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American Communities
Getting Started
Encyclopedias | Research Guides
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Finding Journal Articles 		Finding News Articles
Finding Statistics & Data
Selected Readings
Libraries
American Communities is a bibliographic research guide to resources on American urban communities in the University of California, Berkeley, libraries and on the web. The emphasis is on the interaction of the built and social environments. Included are selected ethnic studies and urban community titles. This guide supports the course City Planning 118AC: The Urban Community, an American Cultures class which focuses on people in urban communities, suburbs, and neighborhoods, with an emphasis on California communities. For additional assistance please consult the Environmental Design Library reference staff, 210 Wurster Hall. You may also want to consult the Ethnic Studies Library staff and to see the Library's African American Studies web page.

UC Berkeley faculty, registered students, and staff who are off campus may use items marked UCB Only or UC Only by using The Library's off-campus access services.

Contents reviewed: 1 July 2009 Conditions of Use

    Getting Started
    Encyclopedias  To find encyclopedias on a topic, in Current Melvyl® search by subject, adding the term encyclopedia to your subject word(s). 

  1. American immigrant cultures: builders of a nation, David Levinson, Melvin Ember, eds. 2 vols. NY: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1997.
    2. Doe Refe & Moffitt Refe  E184 A1 A63448 1997
  2. The Asian American encyclopedia, Franklin Ng, ed., NY: Marshall Cavendish Corp., 1995.  6 vols.
    3. Main-Library use only, S-S/EAsia-Ref  E184 O6 A827 1995; Ethn Studies E184 A8 N52 Ref
  3. Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history, Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, Cornel West, eds. 5 vols. and 2001 supplement.  NY: Macmillan Library Reference USA, 1996.
    4. Doe Refe E185 E54 1996 & 2001 suppl.
  4. The Encyclopedia of housing, Willem Van Vliet---, ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.
    5. EnvDesign  HD7287 E53 1998 Reference
  5. Encyclopedia of multiculturalism, Susan Auerbach, ed.  6 vols.  NY: Marshall Cavendish Corp., 1994.
    6. Main E184 A1 E58 1994 Library use only
  6. Gale encyclopedia of multicultural America, Robert von Dassanowsky, contributing ed.,  2nd ed.  3 vols.  Detroit: Gale Group, 2000.
    7. Moffitt Refe & Doe Refe E184 A1 G14 2000
  7. Handbook of Hispanic cultures in the United States, Nicolas Kanellos, Claudio Esteva-Fabregat, general eds., Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1993-1994.
    8. Doe Refe & Moffitt Refe E184 S75 H365 1993; Ethn Studies E184 S75 H264 1993 v.4 Ref.
  8. Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups, Stephan Thernstrom, ed.  Cambridge, MA: Belknap Pr., 1980
    9. EnvDesign E184 A1 H35 Reference
  9. The Hispanic almanac: from Columbus to corporate America, Nicolas Kanellos, ed., Detroit: Invisible Ink, 1994.
    10. Ethn Studies HN3 H454 1994 Reference
  10. Wikipedia Web-based, collaboratively-authored encyclopedia. Useful for confirming a research starting point. User Beware: Content is non-authoritative, and in some instances has been demonstrated to be deliberately false.
    11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
    Research Guides  Here is a selection of guides to research materials in the UC Berkeley libraries and on the web.

  1. Finding local information (UC Berkeley, Library)  Local or community-level information can be found in both familiar e.g., (the phone book) and unexpected (e.g., general plans) places. This bibliographic research guide points you toward a variety of sources and strategies to help locate hard-to-find local information. California and San Francisco Bay Area are highlighted.
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/locinfo.html
  2. General plans (UC Berkeley, Library)  A bibliographic research guide to locating general plans, especially for California and the San Francisco Bay Area, in the UC Berkeley libraries. This guide also provides Internet links to many full text resources.
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/genplans.html
  3. History of city planning (UC Berkeley, Library) A bibliographic research guide to UC Berkeley and web resources for the history of planning and urbanism and urban history. U.S. and international focus.
    4. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/histplan.html
  4. Housing research resources (UC Berkeley, Library) A bibliographic and strategic guide to the UC Berkeley library and web literature of housing, both U.S. and international.
    5. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/housing2.html
  5. Sacred landscapes in America (UC Berkeley, Library) A bibliographic research guide to UC Berkeley library and web resources on sacred landscapes across American ethnic and religious cultures, with an emphasis on California and the San Francisco Bay Area.
    6. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/sacrd.html

