The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the Twenty-First Century

DW Gibson

may 2015 · Abrams

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This “generous, vigorous, and enlightening look at class and space in New York” examines the human side of gentrification—“a joy to read” (The Paris Review).For years, journalists, policymakers, critics, and historians have tried to explain just what happens when new money and new residents flow into established neighborhoods. But now, “Mr. Gibson lets the city speak for itself, and it speaks with charm, swagger and heartening resilience” (The New York Times).

The Edge Becomes the Center captures, in their own words, the stories of people?brokers, buyers, sellers, renters, landlords, artists, contractors, politicians, and everyone in between?who are shaping and being shaped by the new New York City.

In this extraordinary oral history, Gibson shows us what urban change looks and feels like by exposing us to the voices of the people living through it. Drawing on the plainspoken, casually authoritative tradition of Jane Jacobs and Studs Terkel, The Edge Becomes the Center is an inviting and essential portrait of the way we live now.

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DW Gibson is the author of Not Working: People Talk About Losing a Job and Finding Their Way in Today's Changing Economy. His work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The New York Observer, The Daily Beast, BOMB, and The Caravan. Gibson serves as director of Writers Omi at Ledig House in Ghent, New York, which is part of the Omi International Arts Center. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.