Introduction: The Low Wards
1 From Bottomlands to Bottom Neighborhoods
2 Harlem Flats
New York, New York
3 Black Bottom
Nashville, Tennessee
4 Swede Hollow
Saint Paul, Minnesota
5 The Flats
Los Angeles, California
6 Landscapes of Poverty and Power
Epilogue: Lowland Legacies
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
David Soll, author of Empire of Water: An Environmental and Political History of the New York Water
“Moga makes an exceptionally persuasive case regarding the factors shaping the development of lowland areas. He clearly establishes the importance of disease theory and racial attitudes as critical to urban decision-making. What is most impressive about Urban Lowlands is that Moga seamlessly connects his story of bottomlands to larger developments in urban planning in the post-1930s period.”
Dolores Hayden, author of The Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public History
“Moga’s original and well-illustrated history of bottoms and lowlands in four American cities will fascinate everyone interested in urban landscape history.”
Anne Whiston Spirn, author of The Language of Landscape
“Urban Lowlands marshals compelling evidence to illuminate the intersection of topography, poverty, health, and race. This important book is required reading for all who care about the environment of cities and how it shapes the lives of those who live there.”
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