Downtown, Inc.: How America Rebuilds Cities / Edition 1

by Bernard J. Frieden, Lynne B. Sagalyn

Overview

Pioneering observers of the urban landscape Bernard Frieden and Lynne Sagalyn delve into the inner workings of the exciting new public entrepreneurship and public-private partnerships that have revitalized the downtowns of such cities as Boston, San Diego, Seattle, St. Paul, and Pasadena.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262560597
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	07/01/1991
Series:	The MIT Press
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	438
Sales rank:	722,117
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Bernard J. Frieden is Class of 1942 Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT and Chairman of the MIT Faculty.

Lynne B. Sagalyn is the Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Director of the MBA Real Estate Program at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

What People are Saying About This

Nathan Glazer

Bernard Frieden and Lynne Sagalyn have written a most interesting account of the most interesting developments...They describe in this important contribution to urban studies how new mechanism for downtown developments were forged bringing together city governments and private developers, and brought to fruition developments in the 1980's more successful as contributions to urban life and diversity than the projects of earlier years.

Lester Thurow

Successful cities have been the cutting edge of all successful societies. Downtown, Inc. is a very good analysis of what we know about what one does and does not do to create successful cities in the United States.

Robert Wood

Frieden and Sagalyn have captured, in an authoritative and impressive way, the most significant developments in American city building over the last 15 years.

Daniel P. Moynihan

An insightful analysis of downtown commercial redevelopment. Frieden and Sagalyn explore the process and effects of commercial revitalization with great wisdom and clarity.

Endorsement

Bernard Frieden and Lynne Sagalyn have written a most interesting account of the most interesting developments...They describe in this important contribution to urban studies how new mechanism for downtown developments were forged bringing together city governments and private developers, and brought to fruition developments in the 1980's more successful as contributions to urban life and diversity than the projects of earlier years.

—Nathan Glazer

From the Publisher

Frieden and Sagalyn have captured, in an authoritative and impressive way, the most significant developments in American city building over the last 15 years.

—Robert Wood, Henry R. Luce Professor of Democratic Institutions and the Social Order, Wesleyan University

An insightful analysis of downtown commercial redevelopment. Frieden and Sagalyn explore the process and effects of commercial revitalization with great wisdom and clarity.

—Daniel P. Moynihan, United States Senator from New York

Successful cities have been the cutting edge of all successful societies. Downtown, Inc. is a very good analysis of what we know about what one does and does not do to create successful cities in the United States.

—Lester Thurow, Department of Economics, MIT

Bernard Frieden and Lynne Sagalyn have written a most interesting account of the most interesting developments...They describe in this important contribution to urban studies how new mechanism for downtown developments were forged bringing together city governments and private developers, and brought to fruition developments in the 1980's more successful as contributions to urban life and diversity than the projects of earlier years.

—Nathan Glazer

Editorial Reviews

Downtown, Inc. is a solid book with plenty of background... [Its] densely detailed case studies celebrate flexibility and innovation on both sides of the increasingly blurry public-private debate.--Harold Henderson, Planning--

Downtown, Inc. represents the most insightful commentary on up-to-the-minute urban development that has appeared to date. Moreover, this is a book in which the words 'government' and 'successful' actually appear in the same sentence.

--Edward A. Schwartz, New York Times Book Review--

From the Publisher

Downtown, Inc. represents the most insightful commentary on up-to-the-minute urban development that has appeared to date. Moreover, this is a book in which the words 'government' and 'successful' actually appear in the same sentence.

—Edward A. Schwartz, New York Times Book Review

Reviews

Downtown, Inc. represents the most insightful commentary on up-to-the-minute urban development that has appeared to date. Moreover, this is a book in which the words 'government' and 'successful' actually appear in the same sentence.

New York Times Book Review - Edward A. Schwartz

Downtown, Inc. is a solid book with plenty of background... [Its] densely detailed case studies celebrate flexibility and innovation on both sides of the increasingly blurry public-private debate.

Planning - Harold Henderson

The authors, professors of urban studies at MIT, present a brief for inner-city revitalization projects such as Boston's Faneuil Hall marketplace, the Horton Place complex in San Diego and retail centers in Seattle and St. Paul. Critics have branded such projects artificial enclaves that turn city residents into tourists and favor corporate interests at the expense of the citizenry. The authors strongly disagree, arguing that downtown retail developments create jobs, promote economic development and reassert middle-class control over crumbling areas. They further contend that, given federal funding cutbacks, cities have no other pragmatic course than to make deals with coalitions of real estate developers and business interests. A book for specialists, the study is full of details on the financing and politics that undergird downtown rebuilding schemes. Photos. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Urban retail malls such as Quincy Market in Boston and Baltimore's Harborplace have garnered both applause and criticism. This book examines, from a variety of angles, the phenomenon of new retail construction in cities. Begun as a series of case studies for university class use, this book also explores how city officials worked with developers to bring mall-style retail centers downtown. In doing so, politics and business were brought together in new, productive ways: ``The new methods for managing downtown development were almost as much of an achievement as the rebuilding itself.'' The bibliographic essay is a gold mine of resources on topics from shopping centers to city development politics. For large public and academic libraries.-- Diane K. Harvey, Johns Hopkins Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.

Library Journal