Stronger than Steel is a story of inclusion, entrepreneurship and resilience by the people of a small rustbelt company town that overcame the loss of its major industry and climbed back to become an vibrant, economically successful information age city. In 2016, among Pennsylvania cities with a population over 20,000, Bethlehem was one of two cities that had a greater population than in 1950, while boasting the highest median household income and the lowest poverty rate. Most impressive is that in the demographic of 25-34 years old with college degrees, Bethlehem, a city of 75,000, ranks ahead of the national average and just behind Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the state’s largest cities. Bethlehem has successfully reversed the brain drain and has become a magnet for the educated workforce. This accomplishment reflects the expanded social capital grown in part by accessible arts programs that have brought the community together. With Latinos constituting 28% of the population and holding 2 of 7 city council seats, Bethlehem has continued its three century tradition of inclusion which began with the Protestant Moravian founders of the city. The book is, in part, a memoir by Jeffrey A. Parks, the attorney who conceived Musikfest, the downtown festival that premiered in 1984; Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, an annual Christmas festival; and the Banana Factory Arts Center. Parks lead the team that developed the ten acre SteelStacks Arts and Culture Campus in the former Bethlehem Steel plant. Parks is an advocate for the incorporation of the arts in community and economic development planning. Stronger than Steel begins with a brief history of Bethlehem which was a closed Moravian community from its founding in 1741 until industrial revolution touched 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 utilized female employees, including textiles and confections. The industries were the backbone of the community until after World War II, when the twin forces of deindustrialization and suburbanization conspired 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 lost stature as their patrons left town. Parks describes the federal and state policies that added to the mayhem, as suburban expansion was favored by federal highway and housing policies, and blight removal and housing for low income residents in cities were simultaneously supported, leaving downtowns to decay or be demolished as suburban malls became ubiquitous. It was in the midst of this crisis that Bethlehem turned to a festival, Musikfest to both support is small, historic downtown and to try to change the narrative that was inflamed by Billy Joel’s “Allentown”, the anthem of deindustrialization that includes Bethlehem in the lyrics. While 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 including city officials, community and business leaders. Stronger than Steel is 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. Stronger than Steel tells a complex story that runs counter to the current narrative about the Rust Belt. For those interested in this pragmatic, positive version of our country’s troubled post-industrial communities, it is a must read.

About the Author

Jeffrey A. Parks is a lawyer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1983 Parks launched his career as a Social Entrepreneur by conceiving a signature festival: Musikfest, which is now the largest free admission music festival in America, held in the city's small, historic downtown every August. Parks founded a German style holiday market, Christkindlmarkt, to support the downtown and the Christmas City brand, followed by the creation of an arts center in an old banana distribution warehouse near the closed Bethlehem Steel Plant. After a visit to Germany's Ruhr Valley, he developed the concept of a cluster of arts activities around the dormant Bethlehem Steel Blast Furnaces. The arts and culture campus became the highly successful, award winning SteelStacks. The non-profit ArtsQuest, led by Parks for its first 32 years now operates the two campuses and serves two million people each year with over 2,000 arts and cultural programs. SteelStacks is one of only three real estate projects to be awarded the Urban Land Institute's Global Award for Excellence and the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. ArtsQuest is widely credited with the success of Bethlehem in navigating the travails of deindustrialization and suburbanization to become a culturally and economically robust twenty-first-century city. Parks serves as Chair of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He has served on the Board of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, the jury for The Waterfront Center Awards for Excellence, Discover Lehigh Valley (tourism promotion agency) and the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. He is a frequent speaker on the topic arts and post-industrial revitalization. Parks also serves as Vice President of Alibi Music Library, a music production library. Since retiring from ArtsQuest he has become engaged in residential real estate development. While Parks and his wife Susan are the current caretakers of their 1895 Victorian home in Bethlehem's Moravian Historic District, they also enjoy traveling, with favorite spots including Meran, Italy; Sedona, Arizona and Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. The canine that shares their home these days is a Havanese rescue named "Folly". Parks is a graduate of Lehigh University and the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

ThriftBooks is a fully independent seller of used books, having sold more than 160 million used and new books since we started in 2003. Each quality used book is sorted, graded, shelved and shipped by hand by our team of dedicated employees in our seven warehouses across the US. We have the best selection of books, in the right condition and format, at everyday low prices. We also have a dedicated, US-based Customer Service team, ranked in the top three by Newsweek for Best Customer Service in 2018 and 2019, so you can shop with confidence. We support and invest in our employees, appreciate and value our customers, and truly believe in the power of the written word to educate, energize, and engage readers of all ages and interests.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Thrift Books Global LLC
18300 Cascade Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98188, U.S.A.

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

We guarantee each book that we send you. If you have any problems, please contact
our dedicated customer service department. They will do everything possible to
ensure you are happy with your order.

Right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

Information regarding the right of withdrawal

Statutory right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal does not apply to:

The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.

Shipping Terms

All domestic Standard and Expedited shipments are distributed from our warehouses by OSM, then handed off to the USPS for final delivery.

2-Day Shipping is delivered by FedEx, which does not deliver to PO boxes.

International shipments are tendered to the local postal service in the destination country for final delivery – we do not use courier services for international deliveries.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	4 to 8 business days	4 to 8 business days
First item	� 0.00	� 0.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.