Downtown America : a history of the place and the people who made it /
Alison Isenberg.
- Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2004.
- xviii, 441 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
- Historical studies of urban America .
Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-419) and index.
Introduction. Beyond decline: assessing the values of urban commercial life in the twentieth century -- City beautiful or beautiful mess? The gendered origins of a civic ideal -- Fixing an image of commercial dignity: postcards and the business of planning Main Street -- "Mrs. Consumer," "Mrs. Brown America," and "Mr. Chain Store Man": economic woman and the laws of retail -- Main Street's interior frontier: innovation amid Depression and War -- "The Demolition of our outworn past": Suburban shoppers and the logic of urban renewal -- The hollow prize? Black buyers, racial violence, and the riot renaissance -- Animated by nostalgia: preservation and vacancy since the 1960s -- Conclusion. "The lights are much brighter there".
Cities and towns--History.--United States Central business districts--History.--United States City and town life--History.--United States Community life--History.--United States Inner cities--History.--United States Urban renewal--History.--United States City planning--History.--United States Villes--Histoire.--âEtats-Unis Quartiers d'affaires--Histoire.--âEtats-Unis Vie urbaine--Histoire.--âEtats-Unis Communautâe--Histoire.--âEtats-Unis Centres villes--Histoire.--âEtats-Unis Râenovation urbaine--Histoire.--âEtats-Unis Urbanisme--Histoire.--âEtats-Unis Steden. Histoire Ville Vie urbaine Quartier d'affaires Communautâe Renouveau urbain Planification urbaine Urbanisme Centre-ville