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A review by thatsoneforthebooks
Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies by Leslie Kern
5.0
✨ Review ✨ Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies by Leslie Kern
I was so excited to see this book come out while I was teaching a class on gentrification to first year college students last year. While it came out too late to assign it then, I very much would in the future. What I loved most about this book is that it's short and accessible and tackles concepts of gentrification by debunking myths that surround it. Scholarship on gentrification diverged greatly for decades in how we should understand this process -- is it based on individual choices or systemic forces? is it economic or is it cultural? And Kern provides a model that lets us embrace all of these possibilities together.
I especially appreciated how she provided an intersectional view of gentrification that went beyond issues of class to discuss gender, race, age, disability, colonialism, and more. Her discussions of displacement were also fantastic in how she humanized displacement in a holistic way to show it as a disruption of a sense of place.
While mostly this book is a work of synthesis, bringing together studies on gentrification as well as more recent activist/advocacy writing arguing against gentrification, she does integrate vignettes from her own life and experiences, as well as her contributions to the field. Because of this blend, it feels like a great introductory read on gentrification, and I can't wait to assign it to my students.
With all of that said, I think there are chapters that felt a little thinner than others and better fleshed out, but in the end, that didn't bother me. I'm so glad I finally made time to pick this one up!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read this if you like:
⭕️ gentrification & urban issues
⭕️ non-fiction that debunks myths
⭕️ short & sweet non-fiction
Thanks to Verso for an advanced copy of this book!
I was so excited to see this book come out while I was teaching a class on gentrification to first year college students last year. While it came out too late to assign it then, I very much would in the future. What I loved most about this book is that it's short and accessible and tackles concepts of gentrification by debunking myths that surround it. Scholarship on gentrification diverged greatly for decades in how we should understand this process -- is it based on individual choices or systemic forces? is it economic or is it cultural? And Kern provides a model that lets us embrace all of these possibilities together.
I especially appreciated how she provided an intersectional view of gentrification that went beyond issues of class to discuss gender, race, age, disability, colonialism, and more. Her discussions of displacement were also fantastic in how she humanized displacement in a holistic way to show it as a disruption of a sense of place.
While mostly this book is a work of synthesis, bringing together studies on gentrification as well as more recent activist/advocacy writing arguing against gentrification, she does integrate vignettes from her own life and experiences, as well as her contributions to the field. Because of this blend, it feels like a great introductory read on gentrification, and I can't wait to assign it to my students.
With all of that said, I think there are chapters that felt a little thinner than others and better fleshed out, but in the end, that didn't bother me. I'm so glad I finally made time to pick this one up!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read this if you like:
⭕️ gentrification & urban issues
⭕️ non-fiction that debunks myths
⭕️ short & sweet non-fiction
Thanks to Verso for an advanced copy of this book!