ABSTRACT
In the midst of the turmoil of the 1960s and early 1970s, a report on urban design labeled New York the Threatened City. Damning perceptions of Gotham prevailed. According to Detroit Free Press, New York was "a city no longer in love with itself, no longer the exciting mecca of the Western world, no longer the city of charm and grace it used to be." Begun in 1966 and completed in 1973, the World Trade Center's two 110-story skyscrapers became icons of the city's economic and political power. New York's fiscal crisis became code word for America's urban crisis. The South Bronx became the symbol of urban despair. Daniel Hauben wants someone to rethink the city, which always seemed both threatened and threatening. The fiscal crisis formalized a major shift in public policy, whereby the city's private interests prevailed over its public ones. Completing a process begun during the fiscal crisis, he redefined New York's social contract.
