Synopses & Reviews
As cities have gentrified, educated urbanites have come to prize what they regard as "authentic" urban life: aging buildings, art galleries, small boutiques, upscale food markets, neighborhood old-timers, funky ethnic restaurants, and old, family-owned shops. These signify a place's authenticity, in contrast to the bland standardization of the suburbs and exurbs.
But as Sharon Zukin shows in Naked City, the rapid and pervasive demand for authenticity--evident in escalating real estate prices, expensive stores, and closely monitored urban streetscapes--has helped drive out the very people who first lent a neighborhood its authentic aura: immigrants, the working class, and artists. Zukin traces this economic and social evolution in six archetypal New York areas--Williamsburg, Harlem, the East Village, Union Square, Red Hook, and the city's community gardens--and travels to both the city's first IKEA store and the World Trade Center site. She shows that for followers of Jane Jacobs, this transformation is a perversion of what was supposed to happen. Indeed, Naked City is a sobering update of Jacobs' legendary 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Like Jacobs, Zukin looks at what gives neighborhoods a sense of place, but argues that over time, the emphasis on neighborhood distinctiveness has become a tool of economic elites to drive up real estate values and effectively force out the neighborhood "characters" that Jacobs so evocatively idealized.
Review
"This is scholarship with its boots on the ground, challenging us to look at the familiar in a new light." --The Boston Globe
"A highly readable narrative...a revelation, no matter where you live."
--The Austin Chronicle
"Provocative." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Astutely describes the conflict between "original" features of a neighborhood that seem to have been there forever and new ones that each new generation creates...cogent and accessible."--The New York Times
"Zukin is a good noticer, and an entertaining tour guide to the ambivalent ravages of gentrification...The strengths of Naked City lie in Zukin's acute eye, her attentive ear for shifts in the way we talk about cities, and her evocative sympathy for the longtime residents of neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Harlem, Red Hook, and her own East Village...Zukin offers a compelling account of how a certain kind of success spoils cities--and some eminently sensible, if politically radical, ideas about how to preserve people along with buildings."--Times Literary Supplement
"Twenty-first century urbanists have been working with twentieth-century frameworks--I suspected it, and Sharon Zukin has articulated my suspicions, and more. Her book makes an essential compass, like those of Naomi Klein, Walter Benn Michaels, and Douglas Rushkoff, for citizens wrestling with the mercurial force of 'late capitalism' not only in their brains, but in their neighborhoods, workplaces, classrooms, and at the local store."--Jonathan Lethem, author of Chronic City
"You can count on cities to fascinate, and you can count on Sharon Zukin to make sense of it for us. Naked City looks at the strange beauty of New York City's nooks and crannies to find universal experiences, un-told stories, and small wonders. Zukin is a brilliant analyst cum tour guide, and the writing is simply captivating."--Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day
"Sharon Zukin's Naked City is a must read for two reasons: For many of us who once lived in New York, but have been gone for many years, Zukin brings us up to date with vivid and peopled descriptions of the city's streets and neighborhoods. And for us sociologists, no matter our connection to New York, Zukin uses the city to persuasively show that the longing for authenticity is as much about us as it about the places that are always changing around us. It is a wonderfully smart argument that will likely become the definitive statement on this topic. Naked City combines the best of keen urban observations and broad attention to the politics, economics, and culture of places to yield a book that, once you start reading, you will find it hard to put down."--Mary Pattillo, author of Black on the Block
"Zukin provides us with a sound analysis that can be appreciated not only by social scientists and planners, but also by suburbanites and small town residents." --Contemporary Sociology
Review
"This is scholarship with its boots on the ground, challenging us to look at the familiar in a new light." --The Boston Globe
"A highly readable narrative...a revelation, no matter where you live."
--The Austin Chronicle
"Provocative." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Astutely describes the conflict between "original" features of a neighborhood that seem to have been there forever and new ones that each new generation creates...cogent and accessible."--The New York Times
"Zukin is a good noticer, and an entertaining tour guide to the ambivalent ravages of gentrification...The strengths of Naked City lie in Zukin's acute eye, her attentive ear for shifts in the way we talk about cities, and her evocative sympathy for the longtime residents of neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Harlem, Red Hook, and her own East Village...Zukin offers a compelling account of how a certain kind of success spoils cities--and some eminently sensible, if politically radical, ideas about how to preserve people along with buildings."--Times Literary Supplement
"Twenty-first century urbanists have been working with twentieth-century frameworks--I suspected it, and Sharon Zukin has articulated my suspicions, and more. Her book makes an essential compass, like those of Naomi Klein, Walter Benn Michaels, and Douglas Rushkoff, for citizens wrestling with the mercurial force of 'late capitalism' not only in their brains, but in their neighborhoods, workplaces, classrooms, and at the local store."--Jonathan Lethem, author of Chronic City
"You can count on cities to fascinate, and you can count on Sharon Zukin to make sense of it for us. Naked City looks at the strange beauty of New York City's nooks and crannies to find universal experiences, un-told stories, and small wonders. Zukin is a brilliant analyst cum tour guide, and the writing is simply captivating."--Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day
"Sharon Zukin's Naked City is a must read for two reasons: For many of us who once lived in New York, but have been gone for many years, Zukin brings us up to date with vivid and peopled descriptions of the city's streets and neighborhoods. And for us sociologists, no matter our connection to New York, Zukin uses the city to persuasively show that the longing for authenticity is as much about us as it about the places that are always changing around us. It is a wonderfully smart argument that will likely become the definitive statement on this topic. Naked City combines the best of keen urban observations and broad attention to the politics, economics, and culture of places to yield a book that, once you start reading, you will find it hard to put down."--Mary Pattillo, author of Black on the Block
Review
"This is scholarship with its boots on the ground, challenging us to look at the familiar in a new light." --The Boston Globe
"A highly readable narrative...a revelation, no matter where you live."
