Book Report: The Pacific Circuit

It's local history, in context. It's about the development Oakland, especially west Oakland near the port. But also about global forces at work. When I say "local history, in context, for me "in context" was the interesting part; I just read Hella Town, a history of Oakland a few months ago. When this book talks about Oakland history, I didn't necessarily learn much. (Maybe I should have waited a few more months to let Hella Town fade from my memory? Anyhow) But when it steps back and looks at national/international trends, there was stuff that was new to me. New to me (but probably not to sociologists): The Chicago School. Back when I read Hella Town, it said that city planners back then had some wrongheaded notions about how cities worked; they applied those theories by tearing down neighborhoods in Oakland and it didn't go well for anyone concerned. The Pacific Circuit goes on an interesting wander: What were these wrongheaded notions? A lot of them came from "The Chicago School,"…