Description: Nicholas Dagen Bloom argues for the centrality of state power in postwar American urban life. In the face of economic and demographic restructurings and the devolution of federal power, states sparked developments in urban planning, transportation, higher education, housing and environmental management. In particular, Nelson Rockefeller's governorship of New York demonstrated the power of an engaged administrative state to condition the fabric and nuance of everyday life. Rockefeller established long-lived bureaucracies that address social health, transportation, human rights, housing, and all the other components of a well-functioning and empathetic state. Many of those innovations came to influence or resonate with similar developments in other states and their cities as well.
Brief description:
Nicholas Dagen Bloom is professor of urban policy and planning, and director of the Master of Urban Planning Program, at Hunter College. He is the author of numerous books.
Review Quotes: "Deeply informative. . . Bloom grasps the nuts and bolts of urban governance down to the last detail; few scholars can match his command of precisely how governing institutions work."-- "Planning Perspectives"