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New York and Los Angeles

Politics, Society, and Culture--A Comparative View

No two cities are more symbolic of the modern American metropolis than New York and Los Angeles. But while New York boasts a recently revitalized urban center, Los Angeles is the classic example of sprawl and decentralization, with multiple clusters of economic and social activity dispersed throughout its surrounding area.

This volume presents advanced studies that consider this fundamental difference between New York and Los Angeles while comparing and contrasting politics and culture in each region. An esteemed group of contributors from a wide variety of disciplines considers issues that include immigration, the effects of race and class on residence, the efficacy of public schools, the value of welfare reform, the meaning of mayoral politics, the function of charter reform, and the respective roles of the cinema and art scenes in each city.

Capturing much of what is new and vibrant in urban studies today, New York and Los Angeles will prove to be must reading for scholars in that field, as well as in sociology, political science, and government.

Contributors:
Andrew Beveridge, Mehdi Bozorgmehr, Geoffrey DeVerteuil, Susan S. Fainstein, Robert Gedeon, Saverio Giovacchini, David L. Gladstone, David Halle, Jack Katz, Karen M. Kaufmann, Rebecca Kim, Mark Levitan, Kevin Rafter, Georges Sabagh, David O. Sears, Heidi Sommer, Raphael J. Sonenshein, András Szántó, Lois Takahashi, Susan Weber, Jennifer Wolch, Julia Wrigley, Min Zhou

576 pages | 39 halftones, 33 maps, 25 figures, 48 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2003

Culture Studies

Geography: Urban Geography

History: American History

Political Science: Urban Politics

Sociology: General Sociology, Urban and Rural Sociology

Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
LIST OF TABLES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
The New York and Los Angeles Schools
David Halle
PART I: Overview
ONE: Race and Class in the Developing New York and Los Angeles Metropolises, 1940-2000
Andrew A. Beveridge and Susan Weber
TWO: The New York and Los Angeles Economies
David L. Gladstone and Susan S. Fainstein
THREE: From "Give Me Your Poor" to "Save Our State"
NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES AS IMMIGRANT CITIES AND REGIONS
Georges Sabagh and Mehdi Bozorgmehr
FOUR: A Tale of Two Metropolises
NEW IMMIGRANT CHINESE COMMUNITIES IN NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES
Min Zhou and Rebecca Kim
FIVE: Residential Separation and Segregation, Racial and Latino Identity, and the Racial Composition of Each City
David Halle, Robert Gedeon, and Andrew Beveridge
PART II: Social and Urban Problems-Crime, Education, and Poverty
SIX: Metropolitan Crime Myths
Jack Katz
SEVEN: Centralization versus Fragmentation
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS OF NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES
Julia Wrigley
EIGHT: It Did Happen Here
THE RISE IN WORKING POVERTY IN NEW YORK CITY
Mark Levitan
NINE: The Local Welfare State in Transition
WELFARE REFORM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Geoffrey DeVerteuil, Heidi Sommer, Jennifer Wolch, and Lois Takahashi
PART III: Politics, Power, and Conflict
TEN: Gotham on Our Minds
NEW YORK CITY IN THE LOS ANGELES CHARTER REFORM OF 1996-1999
Raphael J. Sonenshein
ELEVEN:: The Mayoral Politics of New York and Los Angeles
Karen M. Kaufmann
TWELVE: Riots in New York and Los Angeles
1935-2001
David Halle and Kevin Rafter
THIRTEEN: Black-White Conflict
A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE OF ETHNIC POLITICS IN LOS ANGELES?
David O. Sears
PART IV: Culture
FOURTEEN: Hot and Cold
SOME CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE VISUAL ART WORLDS OF NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES
András Szántó
FIFTEEN: "Hollywood Is a State of Mind"
NEW YORK FILM CULTURE AND THE LURE OF LOS ANGELES FROM 1930 TO THE PRESENT
Saverio Giovacchini
Conclusion
David Halle
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX

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