"The most segregated city in America" city planning and civil rights in Birmingham, 1920-1980 - Connerly, Charles E. (University of Virginia Press, 2005)
Includes bibliographical references (p. [289]-350) and index
Big Mules and Bottom Rails in the Magic City -- Planning and Jim Crow -- Planning, Neighborhood Change, and Civil Rights -- "The Spirit of Racial Zoning" -- Urban Renewal and Highways -- Civil Rights and City Planning -- The African American Planning Tradition in Birmingham -- The Evolution of Black Neighborhood Empowerment
"Birmingham is well known for its civil rights history, particularly for the violent white-on-black bombings that occurred there in the 1960s, resulting in the city's nickname "Bombingham." What is less well known about Birmingham's racial history, however, is the extent to which early city planning decisions influenced and prompted the city's civil rights protests. The first book-length work to analyze this connection, "The Most Segregated City in America": City Planning and Civil Rights in Birmingham, 1920-1980 uncovers the impact of Birmingham's urban planning decisions on its black communities and reveals how these decisions led directly to the civil rights movement."
"Connerly effectively uses Birmingham's history as an example to argue the importance of recognizing the link that exists between city planning and civil rights. His demonstration of how Birmingham's race-based planning legacy led to the confrontations that culminated in the city's struggle for civil rights provides a fresh lens on the history and future of urban planning, and its relation to race."--BOOK JACKET.