Where the river burned : Carl Stokes and the struggle to save Cleveland / David Stradling and Richard Stradling.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stradling, David, author.

Stradling, Richard, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stokes, Carl.

Urban renewal--Environmental aspects--Ohio--Cleveland.

Urban renewal.

City planning--Environmental aspects--Ohio--Cleveland.

City planning.

Community development--Environmental aspects--Ohio--Cleveland.

Community development.

Cleveland (Ohio)--Politics and government--20th century.

Cleveland (Ohio).

Cleveland (Ohio)--Environmental conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the 1960's, Cleveland suffered through racial violence, spiking crime rates, and a shrinking tax base, as the city lost jobs and population. Rats infested an expanding and decaying ghetto, Lake Erie appeared to be dying, and dangerous air pollution hung over the city. Such was the urban crisis in the "Mistake on the Lake." When the Cuyahoga River caught fire in the summer of 1969, the city was at its nadir, polluted and impoverished, struggling to set a new course. The burning river became the emblem of all that was wrong with the urban environment in Cleveland and in all of industrial America. Carl Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city, had come into office in Cleveland a year earlier with energy and ideas. He surrounded himself with a talented staff, and his administration set new policies to combat pollution, improve housing, provide recreational opportunities, and spark downtown development. In Where the River Burned, David Stradling and Richard Stradling describe Cleveland's nascent transition from polluted industrial city to viable service city during the Stokes administration. The story culminates with the first Earth Day in 1970, when broad citizen engagement marked a new commitment to the creation of a cleaner, more healthful and appealing city. Although concerned primarily with addressing poverty and inequality, Stokes understood that the transition from industrial city to service city required massive investments in the urban landscape. Stokes adopted ecological thinking that emphasized the connectedness of social and environmental problems and the need for regional solutions. He served two terms as mayor, but during his four years in office Cleveland's progress fell well short of his administration's goals. Although he was acutely aware of the persistent racial and political boundaries that held back his city, Stokes was in many ways ahead of his time in his vision for Cleveland and a more livable urban America.

Contents:

Introduction : the crisis in the urban environment

What will become of Cleveland?

Hough and the urban crisis

Downtown and the limits of urban renewal

Policy and the polluted city

The burning river

From earth day to ecocity

Epilogue : what became of Cleveland.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780801455650

0801455650

9780801455667

0801455669

OCLC:

1016783733