World in Brooklyn

Judith N. DeSena is professor of sociology at St. John's University.Timothy Shortell is director of the MA program in sociology at Brooklyn College.

• Chapter 1: Introduction: The World in BrooklynJudith N. DeSena and Timothy ShortellChapter 2: Mapping a Changing Brooklyn, Mapping a Changing World: Gentrification and Immigration, 2000-2008Lorna Mason, Ed Morlock and Christina PisanoChapter 3: Forgetting Poverty in Brooklyn and the U.S.William DiFazioChapter 4: Gentrification in Everyday Life in BrooklynJudith N. DeSenaChapter 5: “Williamsburg Walks”: Public Space and Community Events in a Gentrified NeighborhoodSara MartucciChapter 6: The Environmental Injustice of Green Gentrification: The Case of Brooklyn’s Prospect ParkKenneth A. Gould and Tammy L. LewisChapter 7: Rezoning Coney Island: A History of Decline and Revival, of Heroes and Villains at the “People’s PlaygroundAlessandro BusàChapter 8: The Gowanus Canal: Local Politics of “Superfunding” StatusShanna FarrellChapter 9: Striving for Sustainability on the Urban Waterfront: The Case of Newtown CreekSteve LangChapter 10: Riding the Bus in Brooklyn: Seeing the Spectacle of Everyday Multicultural LifeJerome KraseChapter 11: Brooklyn and Belleville: On the Visual Semiotics of Ethnic Identity in Two Immigrant NeighborhoodsTimothy ShortellChapter 12: Constructing an Oppositional Community: Sunset Park and the Politics of Organizing Across DifferenceMark TreskonChapter 13: An Ethnography of Local Politics in a Brooklyn Caribbean CommunityEvrick BrownChapter 14: The Dual Roles of Brighton Beach: A Local and Global CommunityPhyllis ConnChapter 15: Hood Politics: Charter Schools, Race and Gentrification in Fort GreeneNoel S. AndersonChapter 16: Revising Canarsie: Racial Transition and Neighborhood Stability in BrooklynJennifer Candipan, Roberta Cordeau, Mark Peterson, Nicole Riordan, Bengisu Peker, Danielle Shallow and Gregory Smithsimon

Mobility defines Brooklyn, a place of arrival and aspiration. Waves of immigrants have shaped and reshaped the borough's neighborhoods; gentrifiers have discovered and revived its brownstone-lined streets, recreating value destroyed by periods of municipal divestment. In this sense, Brooklyn is more like other cities than not. This edited volume balances these universal, generalizable aspects with particular historical-geographical perspectives on Brooklyn's diversities. The second chapter analyzes demographic trends, using maps to show where various ethnic groups have settled over the past decade. The following chapters effectively use case studies to examine gentrification, productions of space, and politics. Oft-examined neighborhoods such as Coney Island and Williamsburg are included, as well as less familiar places such as Canarsie and Sunset Park. Unique perspectives on places, such as education politics in Fort Greene and the visual semiotics of immigrant retail landscapes, add interest. Chapters are uniformly well written, with clear literature reviews that establish theoretical frameworks supported by ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, statistics, and other forms of qualitative and quantitative data. This attention to method makes this collection particularly well suited for use in a variety of courses. Many illustrations, graphs, and tables enhance an already lively text. Summing Up: Highly recommended.