LIQUIDO LIBRE EN ESPACIO DE MORRISON
10. CANALIZACIÓN VENOSA GUIADA POR ECOGRAFIA:
context of twenty-first century New York City before delving into the first of twenty-nine oral histories. These first-hand stories by an eclectic cast of Manhattanites, Brooklynites, and Bronxites take center stage, only briefly interrupted by italicized narrations, information, and morsels of reflection. No table of contents is provided to guide the reader through what, at first glance, seems to be a haphazardly- organized stack of interviews. Yet a consistent pattern of juxtaposition is revealed: from a small Brooklyn developer to a Brooklyn neighborhood activist; from a stupendously- wealthy former CEO to the unassuming president of a Harlem residents’ association; and from a struggling Crown Heights tenant to a tactless, and frankly racist property investor, among many others. And just when this reviewer thought this story of gentrification covered every possible perspective, Gibson continues with intimate interviews of a street artist turned upper-class drug dealer and with a lifestyle squatter. With such a diverse cast of characters, Gibson challenges readers to understand that gentrification is more than just a struggle between rich and poor; it is a process that affects every New Yorker in a distinct and unique way. For some it hurts, for some it helps, and for others it is a natural extension of urban life.
“Neighborhoods evolve and I think if you’re willing to be part of that process you’re really able to enjoy that process and enjoy your city.” - matt, p. 195
It is the organizational structure of Gibson’s interviews, along with a masterful craft for storytelling, that makes this work great. The author has seemingly eschewed any personal pretenses or prescriptions, allowing the powerfully raw stories of twenty-eight New Yorkers to speak for the complexities of the city’s increasing waves
of gentrification. Readers are left to form their own conclusions.
It is quite incongruous when this collection concludes, in its final chapter, with a heavy-handed stance by the author decrying the “invasion” of gentrification that, he states, threatens to dismantle the city’s future. The author’s own methodological structure and reverence for his subjects’ voices throughout already leads readers to this conclusion, if not a more impactful one, so the author’s final chapter diminishes more than it enhances. Therefore, it is with a similarly heavy hand that this reviewer encourages readers to rip out chapter 29 immediately upon purchase.
“But I didn’t know it was at the expense of the people who were already here. Before it was a lot of Hispanics and a lot of blacks. Now you don’t see a lot of them. It’s not for us to live in. It’s for other people. But I’m like, ‘ooh, I want to try that restaurant. It looks nice.’ I like organic stuff, too!” - Noelia Calero, p. 236
The Edge Becomes the Center by D.W. Gibson offers readers first-hand insight into how gentrification affects urbanites from every walk of life in New York and, by extension, around the world. This book is recommended for those who seek a deeper, qualitative understanding of this complex social issue. A careful examination of every story in this collection ingrained in this reviewer an unshakable understanding of gentrification and a commitment to addressing its negative ramifications.
The overlook Press, 2015.
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n 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New York City and nearby urban areas in New Jersey. In response to the second costliest natural disaster in the US since 1900, President Barack Obama unveiled the Rebuild by Design Competition, likely the largest federal investment in resiliency. Six international transdisciplinary teams will share $920 million to design and implement infrastructural improvements throughout coastal New York and New Jersey that are massive in physical scale, temporal scope, and international renown.Just as the mainstream public is likely familiar with the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on metropolitan New York, planners and designers from various disciplines are likely aware of the responses to the disaster that have been mobilized from these fields. However, neither group is likely aware that Hurricane Sandy left the same percentage of customers without power in hyper-urban New York as it did in largely rural West Virginia and New Hampshire. Voters and designers are also likely unfamiliar with rural Vermont’s ongoing struggle to recover from Tropical Storm Irene, where four to eight inches of rainfall caused nearly every river and stream in the state to flood, isolating much of Vermont’s non-
mikey goraLnik
Mikey is a planner and landscape designer at Design Workshop in Austin, Texas. He has worked at the UNC Institute for the Environment, the UNC Coastal Hazards Center, and the LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio to explore the linkages between hazard mitigation, climate change adaptation, and social justice. He is a former policy fellow at North Carolina Sea Grant and the 2014 recipient of the Wendy L. Olson Award for Public Service in Landscape Architecture. Mikey holds Masters degrees in City and Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill and in Landscape Architecture from the North Carolina State University.