Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude: Urbanization and Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin

Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude: Urbanization and Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin

Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude: Urbanization and Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin

Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude: Urbanization and Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin

eBook

$34.95 

Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude explores the transformation of the largest desert in North America, the Great Basin, into America’s last urban frontier. In recent decades Las Vegas, Reno, Salt Lake City, and Boise have become the anchors for sprawling metropolitan regions. This population explosion has been fueled by the maturing of Las Vegas as the nation’s entertainment capital, the rise of Reno as a magnet for multitudes of California expatriates, the development of Salt Lake City’s urban corridor along the Wasatch Range, and the growth of Boise’s celebrated high-tech economy and hip urban culture.

The blooming of cities in a fragile desert region poses a host of environmental challenges. The policies required to manage their impact, however, often collide with an entrenched political culture that has long resisted cooperative or governmental effort. The alchemical mixture of three ingredients—cities, aridity, and a libertarian political outlook—makes the Great Basin a compelling place to study. This book addresses a pressing question: Are large cities ultimately sustainable in such a fragile environment?

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780874179705
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Publication date: 03/16/2015
Series: The Urban West Series
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 288
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Dennis R. Judd is a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has published numerous books, including City Politics: The Political Economy of Urban America.

Stephanie L. Witt is a professor of public policy and administration at Boise State University. Her publications include Urban West: Governing Cities in Uncertain Times, coauthored with James B. Weatherby.

Table of Contents

Front Cover Title Page Copyright page Contents Preface The Last Urban Frontier Part -- Solitude Framing the Empty Urban Places/Empty Spaces Go Away Closer A Crucible for Populist Resistance Part -- The Sagebrush Empire The Fragile Desert Cheatgrass Empire The Solace of Empty Spaces Part -- The Cities on the Rim Constructing the "Quality of Life" City The Persistent Possibility of Failure Errant into the Wilderness Cowboys and Clerics The Coming Convergence Contributors Index
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews