“House by House, Block by Block: The Rebirth of America’s Cities”

Elson Lecture
Alexander Von Hoffman

Meet Alexander von Hoffman, author of House by House, Block by Block:  The Rebirth of America’s Inner Cities, who will speak and sign books at the Atlanta History Center Thursday, June 5, at 7 PM.  In House by House, Block by Block, von Hoffman tells the inspiring stories of the dramatic revitalization of urban wastelands of Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, New York and Atlanta and the grass-roots organizations and leaders that helped bring these revitalization efforts about.  Crime-ridden wastelands of vacant lots and burned-out buildings, notorious symbols of urban decay, have been transformed across the country by locally-based, bootstrap efforts.  Crime rates have fallen, real estate values have risen, and businesses have returned thanks to such remarkable grass-roots efforts combined with the support of local government and access to business and foundation capital.  Dr. von Hoffman featured Atlanta as one of the cities researched for his book.  He will speak particularly about Atlanta and its urban revitalization.

Alexander von Hoffman is an historian and specialist in housing and urban affairs.  He holds appointments at Harvard University as Lecturer at the Graduate School of Design and Senior Fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies.  He also currently directs a three-year project supported by and in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey, entitled “Patterns and Process of Sprawl,” that explores metropolitan development from 1970 to the present.

Prior to coming to the Joint Center at Harvard, Dr. von Hoffman was an associate professor of urban planning and design at Harvard's Graduate School of Design and a Fellow at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He received a Ph. D. from the Department of History at Harvard in 1986.  Dr. von Hoffman has written extensively on the history of low-income housing policy, community development and urban history in the United States.

This program is being presented in collaboration with the Atlanta Preservation Center, Atlanta Urban Design Commission, Atlanta Enterprise Foundation, Atlanta Neighborhood Partnership, the East Lake Community Foundation and Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Reservations are required.  Members, $3; Non-members, $5.  To make a reservation or for further information, call 404-814-4150.  A book signing and a reception follow the lecture.  Copies of House by House, Block by Block are available for purchase in the museum shop and at the lecture.  The Elson Lecture, named for Mr. and Mrs. Edward Elson, is a scholarly address given biennially by one of the nation’s leading historians.

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