In the decades following World War II; professional city planners in Detroit made a concerted effort to halt the city's physical and economic decline. Their successes included an award-winning master plan; a number of laudable redevelopment projects; and exemplary planning leadership in the city and the nation. Yet despite their efforts; Detroit was rapidly transforming into a notorious symbol of urban decay. In Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit; June Manning Thomas takes a look at what went wrong; demonstrating how and why government programs were ineffective and even destructive to community needs. In confronting issues like housing shortages; blight in older areas; and changing economic conditions; Detroit's city planners worked during the urban renewal era without much consideration for low-income and African American residents; and their efforts to stabilize racially mixed neighborhoods faltered as well. Steady declines in industrial prowess and the constant decentralization of white residents counteracted planners' efforts to rebuild the city. Among the issues Thomas discusses in this volume are the harmful impacts of Detroit's highways; the mixed record of urban renewal projects like Lafayette Park; the effects of the 1967 riots on Detroit's ability to plan; the city-building strategies of Coleman Young (the city's first black mayor) and his mayoral successors; and the evolution of Detroit's federally designated Empowerment Zone. Examining the city she knew first as an undergraduate student at Michigan State University and later as a scholar and planner; Thomas ultimately argues for a different approach to traditional planning that places social justice; equity; and community ahead of purely physical and economic objectives. Redevelopment and Race was originally published in 1997 and was given the Paul Davidoff Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning in 1999. Students and teachers of urban planning will be grateful for this re-release. A new postscript offers insights into changes since 1997.
#2656113 in Books 2012-03-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x .88 x 6.14l; 1.32 #File Name: 0813932122328 pages
Review
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Their heroism must never be forgotten!By RadweilerExhaustively researched; well presented information; describing how the Southern nurses evolved their practice; profoundly aided the Southern war efforts (ironically likely prolonging the conflict); and brought sweeping cultural changes to the nation in the post Civil War South. This book is a tribute to the women who toiled and sacrificed so much to ease suffering and save countless lives in one of the darkest periods of our Nation's history -- heroic service on a grand scale; but sadly all but forgotten in our popular; androcentric retelling of history. Only minor issue is that I found the writing style a bit repetitious and heavy handed. Still; it is an authoritative; innovative; and important piece of scholarship. I look forward to hearing more from this talented; young historian.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Gary D. HueyGreat shipment4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Research on Civil War nursingBy GderfThis is a difficult book to review. It's excellent as a research project; but it doesn't fulfill its promise as a popular rendition. Meticulous referencing to credit research tends to crowd out the author's own insights. Professor Hilde's speaking style is more conducive to book sales than her writing.Once we get past the strident feminist sounding title; the book becomes a very fine account of Southern nursing; describing exertions; and privations of the women that practiced and conditions as well as the societal changes that these "matrons" experienced and precipitated.The book is mostly about upper class women becoming matrons. Roles of blacks; free and slave; and working class women is only lightly touched upon. Interspersed with observations of diarist Mary Chesnut; the book follows careers of the matrons who turned to writing after the war. There is an interesting reference to interference by military leaders like Braxton Bragg. The role of men is only lightly touched; as is role of slave labor and that of working class women. Some other aspects include "unofficial" nursing efforts; comparison with Northern nursing where more resources were available as well as the effect of military actions and prior state of the art on which nurses had to build. There is emphasis on the effect of home and families.The book concludes by saying that women's performance in the field of nursing during the civil war promoted positions of authority in the state governments to follow so as to affect the reconstruction period outcome. If that's a valid analysis it must be justified in another book. It's not in this one.It's a valuable reference for someone specializing in the topic; rather tedious for general interest reading.
