Book picks similar to
Unmaking Goliath: Community Control in the Face of Global Capital by James DeFilippis
economics
housing
reshelved-started-but-stopped
planning
The Endless City
Ricky Burdett - 2008
It includes a wealth of material that has emerged from a sequence of six conferences held by influential figures in the field of urban development and its related disciplines, and examines the requisite tools for creating a thriving modern city. The book has been edited by Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic in collaboration with one of the most important educational institutions in this field, the London School of Economics, which assures that the information and data provided is reliable, accurate and informed. Taking 6 key cities as its focal point: New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Berlin, The Endless City discusses in depth not only the infrastructure and architectural expansion necessary for continuous urban growth, but also the social and economic factors that are critical to urban development in the 21st century. Clearly organised into separate sections for each city, the book will have a strong visual impact and make detailed scholarly research straightforward and manageable. Images of each city will complement the discussions and enrich the discussion presented in the text.With contributions by experts in urban development, this book will appeal to architects, city planners, economists, students, politicians and anyone with an interest in the future of our cities.
Securing the Heart of A Bully
Kennedy B. - 2020
The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit
Thomas J. Sugrue - 1996
In this reappraisal of America's dilemma of racial and economic inequality, Thomas Sugrue asks why Detroit and other industrial cities have become the sites of persistent racialized poverty.
Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America
Beryl Satter - 2009
In this powerful book, Beryl Satter identifies the true causes of the city's black slums and the ruin of urban neighborhoods throughout the country: not, as some have argued, black pathology, the culture of poverty, or white flight, but a widespread and institutionalized system of legal and financial exploitation.
In Satter's riveting account of a city in crisis, unscrupulous lawyers, slumlords, and speculators are pitched against religious reformers, community organizers, and an impassioned attorney who launched a crusade against the profiteers—the author's father, Mark J. Satter. At the heart of the struggle stand the black migrants who, having left the South with its legacy of sharecropping, suddenly find themselves caught in a new kind of debt peonage. Satter shows the interlocking forces at work in their oppression: the discriminatory practices of the banking industry; the federal policies that created the country's shameful "dual housing market"; the economic anxieties that fueled white violence; and the tempting profits to be made by preying on the city's most vulnerable population.
A monumental work of history, this tale of racism and real estate, politics and finance, will forever change our understanding of the forces that transformed urban America.
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
William H. Whyte - 1980
Whyte published the findings from his revolutionary Street Life Project in The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Both the book and the accompanying film were instantly labeled classics, and launched a mini-revolution in the planning and study of public spaces. They have since become standard texts, and appear on syllabi and reading lists in urban planning, sociology, environmental design, and architecture departments around the world.Project for Public Spaces, which grew out of Holly's Street Life Project and continues his work around the world, has acquired the reprint rights to Social Life, with the intent of making it available to the widest possible audience and ensuring that the Whyte family receive their fair share of Holly's legacy.From the forward: For more than 30 years, Project for Public Spaces has been using observations, surveys, interviews and workshops to study and transform public spaces around the world into community places. Every week we give presentations about why some public spaces work and why others don't, using the techniques, ideas, and memorable phrases from William H. "Holly" Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.Holly Whyte was both our mentor and our friend. Perhaps his most important gift was the ability to show us how to discover for ourselves why some public spaces work and others don't. With the publication of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces and its companion film in 1980, the world could see that through the basic tools of observation and interviews, we can learn an immense amount about how to make our cities more livable. In doing so, Holly Whyte laid the groundwork for a major movement to change the way public spaces are built and planned. It is our pleasure to offer this important book back to the world it is helping to transform.
Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis
Sam Anderson - 2018
It was founded in a bizarre but momentous "Land Run" in 1889, when thousands of people lined up along the borders of Oklahoma Territory and rushed in at noon to stake their claims. Since then, it has been a city torn between the wild energy that drives its outsized ambitions, and the forces of order that seek sustainable progress. Nowhere was this dynamic better realized than in the drama of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team's 2012-13 season, when the Thunder's brilliant general manager, Sam Presti, ignited a firestorm by trading future superstar James Harden just days before the first game. Presti's all-in gamble on "the Process"—the patient, methodical management style that dictated the trade as the team’s best hope for long-term greatness—kicked off a pivotal year in the city's history, one that would include pitched battles over urban planning, a series of cataclysmic tornadoes, and the frenzied hope that an NBA championship might finally deliver the glory of which the city had always dreamed.Boom Town announces the arrival of an exciting literary voice. Sam Anderson, former book critic for New York magazine and now a staff writer at the New York Times magazine, unfolds an idiosyncratic mix of American history, sports reporting, urban studies, gonzo memoir, and much more to tell the strange but compelling story of an American city whose unique mix of geography and history make it a fascinating microcosm of the democratic experiment. Filled with characters ranging from NBA superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; to Flaming Lips oddball frontman Wayne Coyne; to legendary Great Plains meteorologist Gary England; to Stanley Draper, Oklahoma City's would-be Robert Moses; to civil rights activist Clara Luper; to the citizens and public servants who survived the notorious 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building, Boom Town offers a remarkable look at the urban tapestry woven from control and chaos, sports and civics.
Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory
Edward W. Soja - 1989
Building on the work of Foucault, Giddens, Jameson and Lefebvre, one of America's geographers argues for a rethinking of the dialectics of space, time and social being.
Envisioning Real Utopias
Erik Olin Wright - 2010
Yet there has been a global retreat by the Left: on the assumption that liberal capitalism is the only game in town, political theorists tend to dismiss as utopian any attempt to rethink our social and economic relations. As Fredric Jameson first argued, it is now easier for us to imagine the end of the world than an alternative to capitalism.Erik Olin Wright’s Envisioning Real Utopias is a comprehensive assault on the quietism of contemporary social theory. Building on a lifetime’s work analyzing the class system in the developed world, as well as exploring the problem of the transition to a socialist alternative, Wright has now completed a systematic reconstruction of the core values and feasible goals for Left theorists and political actors. Envisioning Real Utopias aims to put the social back into socialism, laying the foundations for a set of concrete, emancipatory alternatives to the capitalist system. Characteristically rigorous and engaging, this will become a landmark of social thought for the twenty-first century.
Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City
Gordon Young - 2013
Hoping to rediscover and help a place that once boasted one of the world’s highest per capita income levels, but is now one of the country's most impoverished and dangerous cities, he returned to Flint with the intention of buying a house. What he found was a place of stark contrasts and dramatic stories, where an exotic dancer can afford a lavish mansion, speculators scoop up cheap houses by the dozen on eBay, and arson is often the quickest route to neighborhood beautification.Skillfully blending personal memoir, historical inquiry, and interviews with Flint residents, Young constructs a vibrant tale of a once-thriving city still fighting—despite overwhelming odds—to rise from the ashes. He befriends a rag-tag collection of urban homesteaders and die-hard locals who refuse to give up as they try to transform Flint into a smaller, greener town that offers lessons for cities all over the world. Hard-hitting, insightful, and often painfully funny, Teardown reminds us that cities are ultimately defined by people, not politics or economics. Read an excerpt here: Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City by Gorfon Young by University of California PressLearn more: http://www.teardownbook.com/
King
Tremayne Johnson - 2011
Subsequent to his father's troubles spilling over into their home-life, he and his mother migrated to the United States when Deon was only six years old. For the two immigrants, making a living in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn was not an easy task. Suhati, his mother, worked extremely hard trying to sustain a stable lifestyle and shield Deon from all the negativity that surrounded them. After an altercation Deon got into with a bully at school he befriended a neighborhood hustler by the name of Jayson "Jay-Roc" Washington. Jay-Roc familiarized Deon with the street-life and schooled him on the necessary skills needed to survive in the concrete jungle. He taught him that fear equals control and Deon soon adapted to his environment like a chameleon. It didn't take long before Deon became immersed in the exact same lifestyle his mother once tried to shelter him from. He was taking steps in the same shoes his father had previously walked in, down that similar extended road to danger and he was too blind to realize it. When he finally opens his eyes to what life is really about, is it too late? KING is a grimy, heart felt, street tale of lust, envy, and hate. When the pressure is applied, only the strong will subsist and everything done in the shadows will come to light. Love is blind, karma is real, and vengeance is the sweetest joy. How long will it take Deon to learn that jealousy destroys from within? Brace yourself for the ride of your life. He who embraces the crown is considered KING!