    Finding Books 
    Online catalogs: In the Current Melvyl® catalog combine subject headings and limit your results to Berkeley campus items, e.g., [subject] ethnic neighborhoods and [subject] african american; select [location] uc berkeley. See the Guide to the Melvyl Catalog for search tips, or take a drop-in class at Moffitt Library.  Note that most headings can be modified by a place name, e.g., community development urban oakland. NOTE: ***The American dream*** is NOT a catalog subject term. Instead, search the phrase "American dream" as a keyword search. Or deconstruct the concept into its components, e.g., home ownership or educational attainment.

    Acculturation
    Alienation (Social psychology)
    Americanization
    Assimilation (Sociology)
    City and town life--[place name]
    Community
    Community development, Urban
    Community life--[place name]
    Discrimination in housing
    [Ethnic or racial group], e.g.: 
    Afro-American#
    Asian-American#
    European American#
    Hispanic American#
    Indians of North America
    Italian American#
    Japanese American#
    Racially mixed people

    [Ethnic/racial group]--Cultural assimilation     		[Ethnic/racial group]--Economic conditions
    [Ethnic/racial group]--Educational attainment
    [Ethnic/racial group]--Segregation
    [Ethnic/racial group]--Social conditions
    [Ethnic group]--Ethnic identity
    Ethnic neighborhoods--United States
    Ethnicity
    Gentrification
    Hispanic American neighborhoods
    Home ownership
    Housing
    Human geography
    [Religious or sexual orientation group]--Identity
    Immigrants--United States
    Metropolitan areas
    Migration, Internal
    Minorities--[place name]
    Minorities--[place name]--Economic conditions
    Minorities--Cross-cultural studies     		Minorities--Housing--[place name]
    Minorities--United States--History
    Multiculturalism--[place name]
    Neighborhood
    Popular culture
    [Racial group]--Racial identity
    Racism
    Residential mobility
    Segregation
    [Place name]--Social life & customs
    Social values--United States
    Suburban life--[place name]
    Suburbs--[place name]
    Success
    United States--Ethnic relations
    United States--Race relations
    Urbanization--United States
    Working class whites--United States
    Zoning, Exclusionary

    Bibliographies  To find a bibliography, or a list of books, on your topic in Current Melvyl®, search by subject, adding the term bibliography to your subject word(s).

  1. Bibliography on race and ethnicity in California, prep. for Geography 50AC, Fall 1996 [by] Professor Richard Walker, Clement K. Lai. [Berkeley: Dept. of Geography, 1996].
    2. IGS  97 00437
  2. Blacks in suburbs: a bibliography, by Susan Rafter, Chicago, IL: CPL Bibliographies, 1984.  Covers primarily 1970-1983.
    3. EnvDesign HT166 A12 C6a  no.133 Index
  3. Dissertations & Theses (ProQuest) - UCB Only  Indexes doctoral dissertations since 1861 and masters' theses since 1960.  Many available full-text.  Great source of bibliographies.
    4. Online ed.: 1861--; paper ed.: 1861--;  Main AC801 M45
  4. Ethnic California: a bibliographic guide including national, California, southern  California and Orange County sources, by Stephen Gould.  Hollywood: Sun Dance Press, 1994.
    5. Bancroft  F870 A1 G681 1994
  5. The Immigrant experience: an annotated bibliography, by Paul D. Mageli.  Pasadena: Salem Pr., 1991.
    6. Doe Refe E184 A1 A12 M334 1991
  6. Minority groups and housing; a bibliography, 1950-1970, Byrl N. Boyce and Sidney Turoff, eds., [Morristown, NJ] General Learning Pr., 1972.
    7. EnvDesign E185.89 H6 A12 B6 Reference
  7. Records in the National Archives--Pacific Sierra Region for the study of ethnic history.  San Bruno: National Archives--Pacific Sierra Region, 1994.
    8. AsianAmer Z695.2 C31 Ref.; Bancroft Z695.2 C31 1994 Ref.; GTU Lib E184 A1 R42 1994 Ref.
  8. Suburbs, suburbia and suburbanization: a bibliography, by Louis H. Masotti and Deborah Ellis Dennis.  2d ed., Monticello, IL: Council of Planning Librarians, 1974. Covers pre-1965 sources.
    9. Bus&Econ  HT351 A12 M2, EnvDesign MICROFICHE 7179

