Just City
Growing Up on the Upper West Side When Housing Was a Human Right
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- £12.99
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- £12.99
Publisher Description
A captivating memoir of New York’s Historic Upper West Side at a time when community and unity defined the neighborhood
Step into the world of Just City and embark on a poignant journey to a time when ideals were woven into the very fabric of a neighborhood. Jennifer Baum’s evocative storytelling brings to life an era in New York City’s history where affordable housing wasn’t just a concept, but a reality that defined the essence of community.
Within the pages of this captivating memoir, you’ll find yourself transported to the historic Upper West Side—a place where diversity flourished and a shared belief in the importance of a home for all bound the residents together. Through personal anecdotes and heartfelt accounts, Baum illuminates her own upbringing alongside the stories of those who shared her neighborhood. She describes how as an adult, she came to appreciate that being raised in an integrated collective was a unique and exceptional experience. As she moves around the world for school, a husband, and work, she tells the story of her search for a home that would embody the values and community she grew up with.
Just City goes beyond the physicality of housing; it unveils the emotional tapestry of housing for an entire generation. As you immerse yourself in the stories of rallies, grassroots efforts, and the sense of kinship that defined this era, you’ll witness a generation that stood united for justice and fairness. The book captures not just moments, but the ethos of a time when the city was a testament to the power of community.
Celebrate the legacy of an era when a city was truly a home, when principles of social responsibility thrived. Just City isn’t just a memoir—it’s an invitation to revive the spirit of unity and create a city where everyone belongs. So open its pages and let its words rekindle the flame of a just and inclusive city once more.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this poignant debut, filmmaker Baum tracks 80 years of U.S. government subsidized housing policy and draws on memories of her own childhood, when her family benefited from a government-built affordable home. In 1967, Baum's parents purchased an apartment in a limited-equity, racially integrated, cooperative building on Manhattan's Upper West Side. They joined a diverse community of owners that together managed the building, where everyday experiences were defined by a sense of "collective action," and where daily existence was characterized by diverse friendships, political talk, and spontaneous encounters. After Baum moved away from the city in the late 1970s, New Yorkers' relationship to housing began to shift. As restrictions on the resale of coop apartments expired, many cooperatives allowed their buildings to become privately owned; meanwhile public housing for the poor was starved of funds and open-market rents soared. The result, according to Baum, was that regular people no longer were custodians of their own housing, and the ultra-rich took over the city, replacing local color and collective decision-making with "chain stores and banks." Baum excels at capturing the allure of interdependent, close-knit communities, and affectingly joins her lament over their decline in New York City with her grief over the deaths of her parents. Informative and nostalgic, this makes for a bittersweet look at a time when America's cities were affordable.