Participation, Community, and Public Policy in a Virginia Suburb

Of Our Own Making

Patricia Farrell Donahue

Participation, Community, and Public Policy in a Virginia Suburb: Of Our Own Making challenges the conventional wisdom about participation in modern American communities through the story of Pimmit Hills, Virginia—one of the first federally-financed subdivisions built for World War II veterans. Its story will be familiar to the millions of baby boomers who grew up in middle-class suburbs. This book argues that every community is the sum of all of the different types of participation—positive, negative, formal, informal, direct, and indirect—and not just the few participation activities that social surveys have tracked over the past few decades, such as voting or attending religious services. At the same time, Pimmit Hills’s story is unique. Its proximity to Washington, D.C., meant its residents had front-row seats to—and sometimes supporting roles in—the creation of policies that continue to shape the America we live in today, such as childhood vaccinations, discrimination, and information technology.

Lexington Books

Pages: 294 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-2976-1 • Hardback • September 2017 • $122.00 • (£94.00)

978-1-4985-2977-8 • eBook • September 2017 • $115.50 • (£89.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / City Planning & Urban Development, History / United States / State & Local / General, Political Science / History & Theory, Political Science / Public Policy / General, Social Science / Political Sociology

Participation, Community, and Public Policy in a Virginia Suburb

Of Our Own Making

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Participation, Community, and Public Policy in a Virginia Suburb: Of Our Own Making challenges the conventional wisdom about participation in modern American communities through the story of Pimmit Hills, Virginia—one of the first federally-financed subdivisions built for World War II veterans. Its story will be familiar to the millions of baby boomers who grew up in middle-class suburbs. This book argues that every community is the sum of all of the different types of participation—positive, negative, formal, informal, direct, and indirect—and not just the few participation activities that social surveys have tracked over the past few decades, such as voting or attending religious services. At the same time, Pimmit Hills’s story is unique. Its proximity to Washington, D.C., meant its residents had front-row seats to—and sometimes supporting roles in—the creation of policies that continue to shape the America we live in today, such as childhood vaccinations, discrimination, and information technology.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 294 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-2976-1 • Hardback • September 2017 • $122.00 • (£94.00)

978-1-4985-2977-8 • eBook • September 2017 • $115.50 • (£89.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / City Planning & Urban Development, History / United States / State & Local / General, Political Science / History & Theory, Political Science / Public Policy / General, Social Science / Political Sociology

Author

Patricia Farrell Donahue is policy fellow at GMU’s Schar School of Policy and Government.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: All Types of Participation Shape a Community
Chapter 2: Frontier Days in Suburbia: Building Houses, then Creating a Community
Chapter 3: Pushing a String: The Quest for Basic Public Services
Chapter 4: Making a Difference: Individuals Influencing Events
Chapter 5: Making Your Own Fun: Marooned Suburbanites Create a Local Social Life
Chapter 6: This Just In. . . .: Creating a Community Information Network
Chapter 7: Silent Majority and Civil Rights: Evolving Views of “Them” and “Us”
Chapter 8: Love Thy Neighbor?
Chapter 9: We, the Community: The Many Lives of a Civic Association
Chapter 10: The Changing Landscape
Chapter 11: Exploring Participation for Insight into Community

Reviews

Participation, Community, and Public Policy in a Virginia Suburb takes the reader on a captivating journey through more than sixty years of local engagement within a suburban community on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. In deceptively clear and engaging prose, Donahue applies an original, theoretical lens to illuminate the relationship between community participation and policy. Her powerful approach is destined to be taken up by researchers across the globe.
— Rob Stones, Western Sydney University, Australia

Patricia Donahue tells the story of Pimmit Hills, a suburban neighborhood established in 1950 in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia, through the lens of formal, informal, positive, negative, direct, indirect, individual, and group participation, along with nonparticipation, over almost seven decades. She takes the reader by the hand, walks through the neighborhood, looks over neighbors’ shoulders, thus allowing a close look at this vibrant community. A vital read for urban and suburban community sociologists, historians, and planners.
— Katrin B. Anacker, George Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government

Donahue has produced a richly detailed book that depicts the growth of America in microcosm. Her book reflects the development of many American suburbs and the policies that shaped them. It is a wonderful contribution to our understanding of American community development and an essential read for the study of public policy.
— Michael Fauntroy, Howard University