| Abstrakt: |
Studies of urban renewal strategies depend overwhelmingly on case studies or cross-national comparisons of successful cases. We find this approach inadequate as comparison between cases of various degree of success is lacking, rendering the findings inconclusive. To amend this methodological issue, we conduct a historical-comparative study of three New England mill towns, taking care to choose cases that are comparable in every way except for their redevelopment strategies and outcomes in response to industrial decline. We find that the two successful cases, Manchester and Lowell, adopted a forward-looking attitude early on which prompted them to diversify their economies, whereas Holyoke attempted to revive its industrial past by pursuing one dominant industry after the other. As a result, Holyoke has been struggling with higher poverty and unemployment rates and lower median household income than Manchester and Lowell. In order to identify crucial factors of successful urban renewal, we suggest that the adoption of historical-comparative method in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
