The Metropolitan Revolution
The Rise of Post-Urban America
Columbia University Press
The Metropolitan Revolution
The Rise of Post-Urban America
Columbia University Press
In this absorbing history, Jon C. Teaford traces the dramatic evolution of American metropolitan life. At the end of World War II, the cities of the Northeast and the Midwest were bustling, racially and economically integrated areas frequented by suburban and urban dwellers alike. Yet since 1945, these cities have become peripheral to the lives of most Americans. "Edge cities" are now the dominant centers of production and consumption in post-suburban America. Characterized by sprawling freeways, corporate parks, and homogeneous malls and shopping centers, edge cities have transformed the urban landscape of the United States.
Teaford surveys metropolitan areas from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt and the way in which postwar social, racial, and cultural shifts contributed to the decline of the central city as a hub of work, shopping, transportation, and entertainment. He analyzes the effects of urban flight in the 1950s and 1960s, the subsequent growth of the suburbs, and the impact of financial crises and racial tensions. He then brings the discussion into the present by showing how the recent wave of immigration from Latin America and Asia has further altered metropolitan life and complicated the black-white divide. Engaging in original research and interpretation, Teaford tells the story of this fascinating metamorphosis.
Teaford surveys metropolitan areas from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt and the way in which postwar social, racial, and cultural shifts contributed to the decline of the central city as a hub of work, shopping, transportation, and entertainment. He analyzes the effects of urban flight in the 1950s and 1960s, the subsequent growth of the suburbs, and the impact of financial crises and racial tensions. He then brings the discussion into the present by showing how the recent wave of immigration from Latin America and Asia has further altered metropolitan life and complicated the black-white divide. Engaging in original research and interpretation, Teaford tells the story of this fascinating metamorphosis.
An enjoyable, accessible, and comprehensive look at the post-Suburban era. Kentucky Historical Society
This engaging study will provide the historical perspective we need. John D. Fairfield, The Journal of American History
A gripping voyage through the history of the revolution that changed America forever. Ganna Stembkovska, Journal of American Studies
A useful and important work that moves beyond single-city studies to provide a broad national view of metropolitan development. Marilynn S. Johnson, Enterprise & Society
Introduction: The Metropolitan Revolution1. 1945
2. Reinforcing the status quo
3. Coming apart
4. The debacle
5. The new Metropolitan World
6. Beyond the black-white city
7. After the Revolution
2. Reinforcing the status quo
3. Coming apart
4. The debacle
5. The new Metropolitan World
6. Beyond the black-white city
7. After the Revolution
Read an excerpt from the chapter >"After the Revolution" (pdf)