Postwar Urban America

This unique book provides a demographic and economic history of urban America over the last 65 years. The growth and decline of most northern cities is contrasted with the steady growth of western and southern cities. Various urban government policies are explored, including federal, state, and local policies. There is a chapter focusing on Detroit and its rapid decline toward bankruptcy and its recent strategies to slow recovery. The final two chapters speculate on what's next for urban America and gives suggestions for stimulating growth.

Preface; Introduction; Part 1 Urban America in 1950; Chapter 1 Urban Areas of the North; Chapter 2 Urban Areas of the South Before Air-Conditioning; Chapter 3 Urban Areas of the West; Chapter 4 An American Dilemma in 1950; Part 2 Urban Growth and Prosperity: 1950-1970; Chapter 5 The Industrial North and the Great Migration; Chapter 6 The New South Takes Off; Chapter 7 Urban Growth in the West; Chapter 8 Suburbanization: 1950-1970; Chapter 9 Signs of Trouble Ahead; Chapter 10 July 1964 and August 1965; Part 3 The Years of Urban Crisis; Chapter 11 The Great Society and the Urban Riots; Chapter 12 Urban Population and Employment Trends in the North; Chapter 13 Urban Growth in the South: 1970-1990; Chapter 14 Rapid Urban Growth in the West: 1970-1990; Chapter 15 New Urban Scholarship; Chapter 16 The Vicious Circle in Urban America; Part 4 The Rebirth of Urban America in the 1990s; Chapter 17 Rebirth in America's Cities; Chapter 18 Urban Rebirth in the North: 1990-2000; Chapter 19 Urban Growth and Rebirth in the South and West; Part 5 Urban America in the New Century; Chapter 20 Recession, Recovery, Housing Market Bubble, and Financial Crisis; Chapter 21 Northern Urban Areas: 2000-2010; Chapter 22 Bankruptcy in Detroit; Chapter 23 Urban Areas of the South and West: 2000-2010; Chapter 24 What's Next for Urban America?; Chapter 25 Lessons from History: What Has Worked?;