The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America

by Alan Mallach

Who really benefits from urban revival? Cities, from trendy coastal areas to the nation’s heartland, are seeing levels of growth beyond the wildest visions of only a few decades ago. But vast areas in the same cities house thousands of people living in poverty who see little or no new hope or opportunity. Even as cities revive, they are becoming more unequal and more segregated. What does this mean for these cities—and the people who live in them?

In The Divided City , urban practitioner and scholar Alan Mallach shows us what has happened over the past 15 to 20 years in industrial cities like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, and Baltimore, as they have undergone unprecedented, unexpected revival. He draws from his decades of experience working in America’s cities, and pulls in insightful research and data, to spotlight these changes while placing them in their larger economic, social, and political context. Mallach explores the pervasive significance of race in American cities and looks closely at the successes and failures of city governments, nonprofit entities, and citizens as they have tried to address the challenges of change.

The Divided City offers strategies to foster greater equality and opportunity. Mallach makes a compelling case that these strategies must be local in addition to being concrete and focusing on people’s needs—education, jobs, housing and quality of life. Change, he argues, will come city by city, not through national plans or utopian schemes.

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive, grounded picture of the transformation of America’s older industrial cities. It is neither a dystopian narrative nor a one-sided "the cities are back" story, but a balanced picture rooted in the nitty-gritty reality of these cities. The Divided City is imperative for anyone who cares about cities and who wants to understand how to make today’s urban revival work for everyone. 

Genres: Urban Planning, Nonfiction, Urbanism, Cities, Economics, Politics, Urban Studies

344 pages, Paperback

Published June 12, 2018

Reviews

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I think I would give this book a 3.5 stars. The reason for this is that I think all the information provided was very valuable and important, and a lot of it I didn't know, but I wish once again there was more actionable steps. Alan Mallach put a lot of time in researching, compiling, and creating a story out of the intense divide between the poor and the wealthy in this country. I definitely feel much more prepared to have discussions on housing, the post-industrial cities, and discriminatory housing policies. The only problem is I wanted him to talk more about how we change the current trajectory we are on with these cities and how to address the different pathways to creating more of a middle class in United States of America.

I would recommend this for anyone who has no clue about the history (both recent and distant) of our industrial cities and what steps have been made in them to maintain white supremacy. It was very much an educational novel about the inequities that were created and still exist in our post-industrial cities.

On that note these are the action points I took away:
-Support those organizations and people that are creating community supported and planned redevelopment plans that create communities of high opportunity for those living in them
-Advocate fro changes to policies that make cities safer (lights, better sidewalks), provide good schooling and green spaces, remove blight, and foster livable neighborhoods
-Elect based on policies and ideas that support equality and creating neighborhoods of high opportunity
-Integrate all these ideas into my work and service
-Educate others and learn from others to try and make a more informed communtiy

[Stephen Hoogerhyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on what has happened in and to our urban areas, what is continuing to happen, and suggestions for some ways in which we can address the problems. The author served as director of housing and economic development in Trenton, NJ; was instrumental in a community development corporation in New Jersey (where I first met him decades ago); and is a city planner, writer, teacher, and advocate. In short, he gives us not an ivory tower look from the academy, but boots-on-the-ground perspectives.

Having said that, he has done his research well--and voluminously. The book is absolutely chock full of facts, tidbits, historical trivia, and enough statistics, charts, and graphs to satisfy any numbers geek. The occasional photographs and maps also provide much illumination.

Mallach first outlines the rise and fall of American industrial cities, focusing on cities such as Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis, and Cleveland (as he does throughout the book). He describes the effects that millennials, immigrants, and the shrinking middle class have had on cities; shows how urban areas have changed from factory-dominated areas to domination by medical and educational institutions ("eds and meds"); delineates the interplay between race, poverty, and real estate (this chapter should be required reading, especially in the current environment); deals with gentrification and its effects (and debunks some of the myths about it); shows how many parts of the cities are sliding backward; takes a look at smaller cities, old mill towns, and struggling suburban areas; examines how empty and distressed properties are affecting the neighborhoods of the cities; demonstrates how the lack of jobs and education make it difficult for the urban poor to get out of the cycle of poverty; looks at the role politics plays--for good or ill--in the growth and decline of cities; and finally offers some suggestions for ways forward.

As you read the book, it is easy to become despondent about cities riven by racial divide, income disparity, ineffective government, declining property values, and other attendant consequences. But, as the author himself says, "If I did not believe it were possible to change the seemingly inexorable trajectory of America's cities toward a future of increase segregation, polarization, and exclusion, I would not have written this book." He does believe it is possible, but it will not be easy, it will not be soon, and it will take initiatives on many fronts from every segment of society: government, corporations, non-profits, and individuals.

