
Voices of Decline
The Postwar Fate of US Cities
Robert A. Beauregard(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
2nd Edition
Published on 25. October 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-415-93238-7 (ISBN)
Description
[FOR HISTORY CATALOGS]Drawing on the pronouncements of public commentators, this book portrays the 20th century history of U.S. cities, focusing specifically on how commentators crafted a discourse of urban decline and prosperity peculiar to the post-World War II era. The efforts of these commentators spoke to the foundational ambivalence Americans have toward their cities and, in turn, shaped the choices Americans made as they created and negotiated the country's changing urban landscape. [FOR GEOG/URBAN CATALOGS]Freely crossing disciplinary boundaries, this book uses the words of those who witnessed the cities' distress to portray the postwar discourse on urban decline in the United States. Up-dated and substantially re-written in stronger historical terms, this new edition explores how public debates about the fate of cities drew from and contributed to the choices made by households, investors, and governments as they created and negotiated America's changing urban landscape.
Reviews / Votes
"Beauregard recovers an intellectual history of the city that has been overlooked by historians and planners. Yet one cannot understand the postwar exhaustion of urban policy without knowing this history of American public discourse about cities. With care and authority, he shows how traditional American unease with cities was transformed after World War II into a powerful narrative of decline that made the hollowing-out of urban life seem 'natural,' inevitable. Anyone interested in the past and future of American cities must read this book." -- Thomas Bender, New York University, and author of TheUnfinished City and New York Intellect"Voices of Decline digs under layers of conventional urban wisdom to reveal the roots and consequences of how we think about city life. Masterfully recreating and analyzing the often melodramatic public conversation about cities over the last half century, Robert Beauregard makes the whole range of urban discourse come alive with meaning and a rich historical resonance. In this admirably revised edition, he has not only updated an invaluable work on the American city, he has made it even more incisive, powerful, and useful." -- Carlo Rotella, Boston College, and author of Good With TheirHands: Boxers, Bluesmen, and Other Characters From theRust Belt
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
5 farbige Abbildungen
5 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
469 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-415-93238-7 (9780415932387)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2013
2nd Edition
Routledge
€61.99
Available for download

E-Book
10/2013
2nd Edition
Routledge
€61.99
Available for download

Book
11/2002
2nd Edition
Routledge
€242.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Robert Beauregard is Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in Public and Urban Policy at the Milano School of Management and Urban Policy, New School University. He is the author of numerous articles and books.
Content
Preface to Revised Edition Acknowledgments Framing the Discourse 1 Foundational Urban Debates Prelude to Postwar Decline 2 The Cities Wholesome and Good 3 Not Those of Decadence Escalating Downward 4 The Unhappy Process of Changing 5 On the Verge of Catastrophe From One Crisis to the Next 6 Every Problem a Racial Dimension 7 Crisis of Our Cities A Double Reversal of Fortune 8 Rising From the Ashes 9 Not Excessively Inconvenienced Reading the Discourse 10 Epilogue Index