Customer Reviews

Atlanta: Race, Class And Urban Expansion (Comparitive American Cities)

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Atlanta is a fantastic case study, its pro business stance, it's racial past and present, it makes a great southern story, worthy of Faulkner, Williams, and Whelty. Alanta's black political elite decided to work with the white business elite, it was either that or become Memphis or New Orleans. The other reviewer makes Atlanta's story sound like a black thing, but it could have never happened without the white buckhead business elite, get real, money makes the world go round. One of the biggest contriversies today is the demographics of Atlanta, which is becoming more and more caucasion persuasion, and the black mayor of atlanta says, if they pay tax's and are making the city richer, so be it..now there is a politician and a perfect example of why Atlanta is so successful. As for this book, it's well researched, but definitely has an agenda, but i highly recommend it, but it's not the last word on Atlanta.

Atlanta continues to fascinate policy analysts -- not just because of its all too common sprawl, but because Atlanta politics combines two features not commonly seen together: African-American domination of the electoral process and business domination of development policy. If you are going to read one book about Atlanta, read Keating's. Keating explains how business worked with the African-American elite to shape Atlanta, and generally is quite critical of the results. My only quibble: as the editorial reviews indicate, Keating is not happy about how Atlanta turned out. I wish he had explained whether he thinks a less pro-business city government would have achieved better results. Certainly, demographically similar cities with more populist, anti-business leaders (such as Marion Barry's Washington) do not have superior public service or less middle-class flight than Atlanta.

Though perhaps not as pleasurable a read as other books on the subject (i.e., 'Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn') and filled with data that feels at times superfluous, this is an important book. Keating lays it all bare in describing the social and economic forces that have made Atlanta what it is today. Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the deep complexities of the city's past and present.