Jeremy R. Levine
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780691193649
- eISBN:
- 9780691205885
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691193649.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
Who makes decisions that shape the housing, policies, and social programs in urban neighborhoods? Who, in other words, governs? This book offers a rich ethnographic portrait of the individuals who ...
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Who makes decisions that shape the housing, policies, and social programs in urban neighborhoods? Who, in other words, governs? This book offers a rich ethnographic portrait of the individuals who implement community development projects in the Fairmount Corridor, one of Boston's poorest areas. The book uncovers a network of nonprofits and philanthropic foundations making governance decisions alongside public officials—a public–private structure that has implications for democratic representation and neighborhood inequality. The book's author spent four years following key players in Boston's community development field. While state senators and city councilors are often the public face of new projects, and residents seem empowered through opportunities to participate in public meetings, the author found a shadow government of nonprofit leaders and philanthropic funders, nonelected neighborhood representatives with their own particular objectives, working behind the scenes. Tying this system together were political performances of “community”—government and nonprofit leaders, all claiming to value the community. The author argues that there is no such thing as a singular community voice, meaning any claim of community representation is, by definition, illusory. The author shows how community development is as much about constructing the idea of community as it is about the construction of physical buildings in poor neighborhoods. The book demonstrates how the nonprofit sector has become integral to urban policymaking, and the tensions and trade-offs that emerge when private nonprofits take on the work of public service provision.Less
Who makes decisions that shape the housing, policies, and social programs in urban neighborhoods? Who, in other words, governs? This book offers a rich ethnographic portrait of the individuals who implement community development projects in the Fairmount Corridor, one of Boston's poorest areas. The book uncovers a network of nonprofits and philanthropic foundations making governance decisions alongside public officials—a public–private structure that has implications for democratic representation and neighborhood inequality. The book's author spent four years following key players in Boston's community development field. While state senators and city councilors are often the public face of new projects, and residents seem empowered through opportunities to participate in public meetings, the author found a shadow government of nonprofit leaders and philanthropic funders, nonelected neighborhood representatives with their own particular objectives, working behind the scenes. Tying this system together were political performances of “community”—government and nonprofit leaders, all claiming to value the community. The author argues that there is no such thing as a singular community voice, meaning any claim of community representation is, by definition, illusory. The author shows how community development is as much about constructing the idea of community as it is about the construction of physical buildings in poor neighborhoods. The book demonstrates how the nonprofit sector has become integral to urban policymaking, and the tensions and trade-offs that emerge when private nonprofits take on the work of public service provision.
Jeremy R. Levine
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780691193649
- eISBN:
- 9780691205885
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691193649.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This chapter examines how individuals and organizations defined “the Fairmount Corridor.” It highlights three themes. First, private nonprofit leaders played important roles in urban governance by ...
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This chapter examines how individuals and organizations defined “the Fairmount Corridor.” It highlights three themes. First, private nonprofit leaders played important roles in urban governance by determining how geographical boundaries were drawn. Second, transit policy—and transit-oriented development (TOD), in particular—carried unintended consequences. While TOD has many benefits for poor neighborhoods, it skews decision-making in other policy areas, anchoring neighborhood planning to transit rather than the neighborhood at large. Finally, community development was as much about the construction of communities as the construction of “community” as an idea. The Fairmount Corridor and its neighborhoods were treated as malleable communities, subject to shifting boundaries. Shifting boundaries empowered certain organizations and benefited certain neighborhoods but could ignore other people and places in the process.Less
This chapter examines how individuals and organizations defined “the Fairmount Corridor.” It highlights three themes. First, private nonprofit leaders played important roles in urban governance by determining how geographical boundaries were drawn. Second, transit policy—and transit-oriented development (TOD), in particular—carried unintended consequences. While TOD has many benefits for poor neighborhoods, it skews decision-making in other policy areas, anchoring neighborhood planning to transit rather than the neighborhood at large. Finally, community development was as much about the construction of communities as the construction of “community” as an idea. The Fairmount Corridor and its neighborhoods were treated as malleable communities, subject to shifting boundaries. Shifting boundaries empowered certain organizations and benefited certain neighborhoods but could ignore other people and places in the process.
