Why read Root Shock?

Book cover of Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America, and What We Can Do about It

Book description

Root Shock examines 3 different U.S. cities to unmask the crippling results of decades-old disinvestment in communities of color and the urban renewal practices that ultimately destroyed these neighborhoods for the advantage of developers and the elite.
Like a sequel to the prescient warnings of urbanist Jane Jacobs, Dr. Mindy…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Root Shock as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani

Author

This book manages to be both personal and political, valuing people’s stories and experiences while explaining the way redlining and urban renewal impact individuals over generations.

Mindy Fullilove doesn’t just talk about what happened when the brutality and racism of urban renewal uprooted diverse communities; she tells how it felt and what we can do now. Fullilove has been described as “the town shrink,” and her insistence on and commitment to cities as spaces where people’s well-being should be cared for is inspiring.

In this book, she tells real stories of neighbors in Pittsburgh, PA, Newark, NJ, and Roanoke, VA–not…

From Gabrielle's list on struggles through the stories of real people.