Why Passion for the City Has Been Lost

ABSTRACT:

In the late 1960s, an emotional public discussion followed the publication of Edward C. Banfield’s The Unheavenly City. Since then, cities have been less fervently and popularly acclaimed and academic urbanists no longer produce crossover works whose arguments arouse intense and widespread debate. This paper, an exercise in intellectual history, describes this state of affairs and offers an explanation that considers changing patterns of urbanization, shifting government commitments and political inclinations, the dynamics of the mass media, and the demise of the public intellectual. The author concludes by reflecting on the formation of attentive publics and captivating themes.