    Finding Journal Articles  Use journal and newspaper indexes and databases to discover articles on your topic.  Some online databases include the full text of the articles you discover or the icon which may lead you to the full text elsewhere. In many cases, however, you will need to locate the print journal in the Library's collections; search the Library's online catalogs by the journal title in order to find the shelving location and call number for the journal.

    To boost your article retrieval skills take a drop-in class at Moffitt Library. See also City Planning Indexes & Abstracts for a more complete list of journal article indexes.  For UC or UC Only indexes and databases, go to The Library's home page; go to Find Information and select Articles.

  1. Alternative press index and archive via FirstSearch/OCLC - UCB Only  Citations are drawn from roughly 450 alternative, radical, and left publications, which report and analyze the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political, and social change. Most journals aren't indexed elsewhere.
    2. Online ed.: 1969--; paper ed.: 1969--; Main Stack HM101 A12 A55
  2. America: history and life via EBSCO - UC Only  Contains article abstracts and bibliographical citations of articles on the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada from prehistoric times to the present. Excellent index for American cultural history and popular culture.
    3. Online ed.: 1964--; paper ed.: 1954--; Main Stack E3 A43
  3. Anthropology Plus via Eureka/RLG - UC Only  Contains citations to articles and essays in the fields of anthropology and archaeology. Subjects covered include art history, landscape history, ethnohistory, geography, folklore, geology, and history.
    4. Online ed.: 1984--
  4. Avery index to architectural periodicals via CSA - UC Only  Contains citations to articles in 1,000+ periodicals in architecture, planning, urban design, and related disciplines.
    5. Online ed.: 1860--; paper ed.: 1890-1995; EnvDesign fNA8 C64 1973 Index
  5. Bibliography of native North Americans on disc  (CD-ROM Network) - UCB Only Includes 70,000 citations from books, journal articles, essays, conference papers, and U.S. government documents covering 17 broad regions comprising 290 ethnic groups of native North America, from the 16th century to 1992.
    6. Online ed.: Library networked workstations; paper ed.: Ethnographic Bibliography of North America, 1941-1990. Various editions and locations.
  6. Black studies database via Biblioline- UCB Only Digital version of indexing from The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library. Indexes over 150 journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, pamphlets and reports relevant to the Black experience and the African Diaspora.
    Coverage: 1948-1986.

