What are the legacies of legacy cities? How do these legacies drive contemporary urban policy, planning and decision-making? And, what are the prospects for the future of these cities? Contributors primarily focus on Cleveland, Ohio, but all Rust Belt cities are discussed.

Regenerating America's Legacy Cities

Regenerating America's Legacy Cities
Author: Alan Mallach
Publisher: Lincoln Inst of Land Policy
Total Pages: 60
Release: 2013
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781558442795

This study offers a way to think about the regeneration of America's legacy cities -- older industrial cities that have experienced sustained job and population loss over the past few decades. It argues that regeneration is grounded in the cities' abilities to find new forms. These include not only new physical forms that reflect the changing economy and social fabric, but also new forms of export-oriented economic activity, new models of governance and leadership, and new ways to build stronger regional and metropolitan relationships. The report also identifies the powerful obstacles that stand in the way of fundamental change, and suggests directions by which cities can overcome those obstacles and embark on the path of regeneration.

The Divided City

The Divided City
Author: Alan Mallach
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2018-06-12
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1610917812

In The Divided City, urban practitioner and scholar Alan Mallach presents a detailed picture of what has happened over the past 15 to 20 years in industrial cities like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, as they have undergone unprecedented, unexpected revival. He spotlights these changes while placing them in their larger economic, social and political context. Most importantly, he explores the pervasive significance of race in American cities, and looks closely at the successes and failures of city governments, nonprofit entities, and citizens as they have tried to address the challenges of change. The Divided City concludes with strategies to foster greater equality and opportunity, firmly grounding them in the cities' economic and political realities.

Mapping Detroit

Mapping Detroit
Author: June Manning Thomas
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2015-03-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 081434027X

Containing some of the leading voices on Detroit's history and future, Mapping Detroit will be informative reading for anyone interested in urban studies, geography, and recent American history.

Governance and Leadership in Shrinking Cities

Governance and Leadership in Shrinking Cities
Author: Stanisław Mazur
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2023-08-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000927547

The aim of this publication is to look in depth at depopulation - a trend that is affecting an increasing number of cities worldwide. It has recently become a critical issue with a range of detrimental social, economic, spatial, and financial consequences. However, attempts by central and local governments to combat depopulation have yet to yield satisfactory results. Compelling evidence suggests that one of the reasons for this state of affairs is that the role of local (urban) leadership in devising solutions, mobilizing resources, and creating networks to address the problem has been underestimated. Moreover, according to the authors of this monograph, there is a significant positive correlation between urban leadership and the ability to effectively respond to and counteract the negative effects of depopulation. Without an understanding of the impact of urban leadership on the ability to address the negative consequences of urban depopulation, it is impossible to pursue effective public policies in this regard. This book presents a novel approach to explaining the ability of cities to combat depopulation through the prism of urban leadership quality. It compares domestic empirical research findings with international case studies, and offers a comprehensive review of valuable practices to counter urban shrinkage and depopulation, from both academic and practical perspectives. Further, the book provides a new interpretation of the processes associated with these trends. The magnitude of the phenomenon in question, the negative spatial, economic, and social consequences, as well as the relatively low effectiveness of policies aimed at its mitigation, will make this book an invaluable guide for researchers, and students from a wide range of disciplines including urban studies, economics, public management, leadership studies, local government, climate change and energy transition and urban movements. The audience will also comprise of policymakers and urban experts such as sociologists, planners, social geographers, economists, and architects.

The Family Tree Historical Atlas of American Cities

The Family Tree Historical Atlas of American Cities
Author: Allison Dolan
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2017-04-14
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1440350655

Journey to the big city! Explore your ancestors' hometowns! This book guides you through American history by looking at the United States' sixteen most populous and historically influential cities, such as New York, Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, and Baltimore. Each section features beautiful, full-color maps published at crucial points in each city's history, tracing its growth and development from its founding to the early 1900s. Use the maps to find your ancestor's home, trace your ancestor's walk to work, and identify the streets and buildings from your ancestor's everyday life. Delve further into the past with a quick-reference timeline of key dates from each city's history. You’ll also discover easy genealogy research tips for finding local birth, marriage, and death records; federal and state censuses; and city directories. The book features: • More than 130 full-color historical maps of sixteen important cities, including New York, Houston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles • Timelines highlighting the most important moments in each city's history • Lists of city-specific genealogy websites and resources for records that will help you discover your family history • An index with instructions on viewing online versions of each map, allowing you to zoom in for more detail or use them with programs like Google Earth Whether your family hails from the streets of Brooklyn or the hills of San Francisco, this atlas--designed especially for genealogists--will help you better understand your city-dwelling ancestors.