Two Tales of a City: Economic Restructuring and Uneven Economic Development in a Former Company Town

Abstract

In January 1988, Chrysler Corporation announced it would close its Kenosha assembly plant. Community leaders and residents feared economic catastrophe, A year later, despite the social costs of the shutdown, many of the same leaders were proclaiming Kenosha a boomtown. This paper examines the uneven development in Kenosha and explores the ideological assumptions behind current initiatives as well as the social costs. Public policies of other communities facing similar problems are summarized. The authors suggest alternative strategies that might prove useful in the Kenosha case.