Renewing Cities

Ross J. Gittell

Published by Princeton University Press 1992

Renewing Cities

Ross J. Gittell

Volume 144 in the series Princeton Legacy Library

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400863099

Overview
Contents

About this book

The cities of Lowell and New Bedford in Massachusetts, Jamestown in New York, and McKeesport in Pennsylvania have all undergone years of adversity and decline, their economic bases having been badly damaged by structural changes in the national economy, particularly in the manufacturing sector. In situations like these, can local development efforts make a difference? Ross Gittell answers in the affirmative. This interdisciplinary work focuses on comparative case studies of the four cities. The book reveals how public, private, and community-based local economic development initiatives affect local economic performance: what works and what does not work. City leaders and institutions can help reorganize and "reshuffle" local resources, with results that include increased investment, greater effort by local individuals and institutions, more cooperation among different development interests, and improvement in city economic positioning relative to the regional economy and local development cycles. Gittell emphasizes the possibility of shifting from a "zero-sum game" (attracting jobs from elsewhere) toward the goal of converting underutilized local resources to higher-value uses through alternative forms of economic and political organization.

Originally published in 1992.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Reviews

Gittell's book is organized around a careful analysis of four small "Rustbelt" cities that have borne the brunt of the economic and social stresses accompanying the nation's shift from an industrial to a postindustrial economy over the past quarter century . . . This book is a very useful review of current trends and makes a unique
contribution to the literature. The work is extremely well documented and its exhaustive bibliography is quite up-to-date.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Figures and Tables Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
One. Renewing Industrial Cities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Two. Theories of Local Development Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Three. Growth and Decline in Four Cities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
Four. Lowell: Successful Revitalization Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
Five. New Bedford: Extended Decline Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
Six. Jamestown: Attempted Preservation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
Seven. McKeesport: Decline and Struggle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
Eight. Critical Factors in City Revitalization Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
Nine. The Renewal Process Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225

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