Community Builders

In the 1980s, the failure of corporate strategies and trickle-down economics led to gross inequalities among many U.S. neighbourhoods and cities. By examining and comparing a gentrifying and a low-income neighbourhood in two medium-sized cities, Gordana Rabrenovic shows how the problems they faced are typical of a number of neighbourhoods nationwide. In particular, Rabrenovic focuses on the relationship between neighbourhood associations and urban restructuring, arguing persuasively that the success of neighbourhood associations depends more on the city in which the neighbourhood is located than on the neighbourhood itself. Her tale discusses two very different cities with distinct political economies: Albany, a healthy service sector city, and Schenectady, a declining manufacturing city. Acknowledging both the value and limits of collective action, Rabrenovic addresses issues of particular relevance in urban areas, such as land use and crime, as well as the need for neighbourhood organizations to forge links with local elites and other neighbourhoods, and to engage and bring together poor and minority residents. Her analysis of neighbourhood-based mobilization, preservation, and revitalization illuminates the ways in which grassroots issues intersect with prevailing political agendas and the national economy, as well as how issues, such as race and class affect daily community politics. Gordana Rabrenovic is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University.