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Chicago is celebrated for its rich diversity, but, even more than
most US cities, it is also plagued by segregation and extreme
inequality. The stark divide between the gentrifying and primarily
white neighborhoods on the north side and near downtown, and
impoverished, largely black and Latino communities on the south and
west sides is plainly visible. More than ever, Chicago is a "dual
city," a condition taken for granted by many residents. Joel Rast
reveals today's tacit acceptance of rising urban inequality as a
marked departure from the past. For much of the twentieth century,
a key goal for civic leaders was the total elimination of slums and
blight. Yet over time, as anti-slum efforts faltered, leaders
changed the focus of their initiatives away from low-income areas
and toward the upgrading of neighborhoods with greater promise. As
misguided as postwar public housing and urban renewal programs
were, they were projects born of a long-standing reformist impulse
aimed at improving living conditions for people of all classes and
colors across the city--something that can't be said to be a true
political or social priority for many policymakers today. Rast
laments the acceptance of today's dual city and is intent on
showing precisely how that paradigm took over from ones that shaped
previous generations' policymaking. The Origins of the Dual City
reveals nothing less than how we normalized and became resigned to
a city with stark racial and economic divides.
Examining Chicago as a model for urban economic development in the
post-World War II era, Joel Rast challenges the conventional belief
that structural economic change has forced cities to concentrate
resources on downtown revitalization efforts in order to remain
fiscally viable. Rast argues instead that cities face multiple
economic development choices and that politics play a fundamental
role in deciding among them. During the late 1950s, a coalition of
city officials and downtown business leaders initiated planning
efforts that would help reshape central Chicago into a modern mecca
of service industries and affluent residential neighborhoods,
chasing viable manufacturers from the near downtown area in the
process. More recently, however, manufacturers have sought
protection and support from city government, forming alliances with
labor and community organizations concerned with the decline of
well-paying industrial job opportunities. Responding to these
pressures, city officials from the Harold Washington, Eugene
Sawyer, and Richard M. Daley administrations have taken steps to
implement a citywide industrial policy. Remaking Chicago portrays
urban economic development as open-ended and politically contested.
It demonstrates that who governs matters and shows how
opportunities exist for creative local responses to urban economic
restructuring. Based on extensive research, this well-written case
study will appeal to those interested in urban planning and
politics, economic development, and Chicago history and politics.
Examining Chicago as a model for urban economic development in the
post-World War II era, Joel Rast challenges the conventional belief
that structural economic change has forced cities to concentrate
resources on downtown revitalization efforts in order to remain
fiscally viable. Rast argues instead that cities face multiple
economic development choices and that politics play a fundamental
role in deciding among them. During the late 1950s, a coalition of
city officials and downtown business leaders initiated planning
efforts that would help reshape central Chicago into a modern mecca
of service industries and affluent residential neighborhoods,
chasing viable manufacturers from the near downtown area in the
process. More recently, however, manufacturers have sought
protection and support from city government, forming alliances with
labor and community organizations concerned with the decline of
well-paying industrial job opportunities. Responding to these
pressures, city officials from the Harold Washington, Eugene
Sawyer, and Richard M. Daley administrations have taken steps to
implement a citywide industrial policy. Remaking Chicago portrays
urban economic development as open-ended and politically contested.
It demonstrates that who governs matters and shows how
opportunities exist for creative local responses to urban economic
restructuring. Based on extensive research, this well-written case
study will appeal to those interested in urban planning and
politics, economic development, and Chicago history and politics.
Chicago is celebrated for its rich diversity, but, even more than
most US cities, it is also plagued by segregation and extreme
inequality. The stark divide between the gentrifying and primarily
white neighborhoods on the north side and near downtown, and
impoverished, largely black and Latino communities on the south and
west sides is plainly visible. More than ever, Chicago is a "dual
city," a condition taken for granted by many residents. Joel Rast
reveals today's tacit acceptance of rising urban inequality as a
marked departure from the past. For much of the twentieth century,
a key goal for civic leaders was the total elimination of slums and
blight. Yet over time, as anti-slum efforts faltered, leaders
changed the focus of their initiatives away from low-income areas
and toward the upgrading of neighborhoods with greater promise. As
misguided as postwar public housing and urban renewal programs
were, they were projects born of a long-standing reformist impulse
aimed at improving living conditions for people of all classes and
colors across the city--something that can't be said to be a true
political or social priority for many policymakers today. Rast
laments the acceptance of today's dual city and is intent on
showing precisely how that paradigm took over from ones that shaped
previous generations' policymaking. The Origins of the Dual City
reveals nothing less than how we normalized and became resigned to
a city with stark racial and economic divides.
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