w3 - mon

The assignment

Over the last two weeks we've discussed essays that although written at different periods of the late 20th century on somewhat different topics, share areas of overlap. Perhaps the most consistent area of overlap is the question of urban renewal. What is urban renewal, what form does it take, who does it benefit and who does it leave out? These are the topics taken up by first by Jane Jacobs, then Mike Davis, then David Harvey. Which brings us to the early 21st century and Sharon Zukin. I hope that you noticed that Zukin's book is titled Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places--a direct response to the title of Jane Jacobs' book. Why do you think she made this reference?

This week we discuss one of the implications of urban renewal, which is gentrification. I'd like to start with that title to Zukin's book, particularly the term "authentic." What does Zukin mean by the term authentic--i.e. how does she believe we identify something as authentic in an urban/community context? What happens to the supposed "authenticity" of a community when it is co-opted by those who aren't part of that community's history? Should authenticity be a social right or a state of mind, and what's the difference?

Zukin also discusses the processes of gentrification as she's observed it and researched it. First, provide a brief definition of gentrification. Try to use your own words! Then, outline this process or the stages that Zukin describes.

 

Finally, what does Zukin mean on p.6 about having the right to inhabit a space, not just consume it as an experience. Remember, she's the one that coined the phrase Pacification by Cappuccino that we discussed in David Harvey's text. Hint: she doesn't literally mean buying a cappuccino here...