An excellent collection of research essays on the changing fortunes of urban neighborhoods, and the approaches cities have developed to support them, over the last several decades. The volume includes outstanding and up-to-date interpretative analysis of both the politics and the policy process in one Canadian and five American cities. Altogether, the book represents a new standard in comparative urban ... Read morestudies for North America.
Richard Stren, University of Toronto A half-century of battles between pro-development forces and neighborhood defenders has reshaped the urban political landscape. Conflicts exist in cities around the world between economic forces favoring development and protectors of neighborhood distinctiveness. What is different is that outcomes are no longer as pre-determined as in the past. Through a series of well-informed and perceptive case studies, the authors identify an important incremental shift in urban policy from a narrow preoccupation with land use toward greater concern with people. Revitalization policies have become viewed as an iterative and ongoing process rather than as a package of fixed products. While inequality and neighborhood distress remain pressing challenges for urban communities everywhere, this volume demonstrates that the possibilities for responding are more fluid and, hopefully, more effective than ever before.
Blair Ruble, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars A generation ago, scholars sought to 'bring the state back in' to studies of urban politics. Urban Neighborhoods in a New Era proposes to do the same for neighborhood revitalization politics. This is a timely and important work with well-written case studies, cross-city statistics, and a wealth of forward-looking theoretical insights that will appeal to a wide-ranging audience of scholars and students as well as practitioners in the nonprofit sector and general readers interested in the fate of cities.
Steven P. Erie, University of California, San Diego Show Less