Renewing cities /

Gittell's book is organized around a careful analysis of four small "Rustbelt" cities that have borne the brunt of the economic and social stresses accompanying the nation's shift from an industrial to a postindustrial economy over the past quarter-century. The author's policy-oriented approach to his case studies Lowell and New Bedford, Massachusetts, Jamestown, New York, and McKeesport Pennsylvania is cross-disciplinary and will appeal to urbanists from every social science. The thrust of Gittell's study is an evaluation of urban development processes and their application to redevelopment efforts in deindustrializing communities. Five central chapters outline and individually treat each of the case-study cities. They are bracketed by overviews of urban renewal and local-development theory and by summary chapters that thoughtfully integrate the findings and place them in broader context. This book is a very useful review of current trends and makes a unique contribution to the literature. The work is extremely well documented and its exhaustive bibliography is quite up to date. Illustrations, expecially maps, are lacking. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduate; graduate; faculty; professional. P. O. Muller; University of Miami