In the twentieth century, urban growth was one of the most powerful catalysts of geographical, social and demographic change in the Western world. When this book was first published in 1989, however, a massive process of counter-urbanization was underway, which saw the loss of population and jobs in cities and a pronounced urban to rural shift. This book analyses the causes and consequences of urban decline in Britain and the developed world during this period and beyond, and assesses the implications for urban planning and policy. David Clark’s relevant and comprehensive title will be of value to students with a particular interest in urban geography and development.

In the twentieth century, urban growth was one of the most powerful catalysts of geographical, social and demographic change in the Western world. When this book was first published in 1989, however, a massive process of counter-urbanization was underway, which saw the loss of population and jobs in cities and a pronounced urban to rural shift. This book analyses the causes and consequences of urban decline in Britain and the developed world during this period and beyond, and assesses the implications for urban planning and policy. David Clark’s relevant and comprehensive title will be of value to students with a particular interest in urban geography and development.

Following decades of neglect and decline, many US cities have undergone a dramatic renaissance. From New York to Nashville and Pittsburgh to Portland governments have implemented innovative redevelopment strategies to adapt to a globally integrated, post-industrial economy and cope with declining industries, tax bases, and populations. However, despite the prominence of new amenities in revitalized neighborhoods, spectacular architectural icons, and pedestrian friendly entertainment districts, the urban comeback has been highly uneven. Even thriving cities are defined by a bifurcated population of creative class professionals and a low-wage, low-skilled workforce. Many are home to diverse and thriving immigrant communities, but also contain economically and socially segregated neighborhoods. They have transformed high-profile central city brownfields, but many disadvantaged neighborhoods continue to grapple with abandoned and environmentally contaminated sites. As urban cores boom, inner-ring suburban areas increasingly face mounting problems, while other shrinking cities continue to wrestle with long-term decline. The Great Recession brought additional challenges to planning and development professionals and community organizations alike as they work to maintain successes and respond to new problems. It is crucial that students of urban revitalization recognize these challenges, their impacts on different populations, and the implications for crafting effective and equitable revitalization policy. Urban Revitalization: Remaking Cities in a Changing World will be a guide in this learning process. This textbook will be the first to comprehensively and critically synthesize the successful approaches and pressing challenges involved in urban revitalization. The book is divided into five sections. In the introductory section, we set the stage by providing a conceptual framework to understand urban revitalization that links a political economy perspective with an appreciation of socio-cultural factors in explaining urban change. Stemming from this, we will explain the significance of revitalization and present a summary of the key debates, issues and conflicts surrounding revitalization efforts. Section II will examine the historical causes for decline in central city and inner-ring suburban areas and shrinking cities and, building from the conceptual framework, discuss theory useful to explain the factors that shape contemporary revitalization initiatives and outcomes. Section III will introduce students to the analytical techniques and key data sources for urban revitalization planning. Section IV will provide an in-depth, criticaldiscussion of contemporary urban revitalization policies, strategies, and projects. This section will offer a rich set of case studies that contextualize key themes and strategic areas across a range of contexts including the urban core, central city neighborhoods, suburban areas, and shrinking cities. Lastly, Section V concludes by reflecting on the current state of urban revitalization planning and the emerging challenges the field must face in the future. Urban Revitalization will integrate academic and policy research with professional knowledge and techniques. Its key strength will be the combination of a critical examination of best practices and innovative approaches with an overview of the methods used to understand local situations and urban revitalization processes. A unique feature will be chapter-specific case studies of contemporary urban revitalization projects and questions geared toward generatingclassroom discussion around key issues. The book will be written in an accessible style and thoughtfully organized to provide graduate and upper-level undergraduate students with a comprehensive resource that will also serve as a reference guide for professionals

First published in 1979, this book examines key planning policy areas such as land use planning, land values, housing and slum clearance, urban transport, industrial and regional economic location policies, and policies inner city policies to explain why particular policies have been adopted at particular times — assessing the role of political parties, bureaucrats and interests in setting the national policy agenda. Policy is also placed in the broader economic and social context and the question of whether, given contemporaneous constraints, a coherent national urban policy is possible is examined. Its focus on political parties’ role in urban change at the start of Thatcher-era upheavals makes this book especially valuable to students of urban sociology and the history of planning.

This title was first published in 2003. Most European cities have experienced problems in certain neighbourhoods that are termed deprived or excluded . Traditionally these were found in the oldest urban areas with lowest quality housing, but since the 1980s, such areas have emerged in housing estates built around the cities' edges. These neighbourhoods are marked by visible physical and social problems that disfigure the otherwise pleasant urban landscape, and can be seen as urban sores . This engaging and thought-provoking book provides a deeper understanding of why urban decay and deprived neighbourhoods appear in certain parts of cities, as well as how they affect residents and cities in general. Drawing on in-depth empirical research from Denmark, it compares this with other studies from Europe and the United States. The author combines theories and methodologies from the fields of geography (on segregation), economics (on processes of urban decay) and social research (on social exclusion and deprived neighbourhoods) to provide original, illuminating and invaluable insights.

This title was first published in 2003. Suburbanizing the Masses examines how collective forms of transport have contributed to the spatial and social evolution of towns and cities in various countries since the mid nineteenth century. Divided into two sections, the volume develops first the classic tradition on transport and the city, public transport's 'impact' on urban development. The contextualisation of transport is one important factor in the historical debates surrounding urban development. As well as analysing the discourse employed by urban political and business elites in favour of public transport, these contributions show the degree to which practice often fell short of ideals. The second section tackles the professional paradigms of urban transport: the circulation of traffic in cities and the technological modes appropriate to its realization. In particular these contributions explore the paradigms held by professional planners and managers, and the political classes associated with them. From a variety of perspectives Suburbanizing the Masses demonstrates the continuing relevance of socio-historical inquiry on the relationship between public transport and urban development. By differentiating between the many roles of urban transport in the nineteenth century, it confirms that public transport was not directly linked to urban growth, and instead often had only a limited effect on the wider urban structure. Suburbanizing the Masses forces a reassessment of the received historiography that maintains cheap public transport was essential to the spectacular growth of cites in the nineteenth century.