Unequal Partnerships : Political Economy of Urban Redevelopment in Postwar America

This book explores the dynamics of urban development in American cities since World War II.

Gregory D.Squires and other contributors examine what has long been a highly inequitable and destructive process of urban development.

They look at the political and economic assumptions and interests shaping redevelopment, the social and economic costs of development for the vast majority of urban residents, and emerging alternative approaches.

The book begins with an overview of the ideological forces that have shaped urban economic development in the United States from the urban renewal days of the 1950s and 1960s through the celebration of public-private partnerships in the 1980s.

Subsequent chapters examine specific American cities in light of the consequences of development initiatives for the diverse segments of urban communities.

These cities include those in declining rustbelt regions that are struggling with the consequences of deindustrialization (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee) as well as growing cities in the sunbelt (Louisville, New Orleans, Houston and Sacramento). Despite some differences in the patterns of development, and in large part because of the shared ideological assumptions, all of these cities have experienced uneven development and severe social costs.

The book concludes with a discussion of promising policy alternatives to the corporate growth orientation that has been dominant over the past four decades.