Daniel McClymonds

Who holds political power? How does this power reflect and reproduce patterns of social inequality? How can we interrogate these questions using formal historical methods? Daniel’s research uses archival data and oral histories to examine the contentious politics of local development throughout Pittsburgh’s history in the latter half of the 20th century. He focuses especially on two episodes where Pittsburgh was a national forerunner and where city leaders faced collective resistance from below: urban renewal in the 1950s and 60s; and de-industrialization in the 1980s. This research forms the core of his dissertation as well as shorter working-papers and conference presentations.