Homesteading in New York City, 1978-1993 - The Divided Heart of Loisaida

This is an ethnographic study of predominantly Puerto Rican low-income people on the Lower East Side of Manhattan who have been involved in the rehabilitation of abandoned buildings through sweat-equity urban homesteading from 1978 to 1993. The study combines a portrait of homesteading in a contemporary urban environment with an analysis of homesteading in the context of economic and political developments at the local, state, and national levels. As participant-observer of the rehabilitation efforts, von Hassell was impressed with the ingenuity and initiative of poor and working-class people. She came to the conclusion that housing as a central factor in poverty amelioration must be interpreted with other factors such as labor, education, and health care, and that despite internal conflicts the project could have been more successful if it had received local political, governmental, and social services support.

List of contents

List of Plates and Figures
Introduction
Housing, Urban Homesteading, and Community Land Trusts in Historical and Theoretical Context
Past and Present of the Lower East Side
Sweat and Debris
The Day the Wall Fell Down
Conflicting Constructions of Work, Gender Roles, Ownership, and Community
Social Movements, Community Organizations, and Private Lives
Conclusion
Sources
Index

About the author

Malve von Hassell holds a PhD in anthropology from the New School for Social Research. Currently working as an independent scholar, she has taught at Queens College, Baruch College, and Pace University. Her interests are in the urban anthropology of race, class, and gender.

Product details

• Authors: Malve Von Hassell
• Assisted by: Malve Von Hassell (Editor)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 7 to 17
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.03.1999
• EAN: 9780897896511
• ISBN: 978-0-89789-651-1
• No. of pages: 232
• Weight: 340 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; USA, American History, Anthropology, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Urban, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Services, Social and cultural history, United States of America, USA, c 1970 to c 1979, Urban communities, c 1970 to c 1980, c 1990 to c 2000, c 1990 to c 1999, C 1980 To C 1990, c 1980 to c 1989, Welfare & benefit systems, Welfare and benefit systems