The American Urban Reader

"This wonderful collection offers readers an opportunity to explore the deep interdisciplinary nature of urban history through topics ranging from migrants and immigrants to the environment and transportation. The essays, like cities themselves, unfold in layers: there are documents offering insight in cities, classic essays on urban history and studies, as well as the latest scholarship. While providing a wide-ranging introduction to cities, the volume also encourages thoughtful consideration of gender, race, and class across American history."

–Ann Keating, Dr. C. Frederick Toenniges Professor of History, North Central College, co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Chicago

"An outstanding single-volume reader, incorporating a richly diverse array of primary and secondary sources from the pre-Colombian period to the present. The second edition further enriches the content of the first with inclusion of the newest scholarship and primary-source materials you won’t find anywhere else. Carefully curated and thoughtfully introduced, this is an essential resource for anyone wanting to better understand America’s urban past."

–Margaret O’Mara, Howard & Frances Keller Professor of History, University of Washington, author of Cities of Knowledge

"As the planet’s population moves into growing megacities, a more just and sustainable future depends upon understanding the social, environmental, and political complexities of human settlement. The essays and documents in the second edition of The American Urban Reader provide valuable historical perspectives on contemporary problems of cities in the United States. This volume will generate productive classroom discussion about the roots of the systems we rely upon, as well as the inequities that divide us."

–Carl A. Zimring, Professor of Sustainability Studies, Pratt Institute, author of Clean and White: A History of Environmental Racism in the United States

This wonderful collection offers readers an opportunity to explore the deep interdisciplinary nature of urban history through topics ranging from migrants and immigrants to the environment and transportation. The essays, like cities themselves, unfold in layers: there are documents offering insight in cities, classic essays on urban history and studies, as well as the latest scholarship. While providing a wide-ranging introduction to cities, the volume also encourages thoughtful consideration of gender, race, and class across American history.

-Ann Keating, Dr. C. Frederick Toenniges Professor of History, North Central College, co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Chicago

An outstanding single-volume reader, incorporating a richly diverse array of primary and secondary sources from the pre-Colombian period to the present. The second edition further enriches the content of the first with inclusion of the newest scholarship and primary-source materials you won’t find anywhere else. Carefully curated and thoughtfully introduced, this is an essential resource for anyone wanting to better understand America’s urban past.

Margaret O’Mara, Howard & Frances Keller Professor of History, University of Washington, author of Cities of Knowledge

As the planet’s population moves into growing megacities, a more just and sustainable future depends upon understanding the social, environmental, and political complexities of human settlement. The essays and documents in the second edition of The American Urban Reader provide valuable historical perspectives on contemporary problems of cities in the United States. This volume will generate productive classroom discussion about the roots of the systems we rely upon, as well as the inequities that divide us.

–Carl A. Zimring, Professor of Sustainability Studies, Pratt Institute, author of Clean and White: A History of Environmental Racism in the United States