CPLA Reference & Resource Center

Edward C. Banfield Collection

Edward C. Banfield (November 19, 1916- September 30, 1999)

Edward Banfield was an influential political scientist and conservative thinker who authored sixteen books on the structure of communities and urban environments.  He was the George D. Markham Professor of Government at Harvard University and he headed the Presidential Task Force on Model Cities under President Nixon.  Banfield theorized in his three most influential works, The Moral Basis of a Backward Society, The Unheavenly City, and The Unheavenly City Revisited, that social capitol including the values and habits of community members have profound effects upon the community's economic success and his ideas remain both relevant and controversial.

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In the early 1960’s Edward Banfield was the editor of reports on selected American cities, published by the Joint Center for Urban Studies at MIT and Harvard.  The City Planning and Landscape Architecture Library hosts several of these reports.  Some reports were composed by individual professors while others were written collaboratively with graduate students.   The City Planning and Landscape Architecture Library also owns some supplementary material in its collection. 

The City Reports owned by the CPLA include:

• Boston, Massachusetts (2 Volumes). 1960.
  
• El Paso, Texas (2 Volumes). 1963.
  
• Houston, Texas (2 Volumes). 1960.
  
• Kansas City, Missouri (Report on the Municipal Government 1925-1950). Thomas Brown.
• Kansas City, Missouri.  Kenneth E. Grey 1959.
  
• Los Angeles, California.  James Q. Wilson 1959.
  
• Manchester, New Hampshire.  Robert H. Binstock 1961.
  
• Miami, Florida (2 Volumes).  Edward Sofen 1961.
  
• Nashville, Tennessee.  Bertil Hanson 1960.
  
• New Castle, New York.  Mark K. Adams 1961.
  
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Robert L.  Freedman 1963.
  
• Salt Lake City, Utah.  Dixie S. Huefner 1961
  
• San Diego, California.  David Greenstone 1962.
  
• Seattle, Washington.  Charles W. Bender 1961.
  
• Stockholm, Sweden.  Bertil Hanson 1960.
  
• Worcester, Massachusetts.  Robert H. Binstock 1960.
  

Supplemental Material


Boston, Massachusetts

• An Annotated Bibliography of  Boston's Economic and Political Problems.
• Official Chronicle of Boston Municipal Affairs.  July 9, 1960.
• Annual Report of the Election Department.  1959.
• Metropolitan District Commission.  1945, revised 1952.
• Economic Base Report.  Dec. 1959.
• Information on Boston. April, 1957.
• Campaign Decision-Makers.  April, 1960.
• Politics in Boston 1960.

Davidson County, Tennessee

• Estimated Distribution of Population  Feb., 1960.

Denver, Colorado

• Denver Chamber of Commerce Guide to the City. (Map)
• City and County of Denver.  (Map)
• Conference on Urban Development.  May, 1959.
• Population in the Denver Metropolitan Area.  May, 1956.

Houston, Texas

• Population, Land Use and Growth.  Dec., 1959.
• Characteristics of Houston and Harris County.  April, 1959
• Houston Precinct Map 1960.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• A Guide to Understanding Race and Human Relations 1954.
• Milwaukee Commission on Human Rights Annual Report  1959.
• Study on the Problems  in the Inner Core Area of the City  April, 1960.
• Metropolitan Study Commission 1960.
• Milwaukee Statistical History 1958.
• Precinct Map  1960.
  

Minneapolis, Minnesota

• ABC's of City Government 1955.
• Local Government School 1959.
• Charter Review 1958.
• Charter Memo 1959.
• Charter Report. 1959.
• Minneapolis Morning Tribune Voter's Guide:  Oct. 28, 1958; April 16,1959; June 5, 1959
• Financial Statistics December, 1958..
• Memo on Liquor Licenses  Jan. 20, 1959.
• Minneapolis Annual Report 1957.
• Report on City Council Hold Orders 1959.
• Election Map 1957.
• Ward Boundaries 1951.

St. Louis, Missouri

• Ward Boundaries 1943-1960.
• Teamsters' Leaflet.
• Demographic Analysis 1957.
• Workers' Shop Conference January, 1959.
• Teamster' "Reaching the Voter"  1957.
• Proposed City Charter May, 1957.
• Proposed City Plan.  November, 1959.
• Election Pamphlet.
• Saint Louis Globe Democrat. January 11, 1959.
• Comptroller's Annual Report.  1957-58
• Ordinances.
• Government Research Institute Pamphlet.
• Mayoral Statements 1958, 59.

St. Paul, Minnesota

• Population Characteristics 1955.
• Challenge of Metropolitan Growth 1958.
• Community Plan Report # 5 1957.
• Description of City Government.
• Fair Employment Commission Annual Report 1958.
• Census Tracts 1950.
• Proposed Freeways for St. Paul 1957.
• Budget Appropriations 1959.
• Generalized Land Use Map 1956.

Worcester Massachusetts

• Voter's Guide 1959.
• Study of Financial Organizations 1957.
• Plan E (Zoning Ordinance) Editorials.
• Report on Politics 1960.
• Finances Report.

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