The Transformation of One of New York City’s Most Famous Squats
When the Lower East Side’s 155 Avenue C—known as C-Squat—was legalized, many of its squatters became homeowners of sorts. Konstantin Sergeyev I was surprised when I first met…
Tag: urban
Take a deep breath – here’s what 2016 revealed about the deadly dangers of air pollution
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that 92% of the world’s urban population now live in cities where the air is toxic.
The Anthropoliteia #BlackLivesMatter Syllabus Project, Week 14: Graham Denyer Willis on Taylor’s #BlackLivesMatter to “Black Liberation”
The editors of Anthropoliteia are happy to present the latest entry in on ongoing series The Anthropoliteia #BlackLivesMatterSyllabus Project, which will mobilize anthropological work as a pedagogical…
#Podcast Interview Round Up May-August: New Books in Anthropology – REDUX
It’s once again time for us to help your eardrums get some anthropological loving in collaboration with our dear friends, New Books in Anthropology. Below you’ll find a…
Rio’s Olympic Festival in the Streets
In the 1980s, anthropologist John J. MacAloon argued that the real power of the Olympic Games lies in the unscripted, celebratory street festivals that erupt in public spaces.…
For Rio’s Poorest Citizens, Police and Gang Violence Reigns
Protestors in Brazilian favelas—poor neighborhoods in urban areas—have been caught between the police and gangs. Marcos De Paula/Associated Press On the night of June 24, 2013, the street…
Island Story: Journeys Through Unfamiliar Britain, JD Taylor
Just started JD Taylor’s book, bought in Waterstones sociology section yesterday. Brilliant. I mean, the placing of this book in that shelving – shame its four floors up…
India’s Uber Dilemma: Entrepreneurship or Exploitation?
Uber is part of a “gig economy” trend in India and elsewhere—an economy partially powered by self-employed workers on short-term jobs. While it offers flexible schedules for its…
A Bibliography for Teaching Flint
This bibliography is designed for professors who want to “teach Flint” in their classrooms. The Flint, Michigan water crisis is an extreme but quintessential case study that shows…
Hurricane Katrina’s Forgotten Survivors
Following Katrina, progress rebuilding New Orleans has been uneven. In the Lower 9th Ward, house foundations are still a common sight. Max Becherer/Associated Press When Hurricane Katrina…
The Nachtwinkels of Antwerp
Cities have always been places where different customs, cultures, and individuals come in contact. In Antwerp, Belgium, a large network of nachtwinkels, or “night shops,” sells a basic…
Out! “Curb” or “Truck”?
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. Crown Publishers, March 2016. On the cool September day that Arleen Beale and her two boys moved…
Piping as poison: the Flint water crisis and America’s toxic infrastructure
Over the past few decades, we have met with much success in curbing some of Americans’ exposure to lead. Yet they have struggled to contain this continuing danger…
The mediated modernities of Tuareg smith women
Occasionally I will be posting on this blog some notes under the broad theme of media and change in preparation for the volume Postill, J., E. Ardevol and…
Teenage views on Culture (Nordplus closing interviews, 2013)
“Learning Skills for Sustainable Development” Date: 26th – 29th November, 2013 Venue: Riga State Gymnasium Nr. 2 Time for opening: on 26th November at 16.00 Closing: on 29th…
After knocking: Picturing youth itineraries
Look at me and explain „who do you want to be in ten years?”. „I want to be a famous professor, living abroad. I want to publish a…
“There is no world.” The troubled imagination of a hipster band
In 2013 I moved to Riga, Latvia for an entire year to teach and proceed in a self-constructed ethnographic project. At times dreams came true, yes, they did,…
‘Mellencamp’s classroom tape’
John Mellencamp is one of my favorite rock singers. I find it fascinating how he depicts urban life. It is well-known that in his songs he delivers sharp…
Jilted…
In Zasulauks neighborhood In Lady Baiba’s living room a flimsy photo hangs on the wall of a large companion on Candera street. She never misses the chance to…
From a. to A.
Introduction I would love telling tales from the city where the city served as a powerful stage for the different characters like in James Joyce’s ”Dubliners”. The city…
“The teacher next door”
I was giving history lessons to 10th graders, and once I had managed having a Socratic circle about the qualifications of a good leader. Our key example was…