Oxford Encyclopedia of American Urban History

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Urban History synthesizes three generations of urban historical scholarship, providing a thematic and chronological overview of American urban history from the pre-Columbian era until the beginning decades of the twenty-first century. The 92 articles collected in these two volumes describe and analyze the transformation of the United States from a simple agrarian and small-town society to a complex urban and suburban nation. The Encyclopedia attempts to comprehend the American city within the changing questions of what makes American cities distinctive: Why do American cities look the way that they do? What characterizes the social and built environments of American cities? And how have Americans created and adapted to those environments over time?