Revitalizing American Cities

Susan M. Wachter is the Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance, The Wharton School; Professor of City and Regional Planning, School of Design; and Co-Director, Penn Institute for Urban Research, at the University of Pennsylvania. Kimberly A. Zeuli is Senior Vice President and Director of Research and Advisory Services for the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. She has held faculty positions at the University of Kentucky and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was formerly Vice President of Community Development for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

• IntroductionPART I. CITY DECLINE AND REVIVALChapter 1. The Historical Vitality of Cities-Edward GlaeserChapter 2. The Growth of Metropolitan Areas in the United States-Gilles DurantonChapter 3. The Relationship Between City Center Density and Urban Growth or Decline-Kyle Fee and Daniel HartleyChapter 4. Central Cities and Metropolitan Areas: Manufacturing and Nonmanufacturing Employment as Drivers of Growth-Steven Cochrane, Sophia Koropeckyj, Aaron Smith, and Sean EllisPART II. DISCOVERING RESILIENCEChapter 5. Lessons from Resurgent Mid-Sized Manufacturing Cities-Yolanda K. Kodrzycki and Ana Patricia MuÑozChapter 6. Revitalizing Small Cities: A Comparative Case Study of Two Southern Mill Towns-Kimberly ZeuliChapter 7. Parallel Histories, Diverging Trajectories: Resilience in Small Industrial Cities-Alan MallachPART III. LAND AND NEIGHBORHOOD POLICYChapter 8. A Market-Oriented Approach to Neighborhoods-Paul C. BrophyChapter 9. Transformation Is Messy Work: The Complex Challenge of Spatial Reconfiguration in America's Legacy Cities-Alan MallachChapter 10. Tactical Options for Stable Properties-Frank S. AlexanderPART IV. THE NEW ECONOMY AND CITIESChapter 11. Anchor Institutions in the Northeast Megaregion: An Important but Not Fully Realized Resource-Eugenie L. BirchChapter 12. Fields, Factories, and Workshops: Green Economic Development on the Smaller-Metro Scale-Catherine TumberChapter 13. Promoting Workforce Readiness for Urban Growth-Laura W. PernaAfterword-Jeremy NowakNotesList of ContributorsBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments

"If you're a mayor, economic developer, city builder, scholar, or student who wants to understand how small and medium-sized cities have fared in our rapidly changing economy, then Revitalizing American Cities is the book for you. Wachter and Zeuli bring together a wide range of scholars to consider how and why these cities have combated decline and revitalized and become more resilient, the role of neighborhood factors in urban revitalization, and how cities can best adapt to the new economy." (Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class) "America's older industrial cities once powered the nation's economy. Now these places must adapt to a new reality in which the U.S. manufacturing industry is no longer ascendant. Required reading for anyone working to stabilize and strengthen America's industrial cities." (Manny Diaz, former Mayor of Miami and past President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors) "Taking a timely look at the struggles of America's smaller, older cities, Wachter and Zeuli have assembled a group of accomplished scholars to consider how these cities can adapt and thrive in an economy very different from the one in which they matured. These essays provide what policymakers and practitioners need: practical strategies for reinvention based on well-documented evidence and compelling examples." (Sarah Rosen Wartell, President of The Urban Institute) "Wachter and Zeuli have created an invaluable resource for anyone involved in reinvigorating our struggling cities. This volume offers important insights into the practices needed to create the kinds of vital cities necessary for broader economic opportunity for all." (Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League) "The American economy's success resides in its ability to continually remake itself. This is clearest in our cities. Read this book to understand why some cities succeed at this and others fall short." (Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics)