The New Urban Question

Andy Merrifield uses Paris as an example of early gentrification, particularly the way Bruno Haussmann bulldozed a lot of poor areas to rebuild the city. He quotes Eric Hazan’s book about Paris, with his lamentations over the changes, and championing of the banlieus as the next great thing in the city. If only Hazan had 30 year foresight and seen what the banlieus would become in this decade, I wonder if he would’ve moved to the USA?

The New Urban Question raises the rich versus poor argument frequently. If a city wants to expand, it has an easier time annexing poor towns. If the mayor wants to build a new stadium, he’ll probably demolish a slum. But this is where the author gets it all wrong (or simply ignores) in his argument; the “poor” areas are usually full of derelict fire-hazard buildings that the landlords want to get rid of anyway. If only somebody wanted the old row houses in Camden and Philadelphia, because those houses have been empty for years. The banlieus, which he lovingly discusses in tribute to Hazan, are a mess that nobody wants. The original inhabitants abandoned them as quickly as they could, and those that remain have nowhere to go, or simply lack the initiative.

The next book that the author discusses is Steven Graham’s City Under Siege, and its views on the militarization of police. Never mind what we saw recently in Ferguson, Missouri; that was just cops in military gear. Graham shows how London, Toronto, and other cities go crazy when they host the G7, G8, and G20 conferences, with barricades, cops in riot gear, security cameras everywhere, and general paranoia. But is it fair to call that an “urban” issue? Why not leave the city out of this and blame the G20? Do they have to hold their conference in a great city like New York, Paris, Milan, Seattle, or London? Why not hold the conference somewhere in Alabama? There’s plenty of room down there, and if they select the right town, no left-wing people to complain! Then there’s the Olympics, which spread demolition everywhere they go. Instead of Paris, London, or Athens, why not Philadelphia? There’s no shortage of derelict buildings to tear down to build a stadium, and you can build the Olympic Village to house them in neighboring Camden.

Just kidding folks, we know that’ll never happen. Philly, Camden, St. Louis, Mississippi, and Alabama aren’t chic, glitzy, or stylish, so they’ll never be an issue in a book like this. The only cities that will be part of the “urban question” are the stylish ones, where there’s a demand for housing and greater competition for space.