I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in the welfare of our cities and our nation, any interest in addressing the racial divides that are so highly visible in our cities, any interest in helping the poor to escape the seemingly intractable cycle of poverty. There are no hard and fast ways to address these problems; only hard ones.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both of the books in this post (this book + Road to Resegregation) were definitely more academic than the previous books I've read on this topic. This was the easier of the two to follow though. While not narrative nonfiction by any means, it still uses clear language and helpful pictures to tell the story of changing American cities. It includes fascinating anecdotes about cities, primarily in the Midwest and Northeastern parts of the country. I enjoyed recognizing some less well known small cities used in examples. Even the statistics in this book felt almost anecdotal to me. This might be because it's hard to prove cause-and-effect in the real world with as much certainty as you can in science experiments. However, the author made logical arguments that I found persuasive. Although the whole book is clearly motivated by the generally liberal idea that we should intervene to alleviate poverty and create a level playing field, the author's specific policy suggestions felt measured, evidence-based, and not ideologically driven. This was a challenging read and I loved how much I learned reading it.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As non-fiction goes, this was very good. A friend, and fellow long time Detroiter, loaned this to me. She knows I love Detroit, like history, and have a certain amount of interest in politics. This book hits all three of my interests hard. On around page ten, the author says "The problem is not that today's American cities have poor people living in them. The problem is that the cities have largely stopped being places of opportunity where poor people come to change their lives. . . ." The author is a lifelong city planner. Who has filled this relatively short book with numbers to support his arguments. We call them hipsters, he calls them 'Young Grads.' Are they a good thing? What about gentrification? He starts by defining gentrification. If you are talking about rich white people pushing out poor black people -- at least in Detroit, its not a thing. The census numbers show that more people total (rich and working class) are leaving Detroit than Hipsters are moving in. Even now, Detroit is still having a net population loss. His strong belief, backed up by numbers, is that hipsters in midtown are not taking anything away from long time residents, nor are they providing much of anything to assist long time residents. Hipsters, in Detroit anyway, just don't matter statistically. He does say however, that if you define gentrification as something to do with power -- then, well, yes, hipsters are affecting Detroit. The first thing I thought of when I was reading this section was the fact that we have lovely new expensive looking bike lanes throughout the city, while we still have some of the nations worst schools. Hipsters, who vote and complain loudly, like bike lanes and don't have children (for the most part). He also talked about how small cities are being devasted, he didnt speak to Harper Woods in paticular - but the cities he did mention really made me think of HW. HW was a solid working class and middle class enclave when I got to the Detroit area 30 years ago or so. Now, its poor poor and more poor. The mall has closed, any who had the wherewith all has left. The schools are slipping. The entire city is sliding into poverty. Mallach entirely explains why and how this is happening. It made a lot of sense to me. Poor and working class people are getting poorer. The housing crisis hit them the hardest. The poor folks who managed to get out of Detroit ghettos, made it to the relative niceness of Harper Woods, and then had the rug pulled out from under them.
Hipsters aren't going to save Detroit. Its unlikely they will stay as they age. There are no schools for their future children. Personally, I think one bad crime spree will put an end to all this hipster life in the D -- maybe a drive by or hold up at the dog park?
Cannot agree more with the author's premises that 1) racism caused an awful lot of these issues, and made every economic issue our country has faced worse, and 2) our countries policies (or lack thereof) towards poor people are horrendous.
Strong recommend on the book. There are some good things going on our there, unlike the author, I serious doubt our civic leaders ability to do the right thing.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine little book, emphasizing that the common story of widespread urban gentrification is one that applies to a few fast-growing cities, but that is mostly irrelevant to formerly industrial "legacy" cities in the Midwest and (occasionally) the Northeast. In cities such as Baltimore and St. Louis, there is some movement of affluent households into urban cores (mostly near universities and downtowns) but the majority of neighborhoods are stagnating or declining rather than gentrifying. Mallach also points out that the common equation of gentrification with displacement rarely make sense in these Rust Belt cities, for two reasons. First, gentrifying areas often had very little housing in the past, so sometimes there is no one to displace. Second, the equation of gentrification with displacement is based on the assumption that in the absence of gentrification, poor neighborhoods would be stable places. Mallach shows that poor households are disproportionatlely likely to move or be evicted even where housing prices are stable or declining

Mallach finishes his book by discussing the two major problems facing cities: (1) how to retain their new middle class and (2) how to improve the lives of the poor. He shies away from large-scale "silver bullet" solutions, instead endorsing a variety of small improvements.

