{"product_id":"stronger-than-steel-forging-a-rust-belt-renaissance-9781732063600","title":"Stronger Than Steel: Forging a Rust Belt Renaissance","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eStronger than Steel\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is the story of a company town, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that used alternative economic development strategies, including arts, tourism, and a casino to propel its way out of devastation of deindustrialization. Bethlehem's strategies have been rewarded with dramatic results.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2016, among Pennsylvania cities with a population over 20,000, \u003cstrong\u003eBethlehem had the highest median household income, lowest poverty rate and highest residential property value.\u003c\/strong\u003e Bethlehem has successfully reversed the brain drain and has become a magnet for an educated workforce, attracting millenials with college degrees and retirees looking for a culturally dynamic community.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book is, in part, a memoir by Jeffrey A. Parks, the attorney who conceived \u003cstrong\u003eMusikfest\u003c\/strong\u003e, the downtown festival that premiered in 1984 and now \u003cstrong\u003eattracts over one million guests annually\u003c\/strong\u003e; Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, an annual Christmas festival; and the Banana Factory Arts Center. Parks lead the team that developed the ten acre\u003cstrong\u003e SteelStacks Arts and Culture Campus\u003c\/strong\u003e in the former Bethlehem Steel plant. Parks is an advocate for the incorporation of the arts in community and economic development planning.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eStronger than Steel\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e begins with a brief history of Bethlehem which was a closed Protestant Moravian community from its founding in 1741 until industrial revolution invaded the town with a canal, then a railroad. When a zinc smelting plant opened in 1853, it was the beginning of hot metal production that lasted until the steel plant closed in 1995. It was iron and steel brought men from all over Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico to the town. The men brought wives who attracted industries that employed women, including textiles and confections. The industries were the backbone of the community until after World War II, when the twin forces of \u003cstrong\u003edeindustrialization and suburbanization \u003c\/strong\u003econspired to turn Bethlehem, and most other industrial cities, into repositories of industries that were dying, impoverished residents who moved into the row houses abandoned by the now suburban middle class, and civic and religious institutions that could not move.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile Parks infuses his story and first hand observations throughout the book, he artfully incorporates the stories of many of the individuals who played key roles in developing the city that exists today. City officials, community and business leaders offer insights into the evolution of the community.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStronger than Steel\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/em\u003eis a passionate outreach to architects, planners, artists, arts organizations, community leaders and public officials to design urban spaces for community connections, a practice now called creative placemaking. Parks concludes that arts offered in public spaces are crucial to building social capital, which in turn is important to community viability and economic prosperity. With \u003cstrong\u003eArtsQuest\u003c\/strong\u003e, the parent non-profit that now presents Musikfest and the arts programs developed over 30 years \u003cstrong\u003egenerating over 6 billion media impressions annually\u003c\/strong\u003e, Parks notes that the arts have a significant influence on a city's brand. That brand is also essential to attract the human and economic capital to sustain and grow a community.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eStronger than Steel\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e tells a complex story that runs counter to the current narrative about the \u003cstrong\u003eRust Belt\u003c\/strong\u003e. For those interested in this pragmatic, positive version of our country's troubled post-industrial communities, it is a must read.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Rocky Rapids Press, LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50362807976210,"sku":"9781732063600","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_15baf777-501c-409a-8731-7630fa994ca1.jpg?v=1728395977","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/stronger-than-steel-forging-a-rust-belt-renaissance-9781732063600","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}