Routledge Listening to Harlem: Gentrification, Community, and Business

Harlem is flourishing. Many say a second Renaissance is happening above 120th Street. Magic Johnson opened a major theater, Bill Clinton has centered his post-presidential offices there, countless homes have been restored to their former glory, and, not without controversy, many whites are flocking to the neighborhood. But what will this gentrification do to Harlem, and how will it change life for Harlem's longtime residents? As communities and businesses struggle with differing motivations and needs, David Maurrasse looks at ways they can work together to form partnerships. Listening to Harlem offers an exciting portrait of the struggles confronting one of America's most important neighborhoods. This engaging read will appeal to anyone with an interest in how the neighborhood is faring today, as well as those involved professionally and socially in urban development. Review "Maurrasse brings the magic of storytelling to his careful analysis of the paradox of urban development: revitalized homes and businesses but continued economic disenfranchisement of long-term residents." -- Professor Lawrence Aber, New York University "Urbanists, Harlem residents, and really anyone who loves cities but fears the consequences of unplanned economic growth will admire Maurrasse's ability to combine street conversations with Harlem citizens, exciting social science theory, history, policy analysis and even a poetic eye to the conflicting forces that together comprise the changing landscape of Harlem. This book doesn't deceive with facile solutions to gentrification and race relations; it plows right through to the core of the challenge." -- Professor Andrew Hahn, Brandeis University, Heller School for Management and Social Policy About the Author David Maurrasse is the founder, President & CEO of Marga Incorporated, a consulting firm, and an Associate Research Scholar at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. David is the author of Beyond the Campus: How Colleges and Universities Form Partnerships with Their Communities, and has held positions at Yale University and the Rockefeller Foundation