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A review by radioactve_piano
The Battle of Lincoln Park: Urban Renewal and Gentrification in Chicago by Daniel Kay Hertz
5.0
As a non-native Chicagoan, I have been divided between to schools of guilt:
1) being "part of the problem" (I lived in Edgewater for 12 full years, plus portions of the preceding 3; now I live in Bridgeport. I am white.)
2) not being "native" enough for the longer-term people to see me as a Chicagoan vs an interloper.
Reading this book basically justified both feelings I've had, so great!
A lot of history crammed into a short bit of page real estate, but he did a fantastic job of laying out the time periods he looked at. Gentrification repeats itself, and what this book does especially well is showing that it's not black and white, or even black, white, and grey. It varies, and it's complex, and it can't be easily controlled. Lincoln Park's story itself is certainly unique (historical landmark status, being on the forefront of organizing for housing funding), and that made for an interesting read in and of itself. But even if you aren't familiar with Lincoln Park, the story of the neighborhood's evolution over the last decade shares the same bones as so many other areas, all over the world.
1) being "part of the problem" (I lived in Edgewater for 12 full years, plus portions of the preceding 3; now I live in Bridgeport. I am white.)
2) not being "native" enough for the longer-term people to see me as a Chicagoan vs an interloper.
Reading this book basically justified both feelings I've had, so great!
A lot of history crammed into a short bit of page real estate, but he did a fantastic job of laying out the time periods he looked at. Gentrification repeats itself, and what this book does especially well is showing that it's not black and white, or even black, white, and grey. It varies, and it's complex, and it can't be easily controlled. Lincoln Park's story itself is certainly unique (historical landmark status, being on the forefront of organizing for housing funding), and that made for an interesting read in and of itself. But even if you aren't familiar with Lincoln Park, the story of the neighborhood's evolution over the last decade shares the same bones as so many other areas, all over the world.