The Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age

The most recent episode of Empire State Engagements features a conversation with Dr. Lizabeth Cohen Professor in the Department of History at Harvard, who discussed her Bancroft Prize-winning book Saving America’s Cities: Ed Logue and the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019).

We explored Logue’s long career in post-war urban planning, especially his work in New York State as head of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s Urban Development Corporation and later the South Bronx Development Organization – exploring the opportunities and pitfalls of regional planning, the politics of suburban zoning, the triumph of Roosevelt Island, the importance of federal funding, and the lessons of Logue’s long public career.

You can watch the episode here.

Empire State Engagements is a long-form interview program created and hosted by Dr. Robert Chiles. It features conversations with historians of all aspects of New York State. Visit www.empirestateengagements.com for a full list of episodes.

For a full list of this week’s New York Almanack podcasts announcements click HERE.