Main entry:

Beauregard, Robert A.

Title & Author:

When America became suburban / Robert A. Beauregard.

Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, ©2006.

Description:

xvi, 271 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-262) and index.
The short American century -- Urbanization's consequences -- Parasitic urbanization -- Culture and institutions -- Domestic prosperity -- Ways of life -- America's global project -- Identity and urbanity -- Appendix A: Decennial population loss for the fifty largest U.S. cities, 1820-2000 -- Appendix B: Demographic and economic comparisons across periods of urbanization -- Appendix C: Measures of urbanization for historical periods.

Summary:

In the decades after World War II, the United States became the most prosperous nation in the world and a superpower whose dominance was symbolized by the American suburbs. Spurred by the decline of its industrial cities and by mass suburbanization, people imagined a new national identityone that emphasized consumerism, social mobility, and a suburban lifestyle. The urbanity of the city was lost. In When America Became Suburban, Robert A. Beauregard examines this historic intersection of urban decline, mass suburbanization, domestic prosperity, and U.S. global aspirations as it unfolded from 1945 to the mid-1970s. Suburban expansion and the subsequent emergence of sprawling Sunbelt cities transformed every aspect of American society. Assessing the global implications of Americas suburban way of life as evidence of the superiority of capitalist democracy, Beauregard traces how the suburban ideology enabled America to distinguish itself from both the Communist bloc and Western Europe, thereby deepening its claim of exceptionalism on the world-historical stage. Placing the decline of Americas industrial cities and the rise of vast suburban housing and retail spaces into a cultural, political, and global context, Beauregard illuminates how these phenomena contributed to a changing notion of Americas identity at home and abroad. When America Became Suburban brings to light the profound implications of de-urbanization: from the siphoning of investments from the cities and the effect on the quality of life for those left behind to a profound shift in national identity. -- Publisher.

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ISBN:

0816648840 (alk. paper)
9780816648849 (alk. paper)
0816648859 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
9780816648856 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
0816698813
9780816698813
9780816648
9789780816643
978081664X

Subject:

Schweiz Eidgenössischer Vorort
Suburbs United States History.
Urbanization United States History.
Banlieues États-Unis Histoire.
Urbanisation États-Unis Histoire.
Suburbs
Urbanization
Vorort
Suburbanisatie.
United States
USA
Verenigde Staten.
Banlieues États-Unis Histoire Urbanisation Suburbanisatie Verenigde Staten.

Form/genre:

History

Holdings:

Location: Library main 247280
Call No.: BIB 176823
Status: Available