The Post-War Politics of Urban Development

so strongly influence urban life. These groups squatted in vacant housing, stormed public hearings, mobilized thousands for marches and mass meetings, sat in front of bulldozers, and generally made life miserable for public officials. Starting in 1964, a series of ghetto rebellions swept from Cleveland, Watts, Newark, Detroit and Washington to dozens of other cities, generalizing this community-based political crisis. To make matters worse, the national government found itself increasingly unable to sustain support for imperialism abroad and liberal myths at home. The revolt of the neighborhoods thus became an important part of a widespread, though ill-defined political culture of insurgency. While these waves were beating against City Hall, pressures from within the realm of orthodox city politics also began to undermine the mayoral coalitions which had structured urban politics since the mid-1950’s. Increasingly organized and militant civil servants pressed for higher pay and better working conditions. Neighborhood merchants and property owners insisted on improved services at lower tax cost, igniting what some saw as