Second Metropolis
Subtitle: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka (Woodrow Wilson Center Press)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: May 28, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 448
ISBN-13: 9780521801799
Subjects: History of specific subjects; Urban communities; World history; c 1800 to c 1900; Moscow; History: World; History; Politics / Current Events; Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.; Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe); Japan; USA; Osaka; World - General; City planning--Russia (Federation)--Moscow; History / World; Chicago; City planning; Illinois; Russia (Federation)
First sentence: Moscow of any period is not commonly thought of as an example of urban pluralism.
Description: "By exploring and comparing North America's, Russia's, and Japan's "second cities" - Chicago, Moscow, and Osaka - Second Metropolis discloses the extent to which social fragmentation, frequently viewed as an obstacle to democratic development, actually fostered a "pragmatic pluralism" that nurtured pluralistic public policies.

Such policies are explored through six case studies - the politics of street railways and charter reform in Chicago, adult education and housing in Moscow, and harbor revitalization and poverty alleviation in Osaka - that illustrate how even those with massive political and economic power were stymied by the complexity of their communities. Chicago, Moscow, and Osaka, although the products of very different nations and cultures, nonetheless shared an important experience of inclusive politics during an era of extraordinary growth and social diversity.

The success of all three cities, which went well beyond mere survival, rested on a distinctive political resource: pragmatic pluralism."--BOOK JACKET.