[KP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent, very engaging, easy to read. I raised an eyebrow at some of the conclusions the author drew, but not at any of the important ones (er, millenials aren't buying houses for a number of reasons, but "being near the scene" is of lesser importance than "I literally cannot afford to buy a house oh god oh god my crushing student loans oh god"). I really appreciated that the author continually put PEOPLE at the forefront of his thoughts and arguments; it's really easy to forget that policy actually affects real folks out there, and folks who don't have a lot of power. And of course, being a Detroiter, I appreciated that cities like Detroit were the focus of this book, rather than powerhouses like NYC or Seattle. They have their own sets of issues and problems, but looking at cities that were at their heyday during the industrial era meant that one could really focus on a set of problems that are more prominent there. I also liked that he drew attention to people and projects that are doing good work, and having some impact on the lives of people living in the cities, because in books like this it's so easy to point out all the bad and never even think to look at the good. Acknowledging that there are people working for change is important. It was just a solid book, and I'm so glad I read it.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was refreshing to read a book that does not gloss over how complex or multidimensional a task it is to revive cities. Worth a read by everyone, not just planners or urban studies folk. I like that he addresses the whole, not just the central areas and most importantly, this may be the first book I've read that makes sense about the divide in our cities: poverty and segregation, both racial and economic. I don't think I've read another book with this realistic, whole approach Anyway, you can read it for yourselves but he had two points I'd like to leave here 1) Developers are important for city revitalization but the city itself has to have a long term plan and know what end they want that developer to be meeting, rather than letting them take the wheel 2) Cities need to learn to walk and chew gum (focus on all residents and neighborhoods) at the same time. I'll let you read it and figure out what that means rather than spoiling it here. Two high thumbs up

[Daniel Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Divided City helped me to see the issues of urban poverty and revival in a new and nuanced light. It addressed a concern I've long had but couldn't quite articulate, that as much as things seem to be changing for the better in some areas of my own city, you still see vast areas of neighborhood depression, and it really does beg the question: who are the beneficiaries of this newfound revival? The Divided City poses even more questions like this and some difficult answers as we navigate the future. I honestly am not sure why this isn't talked about more in our national discourse, and I hope it picks up steam. I don't foresee myself becoming an activist or anything after reading this book, but I nonetheless find it appalling that we allow so many people in our county to live lives consigned to poverty.

[David Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complex problems are not solved with simple answers. The challenges we face in relation to our cities is a perfect example of this reality and the theme of this book. Allen Mallach does an excellent job of breaking the issues down into many parts and pieces, while examining many of the current ideas and positive through the many layers of tensions of interests, needs, and outcomes.

Enjoyed this book thoroughly. I appreciated the complexity of the issues and the depth potential solutions and opportunities are explored. As the author admits, and I agree with his optimism, the answer for our cities requires a level of collaborative engagement and long-range thought, but it's possible.

[Miles Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for deepening your understanding of the zoning, growth, decay of cities and how it disproportionately affects black people. This book shows you the dirty truth of most cities in the U.S. (particularly post-manufacturing Cities) and offers a way out.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

if I were to teach an urban sociology class this might be my textbook. It's an extremely comprehensive and accessible description of life in legacy cities in the United States over the past 50 years that ends on a realistic but not entirely pessimistic note.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic high-level, yet through survey of the history, challenges, and opportunities of American cities

[Tyler Yoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully dense, yet highly readable. Mallach does a great job explaining the growing segregation of classes in American cities. Would definitely recommend it.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really challenged some of my pre-held beliefs regarding gentrification and the plights of cities. An interesting read about the cities that don’t usually make the news.

[Henry Mieczkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

His studies on their own were immaculate and thought out. His additional opinions were sprinkled throughout the text, which added interesting outlooks onto the topics!

[Adam Cohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in my planning class sophomore year of college

[The American Conservative]

The 2016 presidential election thrust America’s urban-rural divide into the forefront of our national consciousness. In the months before and after the election, mostly coastal reporters traveled to the heartland in an effort to understand why so many voters were casting their ballots for the Republican nominee. They returned with dire portraits—communities suffering from political and social disaffection and a multifaceted drug crisis.

The urban-rural divide will feature prominently in our public discourse for the foreseeable future. And yet, as a testament to our age of inequality, rural America is not the only setting in which economic polarization rears its head. Indeed, the American city—once a haven for the middle class—has transformed into a two-tiered society of affluence on the one hand and stagnation and decline on the other.

Read the rest: https://www.theamericanconservative.c...