The Most Segregated City in America": City Planning and Civil Rights in Birmingham, 1920-1980 (Center Books)
Although the city planning profession did not bomb the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963, it was complicit in creating the racial segregation that ignited the violence. Connerly identifies the land use zoning that legitimized black exclusion from white neighborhoods as the catalyst for the civil rights movement in Birmingham and other southern cities. Black grassroots organizations since the 1960's have challenged and modified, but have not yet conquered, the legacy of city planning. This book is required reading for students seeking to understand the relationship between structure and agency at the local level. Connerly's meticulous research and compelling narrative add an important dimension to the histories of civil rights and city planning.(Daphne Spain, Professor and Chair of the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, University of Virginia)Connerly’s insightful blending of history and place is must reading for anyone who wants to understand the effects of race on the American landscape.(Carroll Van WestAlabama Review)