Between Justice and Beauty: Race, Planning, and the Failure of Urban Policy in Washington, D.C. [Hardcover]

Howard Gillette Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1995

As the only American city under direct congressional control, Washington has served historically as a testing ground for federal policy initiatives and social experiments -- with decidedly mixed results. Well-intentioned efforts to introduce measures of socialjustice for the district's largely black population have failed. Yet federal plans and federal money have successfully created a monumental federal presence -- a triumph, argues Howard Gillette, of beauty over justice. Beginning in 1790, Gillette traces the ambiguous legacy of congressional involvement in Washington's urban development.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Well written, impressively documented, and logically argued, Gillette's narrative chronicles the growth of Washington from the late eighteenth century to the present." -- A. Scott Henderson, Washington History

"Between Justice and Beauty is an important book, especially at a time when the nation's capital and many other cities' problems seem so intractable. It provides the context necessary to understand current urban problems an identifies key systemic problems: inadequate funding and an emphasis on the monumental city at the expense of the residential city. It demonstrates how race remains central to the American experience. As an urban biography, the book provides a selective but well-written and researched history, a story unique and similar to that of other cities." -- American Studies International

From the Publisher

Howard Gillette, Jr. is Professor of History at Rutgers University and the author of Camden After the Fall: Decline and Renewal in a Post-Industrial City, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080185069X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801850691
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,517,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Attacks longstanding social problems head-on in search of solutions, September 11, 2006

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between Justice and Beauty: Race, Planning, and the Failure of Urban Policy in Washington, D.C. (Paperback)

Between Justice & Beauty: Race, Planning, And The Failure Of Urban Policy In Washington, D.C. by Howard Gillette Jr. (Professor Of History Rutgers University) examines how, as the only American city directly under congressional control, Washington D.C. has historically been used to test federal policy initiatives and social experiments. Some results have been positive; many have not, and the best of intentions striving to bring social justice to the largely black populace have failed. A large federal presence has been created, but to what ends? Gillette claims that this bloated and all-too-often ineffective federal presence is a triumph of beauty of justice, and searches for a more effective means to bring help to the city dwellers who need revitalization the most. A scholarly, well-researched treatise, sparsely illustrated with black-and-white photographs, Between Justice & Beauty attacks longstanding social problems head-on in search of solutions.