All American City: Rural and Urban Contingencies Under Capitalism in the Case of Allentown, Pennsylvania

Posted: 29 Mar 2010

Abstract

The 'All American Cities' is an award handed out to ten cities annually by the National Civil League (formerly the National Municipal League). The organization was founded in 1894 in Philadelphia by a group of over 100 prominent leaders including Theodore Roosevelt, Louis Brandeis, Marshall Field, and Frederick Law Olmsted, who met to discuss the future of American cities. Allentown, Pennsylvania is a smallish city situated about 90 miles from New York City and 70 miles from Philadelephia. It was awarded the All American City title in 1962, 1974, 1975. Allentown would not win any awards now. Devastated by racial violence, gang turmoil, rising crime rates, and an impoverished farming community, the city has been utterly transformed. The title of 'All American City' may still be invoked ironically in that the situation of Allentown is a familiar tale in the rust belt. In this paper, I will examine this familiar tale through a different lens, that of 'place.' Situated between two major metropolitan centers, Allentown was, until recently, simultaneously a farming community and home to several major heavy industries including Mack Trucks and the nearby Bethlehem Steel. This paper explores the rise and decline of Allentown by focusing on its location at the nexus of urban and rural, its changing proximity to New York City due to the construction of new highways, and capital flight from the northeast.

Suggested Citation

Grant, Judith, All American City: Rural and Urban Contingencies Under Capitalism in the Case of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Western Political Science Association 2010 Annual Meeting Paper , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1580729

Judith Grant (Contact Author)

Ohio University ( email )

Athens, OH 45701-2979
United States

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