    -----. Black studies on disc (CD-ROM Network) - UCB Only Provides current access to the Catalog of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Index to Black Periodicals.
    Online coverage: 2004--; Library networked workstations.
  7. Chicano database via Eureka/RLG, Univ. of California. Indexes all types of materials on Mexican-American topics, and since 1992, materials on other Latino cultures.
    8. Coverage: 1967--.
  8. Geography via Ovid - UCB Only Covers the international literature in physical and human geography, providing access to information from over 2000 journals, monographs, books, conference proceedings reports, and theses.
    9. Coverage: 1990--.
  9. Google scholar Lists selected journal articles, books, preprints, and technical reports in many subject areas. Some listings link to related articles and other sources that cite the item. Use the UC-eLinks option, when available, to find the UCB access to a publication. Remember that Goolgle Scholar includes only scholarly publications; does NOT include journals published by Elsevier; and makes no claims to comprehensive coverage.
    10. http://scholar.google.com/
  10. HAPI online; Hispanic American periodical index - UC Only  Includes citations to articles, documents, book reviews, and original literary works in more than 500 social science and humanities journals on Latin America, the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and Hispanics in the U.S. Links to selected full text articles via Ingenta or JSTOR.
    11. Coverage: 1970--.
  11. International index to Black periodicals (IIBP) - UCB Only Includes current and retrospective bibliographic citations and abstracts from 150+ scholarly and popular journals, newspapers and newsletters from the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean, and full-text coverage of core Black studies periodicals, 1998 forward.
    12. Coverage: Varies, 1910--.
  12. Journal of planning literature. This excellent publication lists and abstracts recent books and journal articles, arranged by subject, including community development, discrimination, and urban sociology.
    13. Online ed.: 1997--; paper ed.: 1985/86--; EnvDesign NA9000 J687 Index
  13. JSTOR - UCB Only  A full-text archive of interdisciplinary scholarly journal literature, including sociology, African-American studies, and political science.
    14. Coverage: Varies.
  14. Left index via BiblioLine - UCB Only   Provides access to international leftist and radical scholarship, including citations and abstracts and some full text from journals, books, links to internet documents, etc. Topics include ecology & environment, race & ethnicity, social & cultural theory, sociology, etc.
    15. Coverage: 1982--.
  15. Sociological abstracts via CSA - UC Only  Indexes journal articles, book chapters, & reviews from over 1,900 journals, books, book chapters, and reviews in the social sciences. Excellent source for public policy topics.
    16. Online ed.: 1963--; paper ed.: 1952--; Main Stack HM15.5 S6 Library use only
  16. Urban studies & planning via CSA - UCB Only. Provides indexing to and full text of 12 journals published by SAGE Publications and participating societies, some journals going back 37 years.
    17. Coverage: Varies.


    Finding News Articles  Sometimes the only record of a hot community issue is in the local media. In addition to the indexes listed here, some newspapers are available full-text on the web; information regarding archives of older issues is sometimes available at these sites. For a list of online full-text American and international newspapers, go to the The Library's home page; go to Find Information and select Articles, and then select News Article Databases.

  1. Access world news via NewsBank - UCB Only Full-text database of articles from regional, national, and international newspapers and newswires, including many California papers such as Contra Costa Times (1995-current), Fresno Bee (1986-current), Santa Rosa Press Democrat (1994-current), Sacramento Bee (1984-current), San Francisco Chronicle (1985-current), and San Jose Mercury News (1985-current).  Articles are available the day after publication.
    2. Coverage: Varies.
  2. AltPress watch via ProQuest - UCB Only A full text resource that covers newspapers, magazines, and journals of the alternative and independent press. Good for public policy issues. East Bay Express is included starting June 2001.
    3. Coverage: 1995--.
  3. California newspapers (News Link) Organized by place within broad categories (e.g., dailies, business, alternative).
    4. Coverage: Varies.
  4. Ethnic newswatch via ProQuest- UC Only  Full-text coverage of approximately 200 newspapers and other periodicals published by ethnic and minority presses in the U.S. Good resource for ethnic community information. Indexed in English and Spanish.
    5. Coverage: 1960--.
  5. Lexis-Nexis academic - UCB Only  Indexes more than 6,000 newspaper and journal titles, including ethnic and regional newspapers, and provides some articles full-text.
    6. Coverage: Varies.
  6. New America media. Includes the full text of many ethnic news media, many with English translations, as well as NAM original articles.
    7. Coverage: Varies.

    Finding Statistics & Data  Here's a small selection of statistical resources. For a more comprehensive list, including some full-text, see Statistics & data for city planning: United States; American focus with a California emphasis.

