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When America Became Suburban Robert A. Beauregard |
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$57.00 Cloth |
Understanding the consequences of the decline of cities and the rise of the American suburb. In the decades after World War II, the United States became the most prosperous nation in the world and a superpower whose dominance was symbolized by the American suburbs. Spurred by the decline of its industrial cities and by mass suburbanization, people imagined a new national identity—one that emphasized consumerism, social mobility, and a suburban lifestyle. The urbanity of the city was lost. In When America Became Suburban, Robert A. Beauregard examines this historic intersection of urban decline, mass suburbanization, domestic prosperity, and U.S. global aspirations as it unfolded from 1945 to the mid-1970s. Suburban expansion and the subsequent emergence of sprawling Sunbelt cities transformed every aspect of American society. Assessing the global implications of America’s suburban way of life as evidence of the superiority of capitalist democracy, Beauregard traces how the suburban ideology enabled America to distinguish itself from both the Communist bloc and Western Europe, thereby deepening its claim of exceptionalism on the world-historical stage. Placing the decline of America’s industrial cities and the rise of vast suburban housing and retail spaces into a cultural, political, and global context, Beauregard illuminates how these phenomena contributed to a changing notion of America’s identity at home and abroad. When America Became Suburban brings to light the profound implications of de-urbanization: from the siphoning of investments from the cities and the effect on the quality of life for those left behind to a profound shift in national identity. “While this is a small book it is filled with big, provocative ideas, many of which should keep scholars busy for some time exploring more deeply.” —The Antioch Review “With the combination of continuing sprawl overall and periodic resurgence in the downtowns and neighborhoods of at least some older U.S. central cities, Beauregard’s book makes for an intriguing reconsideration of the parasitic urbanization concept.” —Journal of Planning Education and Research “This is a story of fascinating but much-neglected time in US history. Unlike most analyses of the period from the end of WWII to the recession of the mid-1970s, it focuses both on the decline of the urban US and its cultural impact on national identity. Recommended. ” —Choice “An extended and passionate commentary on important historic trends. Advanced undergraduates and graduate students will find the book useful and challenging, libraries should certainly adopt this book, and a variety of metropolitan observers, academic and on-academic, should find much of interest here.” —The Pennsylvania Geographer “Beauregard’s book would be useful in the classroom—it’s well-written and includes at least brief discussions of most topics that might be covered in a course on American urban history—and also merits serious scholarly attention for its efforts at placing post-World War II suburbanization in the context of American exceptionalism and economic development. Provides an excellent introduction to new students. Beauregard does an excellent job presenting the complexity of Americans’ attitudes toward both cities and suburbs.” —Urban Affairs Review Robert A. Beauregard is a professor of urban planning at Columbia University. He is the author of Voices of Decline: The Postwar Fate of U.S. Cities and editor of Economic Restructuring and Political Response and Atop the Urban Hierarchy. 272 pages | 54 halftones | 5 7⁄8 x 9 | 2006 Preface 1. The Short American Century Acknowledgments |
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$18.95 Paper