What does the future hold for America's cities and metropolitan areas? This special volume of The ANNALS analyzes demographic trends, housing preferences, crime patterns, economic indicators, and infrastructure investments to examine emerging patterns in the nation's cities. Drawing on research by leading scholars, the volume points toward a growing metropolitan centrality and a slowing-down of the sprawling suburban growth of the last half century. In particular, contributors agree that cities with dense, walkable downtowns that agglomerate economic activity are poised for resurgence. Among the new-and surprising-findings: Susan M. Wachter and Richard Voith point to the remarkable turnaround of many of the thirty largest cities in 1970, which went from hemorrhaging to gaining population. Eugenie L. Birch shows how downtowns have experienced an uptick in residential activity that strengthens their economic and cultural viability. Ingrid Gould Ellen and Katherine O'Regan cite the dramatic decrease in urban crime over the last decade as a factor in luring the middle class back into urban areas-while making cities safer as well for disadvantaged and minority populations. Robert P. Inman and Andrew F. Haughwout provide evidence that suburban land values are increased by subsidies to their central cities and that the metropolitan area as a whole benefits from policies that increase the viability of the city at their core. Douglas Massey finds that while black-white segregation in metropolitan areas is loosening, there is increasing segregation on the basis of class. Robert Cervero shows that public transit can increase land values and improve neighborhood quality, as cities embark on new policies such as replacing elevated freeways with greenways and boutiques. Looking forward, Arthur C. Nelson predicts that the period from 2010 to 2030 will see a monumental demographic shift, with tremendous growth in the number of people over age 65 and a decline in the number of households with children. This shift, coupled with new housing preferences for residential units with transit accessibility and proximity to stores and restaurants, will lead to a "new urbanity." Nelson concludes that suburbs will have to change exclusionary zoning laws, property tax structures, and other policies in order to accommodate new housing demand. Dowell Myers and John Pitkin focus specifically on the effects of the impending retirement of the baby boom generation, arguing that the eventual housing sell-off among the boomers will create a substantial imbalance of supply relative to demand. This volume is a must-have for policymakers, scholars, and students to gain a deeper understanding of the current shape of the "New American City" and its overall effects on American culture and economics.
Named by Newsweek magazine to its list of "Fifty Books for Our Time." For sixteen years William Whyte walked the streets of New York and other major cities. With a group of young observers, camera and notebook in hand, he conducted pioneering studies of street life, pedestrian behavior, and city dynamics. City: Rediscovering the Center is the ......
Provides a theoretical framework that accounts for how different types of cities arrive at decisions about residential growth and economic development.
The aging population will cause dramatic changes in the spatial, social, psychological, and behavioral definitions of retirement and retirement communities. This shift requires that housing and space designers to rethink their models. This book provides equal parts forecasting, advocacy for ideas, and guidance for the evolution of existing models.
'This book pulls together an exceptional range of literature in addressing the complexity of contemporary patterns and processes of urbanization. It offers a rich array of concepts and theories and is studded with fascinating examples that illustrate the changing nature of cities and urban life' - Paul Knox, University Distinguished Professer, Virginia Tech University, USA 'The SAGE Companion to the City is a tour-de-force of contemporary urban studies. At once a stocktake, showcase and springboard for scholarly approaches to cities and city life, the editors have assembled a cohesive and convincing set of lucid, insightful and critical essays of great quality. Eschewing grand theory and deadening encyclopediasm, the contributors refresh both longstanding concerns and explore new themes in ways both brilliantly accessible to newcomers and satisfying to the cognoscenti' - Robert Freestone, University of New South Wales, Australia Organized in four sections The SAGE Companion to the City provides a systematic A-Z to understanding the city that explains the interrelations between society, culture and economy. Each chapter is illustrated with key extracts from the literature: " Part One: Histories: explains: power; religion; science and technology; modernity; the landscape of the city. " Part Two: Economies and Inequalities: explains: work and leisure; globalisation; innovation and the economy; and the role of the state "Part Three: Communities: explains: migration and settlement; segregation and division; civility; house and home; housing and homelessness. " Part Four: Order and Disorder: explains: politics and policy; planning and conflict; law and order; surveillance and terror. An accessible guide to all areas of urban studies; the text offers both a contemporary cutting edge reflection and measured historical and geographical reflection on urban studies. It will be essential reading for students of any discipline interested in the city as an object of study.
'This book pulls together an exceptional range of literature in addressing the complexity of contemporary patterns and processes of urbanization. It offers a rich array of concepts and theories and is studded with fascinating examples that illustrate the changing nature of cities and urban life' - Paul Knox, University Distinguished Professer, Virginia Tech University, USA 'The SAGE Companion to the City is a tour-de-force of contemporary urban studies. At once a stocktake, showcase and springboard for scholarly approaches to cities and city life, the editors have assembled a cohesive and convincing set of lucid, insightful and critical essays of great quality. Eschewing grand theory and deadening encyclopediasm, the contributors refresh both longstanding concerns and explore new themes in ways both brilliantly accessible to newcomers and satisfying to the cognoscenti' - Robert Freestone, University of New South Wales, Australia Organized in four sections The SAGE Companion to the City provides a systematic A-Z to understanding the city that explains the interrelations between society, culture and economy. Each chapter is illustrated with key extracts from the literature: " Part One: Histories: explains: power; religion; science and technology; modernity; the landscape of the city. " Part Two: Economies and Inequalities: explains: work and leisure; globalisation; innovation and the economy; and the role of the state "Part Three: Communities: explains: migration and settlement; segregation and division; civility; house and home; housing and homelessness. " Part Four: Order and Disorder: explains: politics and policy; planning and conflict; law and order; surveillance and terror. An accessible guide to all areas of urban studies; the text offers both a contemporary cutting edge reflection and measured historical and geographical reflection on urban studies. It will be essential reading for students of any discipline interested in the city as an object of study.
Explores how brownfields (environmentally contaminated land), trashed lots and abandoned buildings, and greenspaces (parks, community gardens, etcetera) are affected by the decisions of local governments, and shows how vacant land can be a valuable strategic asset for localities.
Fully revised and thoroughly updated, the Second Edition of Planning and Urban Change provides an accessible yet richly detailed account of British urban planning. Stephen Ward demonstrates how urban planning can be understood through three categories: ideas - urban planning history as the development of theoretical approaches: from radical ......
Just because Milwaukee isn't Manhattan, doesn't mean that those urban centers face completely unique challenges. Through effective comparative analysis of key issues in urban studies--how city managers share power with mayors, how spending policies affect economic development, and how school politics impact education policy--students can clearly see how scholars discern patterns and formulate conclusions to offer theoretical and practical insights from which all cities can benefit. Pelissero brings together an impressive team of contributors to explore variation among cities through case studies and cross-sectional analyses. Each author synthesizes the field's seminal literature while explaining how urban leaders and their constituents grapple with everything from city council politics to conflict and cooperation among minority groups. Authors identify both key trends and gaps in the scholarship, and help set the research agenda for the years to come. Lively case material will hook your students while the accessible presentation of empirical evidence make this reader the comprehensive and sophisticated text you demand.
