The U.S. city is undergoing constant change. In the East and Midwest, most cities were founded as trading posts on waterways. They boomed during the industrialization era and reached their population peak in the mid-20th century, before a decline in importance set in due to suburbanization and deindustrialization. Traces of decay were everywhere, and the prognosis for the future was conceivably poor. As Barbara Hahn shows in her book, this...