Routledge The Power of Urban Ethnic Places: Cultural Heritage and Community Life (The Metropolis and Modern Life)

The Power of Ethnic Places discusses the growing visibility of ethnic heritage places in U.S. society. The book examines a spectrum of case studies of Chinese, Latino and African American communities in the U.S., disagreeing with any perceptions that the rise of ethnic enclaves and heritage places are harbingers of separatism or balkanization. Instead, the text argues that by better understanding the power and dynamics of ethnic enclaves and heritage places in our society, we as a society will be better prepared to harness the economic and cultural changes related to globalization rather than be hurt or divided by these same forces of economic and cultural restructuring. Review "Lin’s timely and innovative book on the politics of urban ethnic places in contemporary America provides a much needed comparative examination into the intersection of race, political economy, and activism in contemporary cities. This is a must-read and novel resource for anyone interested in critical urban studies and comparative ethnic studies."―Arlene Davila, Anthropology, New York University "Drawing on rich fieldwork data and rigorous analysis, as well as insight from his own involvements in community work and teaching in world cities from coast to coast, Jan Lin convincingly argues that ethnic heritage sites offer a tool in counterbalancing urban decay and promoting neighborhood stability and sustainability. It makes an important contribution to contemporary urban sociology. "―Min Zhou, Sociology and Asian American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles About the Author Jan Lin is emigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. in 1966. He has been teaching sociology at Occidental College since 1998. He is the author of Reconstructing Chinatown: Ethnic Enclave, Global Change (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998), and The Urban Sociology Reader (London: Routledge, 2005).