A cogent analysis of an urban-growth phenomenon that is rarely done well or equitably.
Universities have become powerful forces in shaping modern cities, writes urbanist Baldwin, and rarely for the better.
The author, founding director of the Smart Cities Lab at Trinity College, begins in a largely Black neighborhood bordering the University of Chicago, an area being steadily swallowed by the growing campus, a process symbolized by the quiet expropriation of a Bronzeville historical site, a “blues shrine” called the Checkerboard Lounge. “UChicago’s backdoor deal,” writes Baldwin, “resuscitated almost a century of local stories in which the school had either demolished Black neighborhoods or built institutional walls to keep Black residents away from campus.” The temptation to become large-scale property holders is great. As Baldwin notes, given declining student revenues and decreased state funding, colleges and universities are finding that “urban development is higher education’s latest economic growth strategy.” The results are usually harmful to the people, almost always economically disadvantaged minorities and small business owners, who actually live in the downtown areas that universities are turning into “UniverCities.” In the case of Phoenix, the state university built downtown residence high-rises for students, then promulgated the notion that downtown was dangerous, a prejudice that already existed: “students had largely grown up in the suburbs, so they equated the city with danger, even though the [suburban] Tempe campus had higher crime rates.” The same is true in other cities: Chicago, New York, New Haven, the list goes on. Only when campuses venture into privileged areas does their growth sometimes falter: Baldwin cites the expansion of NYU into Greenwich Village that came under scrutiny only when local resident Matthew Broderick opposed it—even though an 8-year-old girl made the better case when she “wondered aloud why college students were incapable of taking a subway for a class or two when she took the train to school every day.” No matter what the opposition, though, the author identifies and critiques a trend that seems unlikely to stop.
A cogent analysis of an urban-growth phenomenon that is rarely done well or equitably.Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-56858-892-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Bold Type Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.
The comedian argues that the arts of moderation and common sense must be reinvigorated.
Some people are born snarky, some become snarky, and some have snarkiness thrust upon them. Judging from this book, Maher—host of HBO’s Real Time program and author of The New New Rules and When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden—is all three. As a comedian, he has a great deal of leeway to make fun of people in politics, and he often delivers hilarious swipes with a deadpan face. The author describes himself as a traditional liberal, with a disdain for Republicans (especially the MAGA variety) and a belief in free speech and personal freedom. He claims that he has stayed much the same for more than 20 years, while the left, he argues, has marched toward intolerance. He sees an addiction to extremism on both sides of the aisle, which fosters the belief that anyone who disagrees with you must be an enemy to be destroyed. However, Maher has always displayed his own streaks of extremism, and his scorched-earth takedowns eventually become problematic. The author has something nasty to say about everyone, it seems, and the sarcastic tone starts after more than 300 pages. As has been the case throughout his career, Maher is best taken in small doses. The book is worth reading for the author’s often spot-on skewering of inept politicians and celebrities, but it might be advisable to occasionally dip into it rather than read the whole thing in one sitting. Some parts of the text are hilarious, but others are merely insulting. Maher is undeniably talented, but some restraint would have produced a better book.
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781668051351
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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