The Last House on the Block - (Ethnographic Encounters and Discoveries) by Sharon Cornelissen (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In the minds of many, Detroit is undergoing a renaissance. From mid-50s boom to bankruptcy bust, it is once again calling to urbanites with the promise of cheap housing and thriving culture; indeed, the New York Times even called it "the most exciting city in America." In 2017, ethnographer Sharon Cornelissen heeded this siren song and headed for Brightmoor, a neighborhood of Detroit where she might buy a house for as little as $500. What she found was... nothing. Brightmoor was so depopulated that every other property in the neighborhood was a vacant lot and every third house stood empty. Some blocks had no residents at all. But since 2006, around 35 households of White newcomers have moved into Brightmoor, planting gardens and farms on vacant lots. They related to Brightmoor's vacant spaces in very different ways than its oldtimers. Where oldtimers take pride in neatly mowed lawns and hope for a return to residential density, newcomers love the open space and see fields of tall grasses and wildflowers as bucolic. They aim to buy more empty lots to raise chickens and goats. It is a story of gentrification, but not at all in the usual sense: it is a case of failed gentrification. No real estate developers courting a cohort of like-minded White people, farm-to-table restaurants, and coffee shops have followed; property values are still abysmal. And yet, a White vision of what it means to live in a city has once again displaced the residents who have built and laid claim to the space. Nearly a decade after Cornelissen's fieldwork began, Brightmoor is even emptier than it was when she started"--

Book Synopsis

Gentrification is not inevitable, reveals Sharon Cornelissen, in this surprising, close look at the Detroit neighborhood of Brightmoor and the harsh reality of depopulation and urban decline.

In the minds of many, Detroit is undergoing a renaissance thanks to gentrifying urbanites who've been drawn to the city with the promise of cheap housing and thriving culture. But what happens when gentrification attempts to come to one of the most depopulated neighborhoods in the country--a place where every other property in the neighborhood was a vacant lot and every third house stood empty? To find out, Sharon Cornelissen moved to the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit for three years and became the owner of a $7,000 house.

The Last House on the Block takes us to Brightmoor to meet Cornelissen's fellow residents. She introduces us to the long-time residents of the neighborhood who reveal their struggles to keep a home while keeping violence, tall grass, and yes--gentrification--at bay. We also meet the eclectic white newcomers of Brightmoor and learn about their real estate bargains, urban farms, and how they became the unlikely defenders of urban desolation. Where oldtimers take pride in neatly mowed lawns and hope for a return to residential density, newcomers love the open space and aim to buy more empty lots to raise chickens and goats. It is a story of gentrification, but not at all in the usual sense: it is a case of failed gentrification. We often think about gentrification as an unstoppable force--once the first white newcomers with yoga mats enter an often brown or Black community, the coffee shops and restaurants follow. But in Brightmoor, the dreams of white newcomers met the harsh reality of decade-long decline. Nearly a decade after Cornelissen's fieldwork began, Brightmoor is even emptier than it was when she started.

Today, depopulation remains more common than gentrification in poor communities. Cornelissen's story offers deep insights into what it is like to live in a declining neighborhood, and through the example of Brightmoor, Cornelissen reveals why depopulation continues and helps us imagine a more inclusive and equitable city turnaround.

Review Quotes

"There has been so much overheated and oversimplified talk about gentrification as fundamentally immoral, but Cornelissen makes the compelling argument that the dynamics and ethics of gentrification are very different in the context of existing depopulation. Sometimes it takes foreign eyes to truly see one's home. Cornelissen's portrait of race and housing in Detroit is a modern Dutch masterpiece, painted with the vibrant colors of her participants' words and the fine brush of sociological wisdom."--Michael Bell, University of Wisconsin

"This myth-busting book turns the familiar narrative of urban gentrification on its head. It reminds us that there is nothing inevitable about neighborhood change and that the truth on the ground is nearly always more interesting and more complicated than simple stereotypes would suggest. Crucially, it tells a story of neighborhood change that has been ignored: the story of change in the depopulated city."--Kathryn J. Edin, Princeton University

About the Author

Sharon Cornelissen is a sociologist and national housing expert. As director of housing at the Consumer Federation of America, she leads research and advocacy to help end our housing crisis. She received her doctorate in sociology from Princeton University and previously worked at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Washington DC.