Hell's Kitchen and the Battle for Urban Space (Paperback)

Joseph J. Varga

ISBN 10: 1583673482 / ISBN 13: 9781583673485

Published by Monthly Review Press,U.S., New York, 2013

About this Item

Paperback. Hell's Kitchen is among Manhattan's most storied and studiedneighborhoods. A working-class district situated next to the WestSide's middle- and upper-class residential districts, it has long attractedthe focus of artists and urban planners, writers and reformers.Now, Joseph Varga takes us on a tour of Hell's Kitchenwith an eye toward what we usually take for granted: space, and, particularly, how urban spaces are produced, controlled, and contestedby different class and political forces.Varga examines events and locations in a crucial period in theformation of the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, the Progressive Era, and describes how reformers sought to shape the behavior and experiencesof its inhabitants by manipulating the built environment.But those inhabitants had plans of their own, and thus ensueda struggle over the very spaces--public and private, commercialand personal--in which they lived. Varga insightfully considers theinteractions between human actors, the built environment, andthe natural landscape, and suggests how the production of andstruggle over space influence what we think and how we live. Inthe process, he raises incisive questions about the meaning ofcommunity, citizenship, and democracy itself. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781583673485

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Hell's Kitchen and the Battle for Urban Space (Paperback)
• Publisher: Monthly Review Press,U.S., New York
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1583673482
• ISBN 13: 9781583673485
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Hell’s Kitchen is among Manhattan’s most storied and studied
neighborhoods. A working-class district situated next to the West
Side’s middle- and upper-class residential districts, it has long attracted
the focus of artists and urban planners, writers and reformers.
Now, Joseph Varga takes us on a tour of Hell’s Kitchen
with an eye toward what we usually take for granted: space, and,
particularly, how urban spaces are produced, controlled, and contested
by different class and political forces.
Varga examines events and locations in a crucial period in the
formation of the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, the Progressive Era,
and describes how reformers sought to shape the behavior and experiences
of its inhabitants by manipulating the built environment.
But those inhabitants had plans of their own, and thus ensued
a struggle over the very spaces—public and private, commercial
and personal—in which they lived. Varga insightfully considers the
interactions between human actors, the built environment, and
the natural landscape, and suggests how the production of and
struggle over space influence what we think and how we live. In
the process, he raises incisive questions about the meaning of
community, citizenship, and democracy itself.

About the Author

Joseph Varga is Assistant Professor of Labor Studies at Indiana University. Before receiving his doctorate from the New School for Social Research, Varga was a truck driver, forklift operator, and service worker, among other things. He is a long-time labor activist and former Teamster shop steward, and has worked for the IBEW and New York State Working Families Party.