Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Kimberley Kinder’s DIY Detroit is a clever, beautifully written account of everyday life in the wake of conventional market collapse and decades of austerity. It describes the ways that Detroiters have adapted, often defensively, always informally, sometimes illegally, to life without conventional markets and routine municipal services."—Jason Hackworth, author of Neoliberal City
"The book moves easily between personal and neighborhood stories, and big-picture reflections. The thinking is of high quality and the prose is readable rather than academic."—Planning Magazine
"Geographic, ethnographic, and often narratively compelling."—Consumption Markets & Culture
"HIghly readable."—CHOICE
"DIY Detroit is filled with these simultaneously inspiring and heartbreaking tales of perseverance and innovation. Worthwhile."—Reason.com
"DIY Detroit is frankly the Detroit book I have been waiting for. It adds a much-needed perspective to the literatures on urban decay and collective self-provisioning activities."—H-Net Reviews
"Ultimately, Kinder has produced a timely and detailed account of how residents are getting by amidst disinvestment. Her ability to bring her characters and neighborhoods alive by elucidating otherwise unremarkable moments and encounters is impressive. DIY Detroit is an eminently accessible text, stemming, in part, from Kinder’s skill at crafting crisp sentences and her choice to leave citations to the endnotes."—Antipode
"An engaging and informative read, which also makes a compelling argument for the value of qualitative urban research."—Housing Studies
"DIY Detroit is a beautifully written book. Kinder’s account provides important insights into ongoing debates over the future of the so-called comparative gesture in a more geographically pluralistic urban geography." —AAG Review of Books
Table of ContentsContents
Introduction: Self-Provisioning in Detroit
1. Do-It-Yourself Cities
2. Seeking New Neighbors
3. Protecting Vacant Homes
4. Repurposing Abandonment
5. Domesticating Public Works
6. Policing Home Spaces
7. Producing Local Knowledge
Conclusion: Triumphs of Hope over Reason
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
