Reinventing Cities

Interviews with planners devoted to the needs of the poor and working class

Through the voices of equity planners who have worked 'in the trenches' of city halls, the authors explore the inner dimensions of social change, economic development, community organizing, and the dynamics of implementing and producing fair housing."Reinventing Cities" emphasizes the extraordinary accomplishments of eleven urban planners who work for the needs of low income and working class people. Through the voices of equity planners who have worked 'in the trenches' of city halls, Norman Krumholz and Pierre Clavel explore the inner dimensions of social change, economic development, community organizing, and the dynamics of implementing and producing fair housing. Preceded by 'snapshots' that describe the demographics, politics, and economics of each specific city or region, the editors' interviews with these leading progressive planners highlight productive strategies, disquieting failures, and the cities in which the fought for equity. Included are conversations with Rick Cohen, former director of Jersey City's Department of Housing and Economic Development; Dale F. Bertsch, former first director of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, Dayton, Ohio; Robert Mier, former commissioner of the Department of Economic Development (DED); Kari J. Moe, former deputy commissioner of Research and Development, DED'; Arturo Vazquez, former director of Mayor Washington's Office of Employment and Training, Chicago; Margaret D. Strachan, former city commissioner, Portland, Oregon; Peter Dreier, former housing director, Boston Redevelopment Authority, and policy aide to Mayor Raymond Flynn; Billie Bramhall, planning staff, and, Mayor Federico Pena, Denver, Colorado. It also includes: Howard Stanback, city manager, Hartford, Connecticut; Derek Shearer, former Planning Commission chairman, Santa Monica, California; and Kenneth Grimes, senior planning analyst, San Diego Housing Commission. Author note: A former planning director of Cleveland, Ohio, and past president of the American Planning Association, Norman Krumholz is Professor of Urban Planning at Cleveland State University and the co-author (with John Forester) of Making Equity Planning Work: Leadership in the Public Sector (Temple). Pierre Clavel, Professor of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University, is the author of The Progressive City and Opposition Planning in Wales and Appalachia (Temple).