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‘Swimming Against the Tide’: Working-Class Discourse on Gentrification in North Brooklyn

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The Palgrave Handbook of Urban Ethnography

Abstract

DeSena’s chapter focuses on the once predominantly working-class neighbourhood of Greenpoint in northern Brooklyn to show how it is being destabilized by gentrification. Moreover, as gentrification is assisted by the large-scale development of luxury housing, upscale retail establishments and trendy entertainment venues, the cost of living continues to escalate, outpacing the economic resources of its working-class residents. Through the ‘stories’ of working-class residents, DeSena examines the perspective of working-class residents on gentrification, the effect that it has had on them and their strategies to maintain a place in their neighbourhood. The ethnography suggests that the working class exercises its activism through informal social networks and local traditional institutions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. John’s University, Jamaica, NY, USA

    Judith N. DeSena

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  1. Judith N. DeSena
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom

    Italo Pardo

  2. School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom

    Giuliana B. Prato

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DeSena, J.N. (2018). ‘Swimming Against the Tide’: Working-Class Discourse on Gentrification in North Brooklyn. In: Pardo, I., Prato, G. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Urban Ethnography. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64289-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64289-5_12

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64288-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64289-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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