Unequal Partnerships: the Political Economy of Urban Redevelopment in Postwar America

Brief Description: Unequal Partnerships explores 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 social assumptions and interests shaping redevelopment, the social and economic costs of development for the vast majority of urban residents, and alternative approaches emerging. 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 cities in light of the consequences of development initiatives. 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). The book concludes with a discussion of promising policy alternatives.

Contributor Bio:  Squires, Gregory D Gregory D. Squires is a professor of sociology, public policy, and public administration at George Washington University. Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington University, Squires taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and served as a research analyst with the US Commission on Civil Rights. Currently, he is a member of the Advisory Board of the John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Support Center in Chicago, the District of Columbia Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights, and the Social Science Advisory Board of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council in Washington, DC. He has served as a consultant for civil rights organizations around the country and as a member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council. He has written for several academic journals and general interest publications including Housing Policy Debate, Urban Studies, Social Science Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, Journal of Urban Affairs, New York Times, and Washington Post. His recent books include The Integration Debate: Competing Futures for American Cities (with Chester Hartman, 2010), There Is No Such Thing As a Natural Disaster: Race, Class, and Hurricane Katrina (with Chester Hartman, 2006), Privileged Places: Race, Residence and the Structure of Opportunity (with Charis E. Kubrin, 2006), Why the Poor Pay More: How to Stop Predatory Lending (2004), and Organizing Access to Capital (2003).