Description: In this new volume, Michael A. Pagano curates essays focusing on the neighborhood's role in urban policy solutions. The papers emerged from dynamic discussions among policymakers, researchers, public intellectuals, and citizens at the 2014 UIC Urban Forum. As the writers show, the greater the city, the more important its neighborhoods and their distinctions. The topics focus on sustainable capital and societal investments in people and firms at the neighborhood level. Proposed solutions cover a range of possibilities for enhancing the quality of life for individuals, households, and neighborhoods. These include everything from microenterprises to factories; from social spaces for collective and social action to private facilities; affordable housing and safety to gated communities; and from neighborhood public education to cooperative, charter, and private schools.
Review Quotes: "Our neighborhoods are where the rubber meets the road in urban planning and economic growth. At a time when the federal government has never been more hyperpartisan and dysfunctional, our regions, cities, and neighborhoods have become the most critical engines of economic growth. More importantly, our neighborhoods have become the centers of hope for our future. The contributors to this book capture this new reality exceedingly well. It is a must read for those of us working daily to revitalize our cities and neighborhoods and to realize their full potential and promise."--Lee Fisher, President and CEO, CEOs for Cities