The Misunderstood History of Gentrification

People, Planning, Preservation, and Urban Renewal, 1915-2020

Dennis E. Gale
Book Cover

PB: $32.95
EAN: 978-1-4399-2043-5
Publication: Feb 21

HC: $104.50
EAN: 978-1-4399-2042-8
Publication: Feb 21

Ebook: $32.95
EAN: 978-1-4399-2044-2
Publication: Feb 21

250 pages
6 x 9
4 tables, 16 halftones, 3 maps

Reframing our understanding of the roles of gentrification and urban renewal in the revitalization of American cities

Description

The origins of gentrification date back to World War I—only it was sometimes known as “remodeling” then. Dennis Gale’s insightful book, The Misunderstood History of Gentrification, provides a recontextualization of American gentrification, planning, and policymaking. He argues that gentrification must be understood as an urban phenomenon with historical roots in the very early twentieth century.

Gale uses solid empirical evidence to trace the embryonic revitalization of Georgetown, Greenwich Village, Beacon Hill, and elsewhere back to 1915. He shows how reinvestment and restoration reversed urban decline and revitalized neighborhoods. The Misunderstood History of Gentrification also explains how federal policies such as the Urban Redevelopment Program (later named Urban Renewal), which first emerged in 1949, razed urban slums and created an “urban crisis” that persisted in the 1960s and ‘70s. This situation soon prompted city gentrifiers and historic preservationists to reuse and rehabilitate existing structures.

Within a more expansive historical framework, Gale offers a fresh perspective on and debunks misperceptions about gentrification in America.

About the Author(s)

Dennis E. Gale is Emeritus Professor of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University and has taught in the Urban Studies and Public Policy programs at Stanford University since 2010. He is the author of several books including Greater New Jersey: Living in the Shadow of Gotham and Understanding Urban Unrest: From Reverend King to Rodney King.


Subjects

Urban Studies History Political Science and Public Policy

In the Series

  • Urban Life, Landscape, and Policy edited by David Stradling, Larry Bennett, and Davarian Baldwin

    The Urban Life, Landscape, and Policy Series, edited by David Stradling, Larry Bennett, and Davarian Baldwin, was founded by the late Zane L. Miller to publish books that examine past and contemporary cities, focusing on cultural and social issues. The editors seek proposals that analyze processes of urban change relevant to the future of cities and their metropolitan regions, and that examine urban and regional planning, environmental issues, and urban policy studies, thus contributing to ongoing debates.