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St. Louis's story stands for the story of all those cities whose ambitions and civic self-image, forged from the growth of the mercantile and industrial eras, have been dramatically altered over time. More dramatically, perhaps, than most -- but in a manner shared by all -- St. Louis's changing economic base, shifting population and altered landscape have forced scholars, policymakers, and residents alike to acknowledge the transiency of what once seemed inexorable metropolitan trends: concentration, growth, accumulated wealth, and generally improved well-being.In this book, Eric Sandweiss scrutinizes the everyday landscape -- streets, houses, neighborhoods and public buildings -- as it evolved in a classic American city. Bringing to life the spaces that most of us pass without noticing, he reveals how the processes of dividing, trading, improving, and dwelling upon land are acts that reflect and shape social relations. From its origins as a French colonial settlement in the eighteenth century to the present day, St. Louis offers a story not just about how our past is diagramed in brick and asphalt, but also about the American city's continuing viability as a place where the balance of individual rights and collective responsibilities can be debated, demonstrated and adjusted for generations to come.
List of contents
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Fenced-off Corners, Wider Settings, and the New American Landscape Part I: Laying the Groundwork 2. Lines on the Land: The Lingering Imprint of Colonial St. Louis 3. "The Inhabitants of St. Louis" and Their Land: Redefining Urban Order in Antebellum St. Louis Part II: Building the Fenced-Off Corners 4. Producers: The Evolution of the Private City-Building Process 5. Consumers: Everyday Space in Four Neighborhoods 6. Regulators: Public Improvements in the Urban Landscape Part III: Conceiving the Wider Setting 7. The Evolution of Civic Improvement and City Planning Ideals from 1890 to 1950 8. Epilogue: Rethinking the Contours of Community in the Declining City, 1950 to the Present Notes Index
Summary
St Louis' story stands for the story of all those cities whose ambitions and civic self-image, forged from the growth of the mercantile and industrial eras, have been dramatically altered over time. This book scrutinizes the everyday landscape streets, houses, neighborhoods, and public buildings as it evolved in a classic American city.
