Herbert Gans Urban Villagers

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Herbert Gans’ Urban Villagers clearly outlines his interactions and observations within a small and typically inaccessible community by inserting himself into its physical space and engaging with the individuals that make up that community. His original inquiry, as stated in the preface of the book, was to “study a slum, and to study the way of life of a low-income population” (Gans 1962). He hoped to understand why the West End was being demolished, and how the people of the West End were to blame for the destruction of their homes. However, instead of answering his original question, Gans found that he uncovered a larger systemic issue of the way labeling of certain areas of a city could impact the longevity of that physical space and its community. …show more content…

He makes it clear through his descriptions that he knows that he can do nothing to save the West End and knows that the loss of the community will take an especially hard toll on the peer group society. However, he also implies that he remains an outsider in a very tight knit community and any interference, despite his good intentions to help, will jeopardize the relationships he has formed as well as his credibility as an objective observer. Gans’ work has remained relevant to this day for his closing arguments for the restructuring of the policy regarding redevelopment of urban neighborhoods, particularly those with strong ethnic communities and lower socioeconomic

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