Left Behind in Rosedale

“Neighborhood succession," academics call it; ex-residents simply say their community "changed." What both groups are describing is an all-white area that became, more or less quickly, an all-black area. Cummings--a University of Louisville urban policy and sociology professor who has edited the Journal of Urban Affairs for 10 years--became involved with "Rosedale" (in the Dallas-Fort Worth region) in the mid-1970s. Studying "institutional, cultural, and psychological changes that accompanied racial transition," he explores "how various public policies contributed to Rosedale's decline" and seeks to identify "new policies . . . to better enable cities to preserve, protect and revitalize their neighborhoods." Because marginalized groups were most vulnerable to Rosedale's institutional breakdown, Cummings focuses particular attention on old and young: "For the white elderly, the ghettoization of Rosedale produced fear, isolation, and withdrawal. For adolescents, it produced rage, hostility, and violence." Preventing future Rosedales, Cummings maintains, will require a serious attack on both racism and crime, as well as early action to strengthen community institutions. Thoughtful analysis of a continuing problem