Title Where the river burned : Carl Stokes and the struggle to save Cleveland / David Stradling and Richard Stradling

Published Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2015

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Description 1 online resource Contents Introduction : the crisis in the urban environment -- What will become of Cleveland? -- Hough and the urban crisis -- Downtown and the limits of urban renewal -- Policy and the polluted city -- The burning river -- From earth day to ecocity -- Epilogue : what became of Cleveland Summary In the 1960s, Cleveland suffered through racial violence, spiking crime rates, and a shrinking tax base, as the city lost jobs and population. Rats infested an expanding and decaying ghetto, Lake Erie appeared to be dying, and dangerous air pollution hung over the city. Such was the urban crisis in the "Mistake on the Lake." When the Cuyahoga River caught fire in the summer of 1969, the city was at its nadir, polluted and impoverished, struggling to set a new course. The burning river became the emblem of all that was wrong with the urban environment in Cleveland and in all of industrial America. Carl Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city, had come into office in Cleveland a year earlier with energy and ideas. He surrounded himself with a talented staff, and his administration set new policies to combat pollution, improve housing, provide recreational opportunities, and spark downtown development. In Where the River Burned, David Stradling and Richard Stradling describe Cleveland's nascent transition from polluted industrial city to viable service city during the Stokes administration. The story culminates with the first Earth Day in 1970, when broad citizen engagement marked a new commitment to the creation of a cleaner, more healthful and appealing city. Although concerned primarily with addressing poverty and inequality, Stokes understood that the transition from industrial city to service city required massive investments in the urban landscape. Stokes adopted ecological thinking that emphasized the connectedness of social and environmental problems and the need for regional solutions. He served two terms as mayor, but during his four years in office Cleveland's progress fell well short of his administration's goals. Although he was acutely aware of the persistent racial and political boundaries that held back his city, Stokes was in many ways ahead of his time in his vision for Cleveland and a more livable urban America Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes English Subject Stokes, Carl SUBJECT Stokes, Carl Stokes, Carl fast Subject Urban renewal -- Environmental aspects -- Ohio -- Cleveland City planning -- Environmental aspects -- Ohio -- Cleveland Community development -- Environmental aspects -- Ohio -- Cleveland HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- General. HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI) City planning -- Environmental aspects Community development -- Environmental aspects Ecology Politics and government Urban renewal -- Environmental aspects SUBJECT Cleveland (Ohio) -- Politics and government -- 20th century Cleveland (Ohio) -- Environmental conditions Subject Ohio -- Cleveland Form Electronic book Author Stradling, Richard, author ISBN 9780801455667 0801455669 0801455650 9780801455650

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