Background and Context
The Oxford Research Encyclopedias: American History offers numerous articles reviewing specialized topics. Each article has sections on Discussion of the Literature and on Primary Sources, together with a Further Reading bibliography and footnotes.
This gives city by city overviews:
Encyclopedia of urban cultures : cities and cultures around the world, edited by Melvin Ember and Carol R. Ember. Danbury, Conn.: Grolier, 2002. 4 v.
HOLLIS Record with online access
The language of cities; a glossary of terms, by Charles Abrams.. NY: Viking Press, 1971, 365 p.
HOLLIS record with online access
Encyclopedia of the city, ed. by Roger W. Caves. London ; NY: Routledge, 2005, 564 p.
Encyclopedia of American urban history, ed. by David Goldfield. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2007. 2 v.
Historic cities of the Americas: an illustrated encyclopedia, by David F. Marley. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2005. 2 v.
HOLLIS record with online access
The urban politics dictionary, by John W. Smith, John S. Klemanski. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1990, 613 p.
HOLLIS record with online access
Encyclopedia of urban America: the cities and suburbs, ed. by Neil Larry Shumsky. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1998, 2 v.
HOLLIS record with online access
Encyclopedia of urban studies, ed. by Ray Hutchison. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications, 2010. 2 v.
HOLLIS record with online access
Particular Cities
Boston: a chronological & documentary history, 1602-1970, by George J. Lankevich. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1974, 152 p.
HOLLIS record with online access
Boston A to Z, by Thomas H. O'Connor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000, 370 p.
HOLLIS record with online access
The encyclopedia of Cleveland history, by David D. Van Tassel. 2nd ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996, 1165 p.
HOLLIS record with online access
The encyclopedia of New York City, ed. by Kenneth T. Jackson. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press ; NY: New-York Historical Society, 2010, 1561 p.
HOLLIS record with online access