Song of the City: An Intimate History of the American Urban Landscape

During the last quarter of the 20th century, many American cities were in a state of decline. The automobile paved the way for suburban sprawl and white flight, leaving cities with crumbling infrastructures and high crime rates. A growing collective interest in saving cities, however, has begun to turn the tide. In this poetic love song to the American city, Nathaniel Popkin helps readers see the city as a dynamic being with an unmistakable life cycle. Using anecdotes about the neighborhoods and residents of one city, Philadelphia, the author examines the ways that people have inherited, adapted to, and altered the living city.