THE CITY IS THE FRONTIER

With 70% of our population now dwelling in urban centers, the needs of the city must be met. How they have been approached to date and how they might be approached in the future is the burden of Charles Abrams' book. A world-known expert in the field, he has all the technicalities -- legal, financial, political, in hand, and his book becomes a text for those involved in investing as well as planning. He feels that too much emphasis has been placed on housing alone in the city, that the requirements of the lesser monied groups have not been met. He reviews the rosier side of renewal investing, the basic defects of the urban renewal program, rehabilitation in Louisville and Greenwich Village, the racial aspect, pathology of housing; he offers a fifteen-point blueprint for the city which goes far beyond housing and calls for a new philosophy of cities which acknowledges the values worth preserving, envisioning the city and suburb as an entity. Others have formulated more encompassing or poetic philosophies of the city; this book is characterized by its in-depth know-how.