McIlwaine Quarterly Speaker Series - "All-American City: Bluster, Boom, & Bust in Wichita"

by Chase Billingham

Chase Billingham, Associate Professor of Sociology at Wichita State University, will join us on Saturday, March 21, to discuss his newly published book, All-American City: Bluster, Boom, and Bust in Wichita. Billingham's book is a critical social history of Wichita that extrapolates from this city's experience to explain common contemporary economic development patterns across U.S. cities.

From prolonged attempts to curtail the activity of unhoused people in the urban core to grand unfulfilled plans to overhaul the city’s riverfront, and from the unrealized aspirations of out-of-state real estate developers to existential threats facing the region’s key industry, All-American City chronicles over half a century of economic history and urban development in Wichita. Delving into the structural conditions that hamper economic growth and competitiveness in mid-sized cities in the U.S., Billingham draws upon Wichita’s recent history to show how smaller metropolitan areas struggle to set themselves apart in the perpetual inter-urban competition for jobs and investment, while relying upon common economic development best practices and mimicry of peer cities’ successes in developing their own strategic initiatives. The result is a contemporary urban landscape in which cities come increasingly to resemble one another, even as their leaders tout their uniqueness, distinctiveness, and authenticity.

In his presentation, Billingham will draw connections between the themes addressed in the book and recent debates in Wichita regarding issues like the citywide sales tax proposal, riverfront development, and strategies to address homelessness. Questions and open discussion will follow the presentation.

About the Presenter

Chase Billingham is an urban sociologist whose research examines gentrification, economic development, education, and stratification in U.S. metropolitan areas.

His work has been published in Sociology of Education, City & Community, Urban Studies, and other outlets in sociology, education research, history, and urban affairs. In published academic research, as well as op-eds and other public engagement, Billingham provides a sociological perspective on current issues in urban development and inequality affecting the Wichita region. Along with introductory sociology and core courses in statistics and social theory that are required for sociology majors, Billingham also teaches courses in social inequality and urban sociology.

Billingham is the Book Review Editor for Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains.

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
204 S Main St; Wichita, KS 67202

Saturday & Sunday – July 12th & 13th

Doors open at 1:00pm
Program starts at 2:00pm
Open to the public
Free admission

This quarterly speaker series is made possible through a generous grant from the Charles and Joanne McIlwaine Foundation.