Weird city [electronic resource] : sense of place and creative resistance in Austin, Texas / Joshua Long.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, is experiencing one of the most dynamic periods in its history. Wedged between homogenizing growth and a long tradition of rebellious nonconformity, many Austinites feel that they are in the midst of a battle for the city's soul.
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| Online Access: |
Full Text (via ProQuest) |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Government Document Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Austin :
University of Texas Press,
2010.
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| Edition: | 1st ed. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | At the beginning of the twenty-first century, is experiencing one of the most dynamic periods in its history. Wedged between homogenizing growth and a long tradition of rebellious nonconformity, many Austinites feel that they are in the midst of a battle for the city's soul. From this struggle, a movement has emerged as a form of resistance to the rapid urban transformation brought about in recent years: "Keep Austin Weird" originated in 2000 as a grassroots expression of place attachment and anti-commercialization. Its popularity has led to its use as a rallying cry for local business, as a rhetorical tool by city governance, and now as the unofficial civic motto for a city experiencing rapid growth and transformation. By using "Keep Austin Weird" as a central focus, Joshua Long explores the links between sense of place, consumption patterns, sustainable development, and urban politics in Austin. Research on this phenomenon considers the strong influence of the "Creative Class" thesis on Smart Growth strategies, gentrification, income inequality, and social polarization made popular by the works of Richard Florida. This study is highly applicable to several emerging "Creative Cities," but holds special significance for the city considered the greatest creative success story, Austin. Long reveals how citizens of Austin use their unique expressions of sense of place and place attachment to resist changes in the urban cultural landscape they love. Above all, this book is intended to educate readers about the importance of place attachment, civic participation, and social action in cities of the twentieth-first century. A native Texan who lived and worked in the Austin area for more than twenty years, Joshua Long is Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at Franklin College Switzerland in Lugano, Switzerland. --Book Jacket. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (viii, 207 pages) : illustrations, map |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780292792944 0292792948 0292722419 9780292722415 |