--The Austin Chronicle
"Provocative." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Astutely describes the conflict between "original" features of a neighborhood that seem to have been there forever and new ones that each new generation creates...cogent and accessible."--The New York Times
"Zukin is a good noticer, and an entertaining tour guide to the ambivalent ravages of gentrification...The strengths of Naked City lie in Zukin's acute eye, her attentive ear for shifts in the way we talk about cities, and her evocative sympathy for the longtime residents of neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Harlem, Red Hook, and her own East Village...Zukin offers a compelling account of how a certain kind of success spoils cities--and some eminently sensible, if politically radical, ideas about how to preserve people along with buildings."--Times Literary Supplement
"Twenty-first century urbanists have been working with twentieth-century frameworks--I suspected it, and Sharon Zukin has articulated my suspicions, and more. Her book makes an essential compass, like those of Naomi Klein, Walter Benn Michaels, and Douglas Rushkoff, for citizens wrestling with the mercurial force of 'late capitalism' not only in their brains, but in their neighborhoods, workplaces, classrooms, and at the local store."--Jonathan Lethem, author of Chronic City
"You can count on cities to fascinate, and you can count on Sharon Zukin to make sense of it for us. Naked City looks at the strange beauty of New York City's nooks and crannies to find universal experiences, un-told stories, and small wonders. Zukin is a brilliant analyst cum tour guide, and the writing is simply captivating."--Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day
"Sharon Zukin's Naked City is a must read for two reasons: For many of us who once lived in New York, but have been gone for many years, Zukin brings us up to date with vivid and peopled descriptions of the city's streets and neighborhoods. And for us sociologists, no matter our connection to New York, Zukin uses the city to persuasively show that the longing for authenticity is as much about us as it about the places that are always changing around us. It is a wonderfully smart argument that will likely become the definitive statement on this topic. Naked City combines the best of keen urban observations and broad attention to the politics, economics, and culture of places to yield a book that, once you start reading, you will find it hard to put down."--Mary Pattillo, author of Black on the Block
Review
andldquo;Inand#160;Music/City, Wynn takes on an important, ambitious, and well-executed project that cross-cuts a number of fields. The result is a compendious book with something for everybody. The characters we encounter here are charming, and the quality of the research as valuable.and#160;Music/City has broad appealandmdash;to sociologists and musicians alike.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Wynnandrsquo;s Music/City provides important new insight into the role of music in shaping the culture, economy, and attractiveness of cities.and#160;Combining a sociologistandrsquo;s eye with the ear of aand#160;musician, Wynn shows how music festivals like theand#160;Newport Folk Festival and Austinandrsquo;s SXSW,and#160;have become increasingly important platforms as much for cities and their economies as for the careers of musicians. Wynnandrsquo;s book is a must read for mayors, economic developers, downtown leaders, and urbanists who endeavor to buildand#160;and liveand#160;in more attractive,and#160;vibrant,and#160;and economicallyand#160;successfuland#160;cities.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Inandnbsp;Music/Cityandnbsp;Wynn stitches together an entertaining and enlightening look into the social, economic and historic elements that go into city based music festivals.andnbsp;As a professional musician who rarely sees festivals from any perspective but the stage I foundandnbsp;Music/Cityandnbsp;jam-packed with fascinating and indispensable information. Wynn has created a must read for music fans and festival goers the world over while also generating a how-to for the prospective host communities.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Itandrsquo;s common knowledge that festivals are increasingly important to the music business, but before Wynn, no one had really examined their full impact and potential. With Music/City, his innovative, street-level research gives us new ways to think about the culture, community, and economy of our large-scale, high-volume gatherings.