REVIEWS | EXCERPT | CONTENTS | AUTHOR BIO | SUBJECT CATEGORIES
Looking for regional solutions to local limitations of opportunity in education, jobs and housing
Restructuring the Philadelphia Region
Metropolitan Divisions and Inequality
Search the full text of this book
Carolyn Adams, David W. Bartelt, David Elesh and Ira Goldstein with Joshua Freely Michelle Schmitt
"By redefining what it means to be a city, this book takes urbanists well into the 21st century. Using the Philadelphia metropolis as an elaborate case study, the authors show us that cities cannot be fully understood apart from their regions, that regions unconsciously govern themselves, and that education, housing, and employment are vital for a region's future. With a keen eye and refreshing insights, the authors have brought the study of the metropolis to a new level and one which should serve as a model for other scholars."
—Hank V. Savitch, Brown and Williamson Distinguished Research Professor, University of Louisville, Urban & Public Affairs
Restructuring the Philadelphia Region offers one of the most comprehensive and careful investigations written to date about metropolitan inequalities in America’s large urban regions. Moving beyond simplistic analyses of cities-versus-suburbs, the authors use a large and unique data set to discover the special patterns of opportunity in greater Philadelphia, a sprawling, complex metropolitan region consisting of more than 350 separate localities. With each community operating its own public services and competing to attract residents and businesses, the places people live offer them dramatically different opportunities.
The book vividly portrays the region’s uneven development—paying particular attention to differences in housing, employment and educational opportunities in different communities—and describes the actors who are working to promote greater regional cooperation. Surprisingly, local government officials are not prominent among those actors. Instead, a rich network of “third-sector” actors, represented by nonprofit organizations, quasi-governmental authorities and voluntary associations, is shaping a new form of regionalism.
Excerpt
Reviews
"Policy analysts have often highlighted inequities resulting from uneven regional development and blocked opportunity. But as the global economy transforms a moral imperative into a competitiveness imperative, Restructuring the Philadelphia Region is an indispensable guide for political, business, and civic leaders seeking to create a more dynamic and inclusive region"
—Paul R. Levy, President and CEO, Center City District, Philadelphia
"Restructuring the Philadelphia Region reminds us that place still matters. As Adams, Bartelt, Elesh, and Goldstein document, where people live both facilitates and constrains access to opportunity in America. But new actors are emerging to confront these challenges. Third-sector entities (e.g., community development financial institutions, charter schools, foundations), along with state governments, are assuming roles traditionally reserved for city governments, perhaps for better, perhaps for worse."
—Gregory D. Squires, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy and Public Administration, George Washington University
Contents
List of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Expanding the Focus
1. Expansion, Decline, and Geographies of Inequality
2. Employment Opportunity
3. Housing Opportunity
4. Educational Opportunity
5. The Region's Communities and the Value Proposition
6. Who Takes Responsibility for Addressing Inequality?
Appendix 1: Constructing the Community Typology
Appendix 2: NAICS Coding for Industrial Classification
Appendix 3: Lowest- and Higest-Achieving Districts: Organizational and Housing Characteristics
Notes
Index
About the Author(s)
Carolyn Adams is Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at Temple University.
David W. Bartelt is Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at Temple University
David Elesh is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Social Science Data Library at Temple University
Ira Goldstein is Director of Policy and Information Services for The Reinvestment Fund.
Subject Categories
Philadelphia Region
Urban Studies
Political Science and Public Policy
In the series
Philadelphia Voices, Philadelphia Visions, edited by David W. Bartelt.
Philadelphia has always been a city that has embraced a richness of voice and vision, defying attempts to define it in a one-dimensional frame. Books in this series,Philadelphia Voices, Philadelphia Visions, edited by David W. Bartelt, will give voice to the diverse communities and perspectives that help define the city, and to address public issues that the city's community, civic and academic leadership raise in the public arena. The series is interdisciplinary, encompassing discussions of social divisions, cultural heterogeneity, and the importance of popular culture as expressions of communities that critique, celebrate, and continually reconstitute the Philadelphia region.