Research
In addition to writing and distributing our own work on progressive cities and neighborhood planning, our aim is to keep track of and support the work of others. Work on “Progressive Cities” began with an annotated bibliography, done by student researchers in the summer of 1982. On other occasions, local activists and officials gave seminars which, when tape-recorded, became part of co-authored articles. Later we prepared sets of “Key Documents” for Berkeley and Santa Monica, CA and Burlington, VT. Similar works are in process.
Oral History
In the course of doing research, scholars have tape-recorded interviews with persons at research sites. Most are restricted to some degree, though available for review in the “Collection” at Cornell University Library where “fair use” standards apply to scholarly use.
Making Connections
Places vary in their interest in and capacity for archiving the history of neighborhood planning or city administration. Our aim is to stimulate this interest and enhance a site’s capacity whenever possible. We did this in Chicago in 1989 when Wim Wiewel of the Center for Urban Economic Development obtained foundation support for an archiving effort at the Chicago Historical Society and subsequent video. In 2007 Crystal Launder, then a Cornell graduate student, initiated a field trip where a group of students taped and transcribed interviews, later donated to the University of Vermont Library. In 2010 a committee of former Berkeley activists and officials took initial steps to collect and archive records of that city’s progressive history over the previous four decades. Click on Contributors and Contacts for information on how to make connections in specific cities in this website.
Cities
Berkeley, CA Boston, MA Burlington, VT Chicago, IL Cleveland, OH Hartford, CT Madison, WI Santa Monica, CA United Kingdom Other Cities – – Detroit, MI (a subcategory of “Other Cities”)
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