Voices of Decline

"Beauregard recovers an intellectual history of the city that has been overlooked by historians and planners. Yet one cannot understand the postwar exhaustion of urban policy without knowing this history of American public discourse about cities. With care and authority, he shows how traditional American unease with cities was transformed after World War II into a powerful narrative of decline that made the hollowing-out of urban life seem 'natural,' inevitable. Anyone interested in the past and future of American cities must read this book." -- Thomas Bender, New York University, and author of TheUnfinished City and New York Intellect
"Voices of Decline digs under layers of conventional urban wisdom to reveal the roots and consequences of how we think about city life. Masterfully recreating and analyzing the often melodramatic public conversation about cities over the last half century, Robert Beauregard makes the whole range of urban discourse come alive with meaning and a rich historical resonance. In this admirably revised edition, he has not only updated an invaluable work on the American city, he has made it even more incisive, powerful, and useful." -- Carlo Rotella, Boston College, and author of Good With TheirHands: Boxers, Bluesmen, and Other Characters From theRust Belt