The old neighborhood : what we lost in the great suburban migration, 1966-1999 / Ray Suarez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Suarez, Ray, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cities and towns--United States.

Cities and towns.

Neighborhoods--United States.

Neighborhoods.

United States.

City and town life--United States.

City and town life.

Physical Description:

viii, 264 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Free Press, [1999]

Summary:

This life in "the old neighborhood," so lyrically captured by Ray Suarez, was once lived by a huge number of Americans. One in seven of us can directly connect our lineage through just one city, Brooklyn. In 1950, except for Los Angeles, the top ten American cities were all in the Northeast or Midwest, and all had populations over 800,000. Since then, especially since the mid-60s, a way of life has simply vanished.

Ray Suarez, veteran interviewer and host of NPR's "Talk of the Nation," is a child of Brooklyn who has long been fascinated with the stories behind the largest of our once-great cities. He has talked to longtime residents, recent arrivals, and recent departures; community organizers, priests, cops, and politicians; and scholars who have studied neighborhoods, demographic trends, and social networks. The result is a rich tapestry of voices and history. The Old Neighborhood captures a crucial chapter in the experience of postwar America. It is a book not just for first- and second-generation Americans, but for anyone who remembers the prewar cities or wonders how we could have gotten to where we are. It is a book about "old neighborhoods" that were once cherished, and are now lost.

Contents:

1. What We Lost 1

2. Chicago 26

3. The Church and the City 47

4. Philadelphia: The Most American City 58

5. Side Trip-St. Louis 83

6. The America Factory, Brooklyn, N.Y. 98

7. The Persistent Significance of Race 122

8. Gentle Decay? Staving Off the Future in Cleveland 157

9. Washington, D.C.: "Will the last one out please turn off the lights?" 188

10. Still a Stranger: Latinos and the American City 209

11. Side Trip-Miami 228

12. Looking Ahead to the Next City 240.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0684834022

OCLC:

40543598