A lively slice of sociology from Anderson (Sociology/Univ. of
Penn), who here explores two pseudonymous communities - the
"Village" and "Northton," of pseudonymous "Eastern City" - in order
to get at some of the root causes of urban America's epidemic of
drags, crime, and decay. Begun in 1975, based on firsthand
observation of a big-city neighborhood, and incorporating much
commentary by that neighborhood's citizens, Anderson's study looks
at the shifting relationship between the predominately white,
upscale Village and the contiguous community of Northton, primarily
black and low-income. Geographically juxtaposed, the two
communities, Anderson finds, impact constantly on each other, while
the history of the general area "is interwoven with the growth and
expansion" of the city itself. Anderson focuses mostly on Northton
and the negative aspects of drugs, violence, sexual codes, poverty,
and "street wisdom" - that state of mind that enables residents to
"know 'how to behave' in uncertain public places." While the
Village remodels and real, state values increase, Northton
continues to slide into deterioration and despair. And like so many
other American communities, says Anderson, the Village then
attempts to seal itself off from Northton, and to legislate against
"spillover crime" originating in the rundown section of the city.
Moreover, to further complicate and intensify the problems of the
ghetto community, as family, social mores, and traditional
institutions break down, those who can, flee. There are then no
"older heads" around to show the younger generations a better way.
Perceptive and street-authentic, but all-too-familiar, and
Anderson's failure to identify his communities renders his data
troublingly unverifiable and mutes its sting. (Kirkus Reviews)
In a powerful, revealing portrait of city life, Anderson explores
the dilemma of both blacks and whites, the ghetto poor and middle
class, caught up in the new struggle not only for common
ground--prime real estate in a racially changing neighborhood--but
for shared moral community.
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