There’s Still Beauty in This Street Love: Her Fallen Angel
Elle Kayson - 2017
No Distractions. Ángel Cruz had been chanting those words to himself most of his life, struggling to stay disciplined and dedicated in the crazy, brutal world that surrounded him. His work as an exclusive assassin demanded all his attention. Ángel had no time for relationships… until the day he set eyes and his wandering hands on Tamar Kinsey. For the first time in his life, he was distracted as hell, focused on the Kinsey princess. Ángel was determined to have her laughter, her loyalty, and the one thing he never expected to want: her love. Despite her family’s insistence on sheltering her from everything, Tamar Kinsey had made up her mind to master the underworld as well as her older brothers. Ángel Cruz’s offer to teach her the game was too good to pass up. Tay found Ángel’s dark persona and overprotectiveness both frustrating and alluring. Even as she learns to love her fallen angel, the demons of his unresolved past threaten to destroy any chance they might have in the present. Their sexual chemistry was off the charts, but Briar Rose and Ty Kinsey were still figuring out this relationship business. An up-and-coming surgeon, Briar knew a stellar reputation is crucial to her goal of rising into hospital administration. The appeal of her young dope boy made her want to throw caution to the wind and, for once, just live. Ty vowed to renounce his player ways and rock with her solely. But, as Briar learns the profound importance of family to the Kinseys, she fears that her longest-held secret will keep her and Ty apart forever.
A Dope Boy Stole My Heart
Heiress - 2016
Drained from the drama, she lets go and embarks on a new job, new friends and maybe a new love interest. When old feelings come back and family secrets are revealed will this push Miaa further away from Cam or will it push her into his arms. Now that he is the Plug of Detroit, Killa Cam's life obstacles have only just begun. Balancing the streets, fatherhood and the love of his life is a challenge but he is prepared to overcome it by any means necessary. With this newfound maturity, will Cam be able to get what his heart desires or will the streets get in the way of his happiness. The story of Miaa and Killa Cam is back. Will they be able to move on from their love triangle drama and give love another try or will they decide that they are better off apart. When threats are made and truths are told, will they fight to be together or just become another unsuccessful love story. Find out in the finale of A Dope Boy Stole My Heart.
A Love That Belongs Together
Candi B. - 2018
She’s on her way to being great. Having the one person who has always supported her, was making it possible. She feels like there’s nothing that can stop her. What happens when she’s stopped, and lost? Regaining who she is unlocks secrets of epic proportions. What happens when the one who’s always been there for her, hurts her? Will who she once was crash and burn under all the scrutiny and drama surrounding her, or will she rise up and reign supreme? Jahquil Duvall is the one everyone wants. He’s the man who unlocks the realness of a song by placing it in motion. By being one of the biggest choreographers in the industry, his name holds weight. Dancing, and his woman, are his two greatest passions. Tragically, he loses one in the most unbelievable way. Restoring what he felt he’s lost, is the hardest thing, but at the same time, he feels it’s worth it. Fighting to get back what some deems as impossible, is a fight he doesn’t plan on losing. But when there’s an unknown force against him, will he prosper? Or will the damage done be too much to recover from? In this intriguing standalone, trials and tribulations push those to the point to prove whether ‘A Love That Belongs Together,’ is worth the fight.
A Hood Dilemma is Still Bittersweet: A Naptown Triangle (A Bittersweet Hood Dilemma Book 3)
Natavia - 2015
Tassana is on the right path for the sake of her son. The problems between Osari and Tassana might cause her to go back to her old ways. Osari is trying to make it right for the sake of his family until his secret comes out. When all has been revealed, will it drive Tassana away permanently? Shimmy and Dez are young and in love until Kiwanna comes back into the picture. Dez is forced into making a tough decision leaving Shimmy with a lot of questions. Armory is a guy with a motive, will Shimmy figure it out before its too late? Kyree is stuck between two men, Osari and Pernell. Pernell does everything he can to get Kyree back. Kyree is torn from her past with Pernell, which is causing her to fall in love with another man. The man Kyree falls in love with is in love with another woman. Every hood has its dilemma, even when one dilemma ends many more occurs. Everyone is in a love triangle, but there is only room for one, who will they choose? This is an urban tale of love, heart-breaks, secrets and lies.
I Wanna Love Somebody 3: The Finale
Nique Luarks - 2017
Secrets are revealed, breaking bonds and exposing hurt she’d buried a long time ago. The only sure thing in her chaotic life is her blossoming love for Kai. He's everything she needs, and she's everything he's never had. But will Kai's past hinder their growth? Things seem to be finally falling into place for Kenya and Cole. They are both learning to love and trust again. Their only issue is Cole's hot temper and Kenya's rebellious nature. In order for them to work, someone has to be willing to compromise, but who? In this last installment of the I Wanna Love Somebody series, we say goodbye to the characters we have all grown attached to. But before they go, they teach us that love really does conquer all. And even though it can feel like a losing battle most times, we all wanna love somebody.