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Jon Wynn immerses us in the music and the people of music festivals as well as the resources, organizers, and places where they occur.and#160; Is the andldquo;Nashville Soundandrdquo; the rough honkytonk music of Hank Williams, or is it Chet Atkins and Patsy Clineandrsquo;s mixture of rural themes and sophisticated string arrangements?and#160; Or did it morph into the andldquo;countrypolitanandrdquo; of Tammy Wynette, Ray Pride, and Charlie Rich, a long distance from the feral outlaw country music of Nelson and Haggard.and#160; Wynn finds that the old fusing of the urbane and the rural to create a distinctive brand of music in Nashville presages many of the tensions found in its festival today.and#160; When Wynn compares the Nashville scene to Austin, the music of indies prevails, but just as important is the scattering of festival venues all over town, making South by Southwest a big networking party, one that even has room for guerilla events and protesters, a mix of insiders and outsiders.and#160; We find that the folk festival at Newport offers very different sounds, sights, and atmosphere. This book is engagingly andldquo;experience-close,andrdquo; written by a master ethnographer who is also a musician and who has performed himself at many music festivals (including SXSW).and#160; Wynn tracks the history of three festivals (Newport, Nashville, Austin), then takes us on-site for each one to consider different festival agendas and styles of organization:and#160; from the musician looking to further her music career to the participant who wants to see his favorite band, from the mayor who wants to exploit a local cultural scene to the music executive hoping to sell records, from the localsandrsquo; frustration over corporate branding of their city to the touristandrsquo;s search for a good time.and#160; These secular festivals spark the imagination of young Americans and galvanize pilgrimages to the cities that host big-time extravaganzas. They have become celebratory rituals in America. and#160;Beyond the music and the people this book offers a very sharp perspective on urban symbolic power in action, how cities mobilize massive organizational resources to become promotional machines. It is time to reconsider these focal events to discover how they function as real social engines.
Synopsis
Austinandrsquo;s famed South by Southwest is far more than a festival celebrating indie music. Itandrsquo;s also a big networking party that sparks the imagination of hip, creative types and galvanizes countless pilgrimages to the city. Festivals like SXSW are a lot of fun, but for city halls, media corporations, cultural institutions, and community groups, theyandrsquo;re also a vital part of a complex growth strategy. In
Music/City, Jonathan R. Wynn immerses us in the world of festivals, giving readers a unique perspective on contemporary urban and cultural life.
Wynn tracks the history of festivals in Newport, Nashville, and Austin, taking readers on-site to consider different festival agendas and styles of organization. Itandrsquo;s all here: from the musician looking to build her career to the mayor who wants to exploit a local cultural scene, from a residentandrsquo;s frustration over corporate branding of his city to the music executive hoping to sell records. Music/City offers a sharp perspective on cities and cultural institutions in action and analyzes how governments mobilize massive organizational resources to become promotional machines. Wynnandrsquo;s analysis culminates with an impassioned argument for temporary events, claiming that when done right, temporary occasions like festivals can serve as responsive, flexible, and adaptable products attuned to local places and communities.
Synopsis
American cities entered a new phase when, beginning in the 1950s, artists and developers looked upon a decaying industrial zone in Lower Manhattan and saw, not blight, but opportunity: cheap rents, lax regulation, and wide open spaces. Thus, SoHo was born. From 1960 to 1980, residents transformed the industrial neighborhood into an artist district, creating the conditions under which it evolved into an upper-income, gentrified area. Introducing the ideaandmdash;still potent in city planning todayandmdash;that art could be harnessed to drive municipal prosperity, SoHo was the forerunner of gentrified districts in cities nationwide, spawning the notion of the creative class.
In The Lofts of SoHo, Aaron Shkuda studies the transition of the district from industrial space to artistsandrsquo; enclave to affluent residential area, focusing on the legacy of urban renewal in and around SoHo and the growth of artist-led redevelopment. Shkuda explores conflicts between residents and property owners and analyzes the cityandrsquo;s embrace of the once-illegal loft conversion as an urban development strategy. As Shkuda explains, artists eventually lost control of SoHoandrsquo;s development, but over several decades they nonetheless forced scholars, policymakers, and the general public to take them seriously as critical actors in the twentieth-century American city.
About the Author
Sharon Zukin is Professor of Sociology at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center. She is the author of
Loft Living (the classic book on SoHo's gentrification),
Landscapes of Power (winner of the C. Wright Mills Award),
The Cultures of Cities, and
Point of Purchase.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: City and Stage
1. The Unlikely Rise in Importance of American Music Festivals
2. Music in Ruins: The Newport Folk Festival
3. andldquo;When Country Comes to Townandrdquo;: Nashvilleandrsquo;s Country Music Festival
4. Part-Time Indie Music Club: Austinandrsquo;s South by Southwest
5. The Long-Term Effects of Fleeting Moments: Part One
6. The Long-Term Effects of Fleeting Moments: Part Two
Conclusions: Festivalization as Good Policy
Encore: Toward a Sociology of Occasions
Appendix A: The Lineup (Methodological Note and List of Interviewees)
Appendix B: Music City Set List
Notes
References