Between Eminence and Notoriety: Four Decades of Radical Urban Planning

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In a career that spanned America’s turbulent journey from urban renewal through the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the ever-widening economic chasm that engulfed whole populations in the United States, Chester Hartman has worked tirelessly with grassroots activists and progressive planners to bring about meaningful social change. This book is an anthology of his most important writing. In a compelling 56-page autobiographical essay, Hartman contextualizes his work in the events of the time, reveals the motivations and perspective that drive his passions, and focuses a spotlight on the frailty and foibles of the planning and policy professions. The essay sets the stage for the anthology of Hartman’s writings, organized into five parts: DISPLACEMENT AND URBAN RENEWAL; HOUSING PROBLEMS AND POLICIES; ORGANIZING AND ACTIVISM; POVERTY AND RACE; and PLANNING EDUCATION. In thirty-two colorful, no-holds-barred chapters, the reader accompanies Hartman through four decades of planning and activism for social equity. Now executive director of the Washington, D.C.–based Poverty & Race Research Action Council, Hartman chronicles his work from Boston to San Francisco; from Cuba to Paris; from a focus on gentrification and displacement to public and military-family housing; from interactions with Daniel Patrick Moynihan and James Q. Wilson to Paul Davidoff and Harvey Milk; to his founding of the Planners Network. “Throughout the mad spree of vandalism, deceptions, and waste known as urban renewal and slum clearance, Chester Hartman’s was a voice of sanity, caution, and compassion…. Both his introductory memoir and the writings that make up the body of the book are history conscious, and all the more valuable for that reason.” -- Jane Jacobs, Foreword Students, practitioners, historians, and political activists will find these essays informative, delightful, and inspiring.