Urban America in the Modern Age: 1920 To the Present (American History Series) - Softcover

Abbott, Carl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0882958402 ISBN 13: 9780882958408

Publisher: Harlan Davidson, 1987

Synopsis

The 1920s marked the true beginning of the urban age in American history. The decade brought new forms of communication, the mass adoption of the automobile, and the start of a long transition to a service economy. This book traces the evolution of our cities from this crucial decade to the late 1980s, when three-quarters of the total population was living in metropolitan areas.

One of the book's central concerns is the changing composition of the urban population. The sources of urban growth are also given careful attention. Abbott looks at the arrangements of ethnic and racial groups within districts and neighborhoods, and at conflict and compromise between groups. The evolution of urban politics is also considered as the author shows how government responds to the problems of our cities.

About this title

About the Author:

Carl Abbott is Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. His most recent books are Frontiers Past and Future: Science Fiction and the American West and Greater Portland: Urban Life and Landscape in the Pacific Northwest. Among earlier books, both The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West and Political Terrain: Washington, D.C. from Tidewater Town in Global Metropolis have won national awards. His research interests center on the history of city planning and the relationships between urban growth and regional change.

Review:

Praise for the first edition:

"Carl Abbott has produced a superb overview of modern US history, truly a state-of-the-art text... His mastery of fine detail and the variety and breadth of examples, drawn from a truly national cross-section of cities, are the most impressive features of the book." (Design Book Review, Spring 1988)

"Urban America in the Modern Age is an extraordinarily good short survey of modern unrban history; while directed toward the college classroom, it would make excellent reading for nonstudents as well." (Indiana Magazine of History, September 1988)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harlan Davidson
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0882958402
• ISBN 13: 9780882958408
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 181