Use of the microcomputer version of the Quick-Response System (QRS) with data from the 1980 Census of Population and Housing, for transportation planning and traffic analysis; application to Anniston and Opelika AL.

First Published in 2000. This book and its companion volume, Human Capital Investment fo r Central City Revitalization, are the products of a two-year endeavor by the National Center for the Revitalization of Central Cities. The National Center is a consortium of academic institutions that analyzes critical problems facing America’s central cities, evaluates strategies to address those problems, and recommends policy alternatives.

American cities experienced an extraordinary surge in downtown development during the 1970s and 1980s. Pro-growth advocates in urban government and the business community believed that the construction of office buildings, hotels, convention centers, and sports complexes would generate jobs and tax revenue while revitalizing stagnant local economies. But neighborhood groups soon became disgruntled with the unanticipated costs and unfulfilled promises of rapid expansion, and grassroots opposition erupted in cities throughout the United States. Through an insightful comparison of effective protest in San Francisco and ineffective protest in Washington, D.C., Stephen McGovern examines how citizens—even those lacking financial resources—have sought to control their own urban environments. McGovern interviews nearly one hundred business activists, government officials, and business leaders, exploring the influence of political culture and individual citizens' perceptions of a particular development issue. McGovern offers a compelling explanation of why some battles against city hall succeed while so many others fail.