Unheavenly City Revisited

by Edward C. Banfield

One of the most widely read and widely debated books on contemporary American urban problems! In the more than twenty years since this book was written, the situation of the American city has not changed fundamentally. This is particularly true of the big cities an their larger, older suburbs. All of the old problems are still with us: racial injustice and animosity, poverty, crime, joblessness, ignorance and what goes with them. Some problems that at one time went almost unnoticed are now conspicuous: homelessness and drug abuse among them. The Unheavenly City Revisited explores what the social sciences have had to say about the problems facing American cities. It tries to make useful applications of some of the ideas and findings in economics, sociology, political science, psychology, history, planning and other fields.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Sociology, Cities, Urbanism

358 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Fred R · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a field of wishful thinking, this serious class analysis of urban issues definitely stands out. I'd like to say more in praise, but I'm still digesting it.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language is dated and often too clinical, and Banfield is certainly not politically correct. However, there are a lot of observations here about American cities and urban planning, race and social class, population characteristics and migrations generally that are still very much germane today. Recommended for anyone who wants to understand the nature of postwar American urban society; pretty much everything in urban planning that we're still dealing with - or reacting to - today (white flight, economic inequality, infrastructure issues, etc.) had already occurred by the time this book was published, making it a good introduction to the topic. Banfield's sociological definitions of social class characteristics and behavior are also worth a look, especially as they disprove the revisionist myth that white flight in the 1950s was primarily motivated by white racism as opposed to the economic and quality of life considerations of raising one's children in a dirty, industrialized city center next door to a factory. (It took the factory bust of the 1970's and the urban revitalization movement of the 1990's and 2000's to make our urban downtowns livable for the first time since the Industrial Revolution.) Overall, while it may be hard for some to read this book today, anyone who really cares about our urban past, present, and future should give it a look. Even if you hate everything Banfield ever wrote, the effect that this book had on a generation of sociologists is revealing in and of itself.