September 12
Subtitle: community and neighborhood recovery at ground zero
By: Gregory Smithsimon
Publisher: NYU Press; New York University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 285
ISBN-13: 9780814740842; 9780814740859; 9780814786710
Subjects: Buildings; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; SOCIAL SCIENCE / General; Economic conditions; Repair and reconstruction; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural
Description: "The collapse of the World Trade Center shattered windows across the street in Battery Park City, throwing the neighborhood into darkness and smothering homes in debris. Residents fled. In the months and years after they returned, they worked to restore their community. Until September 11, Battery Park City had been a secluded, wealthy enclave just west Wall Street, one with all the opulence of the surrounding corporate headquarters yet with a gated, suburban feel. After the towers fell it became the most visible neighborhood in New York. This ethnography of an elite planned community near the heart of New York City's financial district examines both the struggles and shortcomings of one of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods. In doing so, September 12 discovers the vibrant exclusivity that makes Battery Park City an unmatched place to live for the few who can gain entry. Focusing on both the global forces that shape local landscapes and the exclusion that segregates American urban development, Smithsimon shows the tensions at work as the neighborhood's residents mobilized to influence reconstruction plans. September 12 reveals previously unseen conflicts over the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, providing a new understanding of the ongoing, reciprocal relationship between social conflicts and the spaces they both inhabit and create"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Creating Battery Park City: building a landmark on landfill; title: Real privilege and false charity; title: Residents, space, and exclusivity; title: Oasis to epicenter: Battery Park City in the year after September 11; title: Every day is September 11: memorial plans for community spaces; title: Class and community organizations; title: Definitely in my backyard: welcome nuisances; title: Conclusion: The suburban strategy