From Warfare to Welfare

Defense Intellectuals and Urban Problems in Cold War America
Erscheinungsjahr 2005
ISBN: 978-0-8018-8273-9
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 304 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 490 g

During the early decades of the Cold War, large-scale investments in American defense and aerospace research and development spawned a variety of problem-solving techniques, technologies, and institutions. From systems analysis to reconnaissance satellites to think tanks, these innovations did not remain exclusive accessories of the defense establishment. Instead, they readily found civilian applications in both the private and public sector. City planning and management were no exception.

Jennifer Light argues that the technologies and values of the Cold War fundamentally shaped the history of postwar urban America. From Warfare to Welfare documents how American intellectuals, city leaders, and the federal government chose to attack problems in the nation's cities by borrowing techniques and technologies first designed for military engagement with foreign enemies. Experiments in urban problem solving adapted the expertise of defense professionals to face new threats: urban chaos, blight, and social unrest. Tracing the transfer of innovations from military to city planning and management, Light reveals how a continuing source of inspiration for American city administrators lay in the nation's preparations for war.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Light, Jennifer S.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Weltgeschichte
• Technische Wissenschaften Sonstige Technologien | Angewandte Technik Militär- und Verteidigungstechnik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Regional- & Raumplanung Stadtplanung, Kommunale Planung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Planning for the Atomic Age: Creating a Community of Experts
Part I: Command, Control, and Community
2. The City as a Communication System
3. Cybernetics and Urban Renewal
Part II: Cities in the Space Age
4. Urban Intelligence Gathering
5. Moon-Shot Management for American Cities
Part III: The Urban Crisis as National Security Crisis
6. Cable as a Cold War Technology
7. Wired Cities
Conclusion
Notes
Note on Sources
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Light, Jennifer S.
Jennifer S. Light is an associate professor of communication studies, history, and sociology at Northwestern University.