How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood Hardcover – March 7, 2017

I read a lot of books on gentrification and found this added little to the body of knowledge. Part of the problem is that the author himself is unlikable and writes subjectively. He is a white male gentrifier who excuses his own choices because he was himself pushed out of a more expensive part of New York city, and anyway he is "so much cooler" than the neighboorhood he moved into, as currently constituted. (He writes that he understands its obnoxious to say so, but he feels he has to because it's true!) He also seemingly has no problem with gay gentrifiers, who are escaping surburban persecution. He is also totally silent about brown, Hispanic and immigrant gentrifiers (aka, the people who are the vast majority of gentrifiers in pretty much any American city that is not New York, San Fran, New Orleans or Detroit). He seems to think that all gentrifiers are rich white single people who come exclusively from the suburbs, which makes them undesirable people because in the suburbs they are extremely consumerist and have no culture or community. I'm not making this up - he says it time and again. It is the kind of subjective, unsubstantiated -- and totally snobby -- thinking that permeates his text, turns the subject black and white, and eliminates all complexity. The urban crime that emptied cities before they started to gentrify is never even mentioned. And if you are, for example, a suburban father forced to move to the city so you can avoid a 2-hour daily commute and spend more time with your kids, and you actually like your new neighbors and you do things like bbq in the park and you would totally clap for the uber-hip street ballets organized by Peter's cool friends who have a right to live in the city, this guy has never heard of you and he doesn't want you there. My advice to Moskowitz is this: instead of fighting to take "your" new neighborhood (that you moved to a year ago) "back," take your cool self to the suburbs. Maybe you'll find that the rest of America isn't the s#$@hole you think it is. I give it two stars only because there are parts of the book where the author's sermonizing gives way to some useful and illuminating anecdotes about people who are more interesting than he is.

There is little doubt that this book is well written and thoroughly researched, but your opinion of it will largely come down to your world view. Your answers to questions like "Is housing a right?" or "Should everyone be able to live in a city?" will determine whether you will get on board with the author's cause.I came to this book from the perspective of someone living in a blighted second tier city in the deep south, while hearing my friends living in New York and Portland decry the evils of gentrification. These are very different urban situations, with one struggling from a lack of capital, while the other is being forever changed by a "wave of capital". As someone who sees neo-liberal policies and urban development generally as a good thing, this book helped broaden my perspective.The book is written as a panacea for all urban areas, and the author seems to assume that everyone will share his view. It's important to remember that every housing market is different.I recommend this book, but I encourage readers to go deeper and read alternative views like Richard Florida.

Last year on a cable channel EPIX, they had a series called America Divided and a segment was done on the housing crisis in New York. I believe this book is a continuation of sorts on that series. Case in point: a woman lived in an apartment building that was being renovated all around her. The only thing between a young man operating a jack hammer and her wall was a sheet of plastic. I could not believe my eyes. She had to put up with the incredible noise and dust swirling all around her. The landlord wanted her out and in spite of her living there, he was determined to get rid of her and her grandson one way or another. Since then I have seen gentrification begin right In my own small city and luxury apartments are being built but no low income dwellings are even considered. Recently in my city in Central Florida someone posted a picture taken of a bald eagle family gazing at the destruction of their homestead. Their nest was probably among the trees that were being destroyed to make way for yet another business or growth proposal. A few years ago a protest was held in an area near downtown Orlando where the people chanted "where are we supposed to go". Gone are the neighborhoods that I remember where everything you needed was almost within walking distance If not, a short bus trip would take you there. I guess money is more important than community. But where will it end? The middle class is virtually being destroyed daily and a luxury apartment is just that - a luxury few will be able to afford. We will be left with quiet enclaves where there will be designer shops, quaint coffee houses and nothing else. No kids in the streets, no neighborhoods, just playgrounds for the rich. Meanwhile the poor are thrust further and further into the suburbs with limited services. I read in scripture that Jesus said the poor will always be among us, but He didn't mean that we are to abandon them and we all will be judged for it. I don't want to hear Him say I put the interest of the rich before those who need our help. I am sure He won't be pleased. The future looks grim.

The book does a good job of putting words around the complicated feelings and impact of gentrification. Though slightly repetitive at times, the case studies cited are good examples of the drivers of gentrification, as well as the impact on local residents. The five page scathing critique of suburbs is worth the price of the book. If you care about learning about the tangible effects of the US’s decades long history of racist housing policy and rising income inequality, then this book is a must read.