David Halle

This book provides in-depth comparative studies of the two largest cities and metropolitan areas in the United States. The chapters, written by leading experts and based upon the most current census information available, discuss and explicitly compare politics, economic prospects and the financial crisis, and a host of social issues, including reform movements in education, crime prevention, the development of infrastructure, immigration and immigrant communities, racial and economic segregation, environmental issues, the images of both cities in the movies, and architectural trends. This comparative framework reveals that old paradigms of urban 'decline' or 'resurgence' are inadequate for grasping new complexities. Each city is responding in similar and different ways to the challenges created by the events that defined the last decade. These regions act as harbingers for other U. S. cities, the entire nation, and cities worldwide. Andrew A. Beveridge (Assoc. Prof., Queens) served on the doctoral faculty in sociology.