Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities (Urban Life, Landscape and Policy)

"This strikingly original book poses a crucial challenge to historic preservation in American cities: how can these efforts avoid the too-common fate of historically-grounded gentrification, and instead contribute to genuinely inclusive urban revitalization within those very communities whose buildings and streetscapes are being lovingly preserved and restored? Hurley's answer, informed by broad research and extensive direct practice, is to use public history as a process for inclusive community engagement that turns a shared past into an active resource for change. He effectively develops a clear argument through wonderfully concrete case studies interwoven with insightful synthetic discussion. The result is a powerful yet accessible book---at once intellectually rich, narratively engaging, and immediately useful in both applied and theoretical ways."---Michael Frisch, Professor of American Studies and History/Senior Research Scholar University at Buffalo, SUNY, and President, Oral History Association

"It's refreshing to find a historian who writes honestly about the challenges of joining scholarship with community activism---and Hurley does so with erudition and enthusiasm. At one level a useful primer in community-history practice, this book doubles as a deeply considered reflection on the history and future of American cities."---Eric Sandweiss, Indiana University, and author of St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape (Temple)