  1. ABAG data center (Association of Bay Area Governments) Great source of San Francisco Bay Area economic and demographic statistics. Here is a selection of the categories available. ---Population and demographics ---Land use and maps ---Real estate and housing.
    2. http://www.abag.ca.gov/abag/overview/datacenter/
  2. American factfinder  (U.S. Census Bureau) Users can create a variety of tables, reports, or maps with information on their community.
    3. http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en
  3. Bay Area census (Metropolitan Transportation Commission & the Association of Bay Area Governments) Very useful and well-designed site. Aggregates Census 2000 data for the nine Bay Area counties. Includes maps.
    4. http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/
  4. California demographics (Calif. Dept. of Finance, Demographic Research Unit) Includes California demographic data, selected full-text reports and papers, catalog of publications, etc.
    5. http://www.dof.ca.gov/html/Demograp/druhpar.htm
  5. Federal government statistics (UC Berkeley, Library) A directory of useful links to social and demographic data, including the U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/govinfo/federal/gov_usstat.html#population
  6. National historical geographic information systems (NHGIS) (Univ. of Minnesota)  Provides aggregate census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2000.
    7. http://www.nhgis.org/
  7. Projections...: forecasts for the San Francisco Bay Area to the year..., population, households, income, employment. Association of Bay Area Governments.  Oakland: ABAG. Provides a wealth of demographic data and projections for the 9-county region, each county and city.
    8. EnvDesign HD5726 S4 P72 latest Reference Desk; Reference
  8. Racial and ethnic diversity, by Cheryl Russell. Consists of statistical profiles drawn primarily from 2000 Census data.
    9. EnvDesign E184 A1 R87 latest ed. Reference


    Selected Readings  Here is a taste of the readings available about American communities. Use the subject headings in this guide to discover more.

  1. American dreamscape: the pursuit of happiness in postwar suburbia, by Tom Martinson. NY: Carroll & Graf, 2000.
    2. EnvDesign HT351 M37 2000
  2. The California cauldron: immigration and the fortunes of local communities, by William A.V. Clark. NY: Guilford Pr., 1998.
    3. EnvDesign F870 A1 C53 1998
  3. Center for Immigration Studies. Site includes many full-text publications on American immigration.
    4. http://cis.org/ImmigrationReadingList
  4. City against suburb: the culture wars in an American metropolis, by Joseph A. Rodriguez.  Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999.  Focuses on the San Francisco Bay Area.
    5. EnvDesign HN80 S4 R63 1999
  5. Race and home ownership, 1900 to 1990, by William J. Collins, Robert A. Margo. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1999.  (National Bureau of Economic Research working paper no. 7277)
    6. Online access: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w7277.pdf; paper ed.: Bus&Econ H62.5 U5 N351 no.7277
  6. Suburban nation: the rise of sprawl and the decline of the American Dream, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck. NY: North Point Pr., 2000.
    7. EnvDesign HT384 U5 D83 2000
  7. Towards cosmopolis: planning for multicultural cities, by Leonie Sandercock. NY: J. Wiley, 1998.
    8. EnvDesign HT166 S219 1997
  8. Urban enclaves: identity and place in America, by Mark Abrahamson. NY: St. Martin's Pr., 1996.
    9. Moffitt E184 A1 A24 1996
  9. Urban planning in a multicultural society, by Michael A. Burayidi. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2000.
    10. EnvDesign HT165.5 U75 2000


    Selected Libraries & Societies

    African American Museum and Library at Oakland
    Oakland Public Library
    14th St. & Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA
    http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/AAMLO/index.html
    Anthropology Library
    230 Kroeber Hall
    Anthropology and ethnography collections.
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ANTH/
    Bancroft Library
    Western Americana non-circulating collections.  Primary source material, including images.
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BANC/
    Chinese Historical Society of America
    965 Clay St., San Francisco, CA
    Dedicated to the study, documentation, and dissemination of Chinese American history.
    http://www.chsa.org/

    Doe Reference Center
    2nd Floor, Doe Library
    General reference service & non-circulating collection; emphasis on the social sciences and humanities. 
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/reference.html
    		 Earth Sciences & Map Library
    50 McCone Hall
    Includes map  collections.
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/
    Environmental Design Library
    210 Wurster Hall
    City planning, environmental planning, architecture, & landscape architecture collections.
    http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/ 
    Ethnic Studies Library
    30 Stephens Hall
    Asian-American, Chicano, and Native American Studies collections. 
    http://eslibrary.berkeley.edu/
    Institute of Governmental Studies Library
    109 Moses Hall 
    American public policy non-circulating collections, with an emphasis on California & the SF Bay Area.
    http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/

    Originally compiled in 2001
    Compiled by Deborah Sommer
    City Planning Librarian
    Environmental Design Library

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