The Urban Villagers

by Herbert J. Gans

A sociological study of the native-born Americans of Italian parentage who lived in Boston's West End during the fifties.

Genres: Urban Studies, Urban Planning, Urban, Sociology, Nonfiction, Cities, Urbanism

443 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1965

About the author

Herbert Julius Gans was a German-born American sociologist who taught at Columbia University from 1971 to 2007.
One of the most prolific and influential sociologists of his generation, Gans came to America in 1940 as a refugee from Nazi Germany and sometimes described his scholarly work as an immigrant's attempt to understand America. He trained in sociology at the University of Chicago, where he studied with David Riesman and Everett Hughes, among others, and in social planning at the University of Pennsylvania, where his dissertation was supervised by Martin Meyerson.
Herbert J. Gans served as the 79th President of the American Sociological Association.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surprised both that I never had to read this in grad school, and that I more or less enjoyed it. As a classic mid-twentieth century ethnography I figured I should read this book, but also assumed the writing would be so terrible and dated that I'd abandon it. Most of the book is descriptive of the Italian Americans in the West End, largely fitting them into ideal type categories. Some of his descriptions of the residents are definitely reflective of the time and prevailing ethnic stereotypes; he sees them largely as simple, ignorant people who lack much foresight or motivation to help themselves or be upwardly mobile. I was also kind of annoyed that it took so long for Gans to contextualize the Italy their parents/grandparents left and how that shaped their culture in the US. Also, no discussion of corruption and organized crime in Southern Italy and Sicily, and how that could influence West Enders' perceptions of and relationship to authority. Anyway, I did appreciate when he went over how class and opportunity, or lack thereof, can affect cultural norms and behavior. A lot of this applies, I think, to some marginalized groups in the US today. There are no individuals or personal stories, which makes the book feel very disconnected. Also, redevelopment and urban renewal is not fully addressed until the very end, which I think is a lot more interesting to explore than just telling the reader what this community is like. His analysis of the problems with how urban renewal was executed and what could have been done better was spot on, I think. I also enjoyed the methods section, and waited for him to acknowledge that as a man he only got part of the story. He did this on the second-to-last page.

[P M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an outstanding read for me!
I loved every bit of this book. Each chapter was an in-depth analysis of the daily practices/culture(s) of the neighborhood with precise attention to not generalize on both methodological and ontological grounds.
I would consider this book a classic of sociology, urban planning and environmental psychology!

[David Kruh · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't have to be a sociologist to appreciate Gans' look at an urban renewal tragedy.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gans lives in a Boston neighborhood before the bulldozers of urban renewal razed it. He pays close attention to gender and class as he describes the lives of the immediate ancestors of northeast white suburbanites.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in college in Boston as part of an honors program and it has informed the way I look at some urban areas. Whenever I am in Government Center, I'm alway think about Scollay Square and what came before the neighborhood was demolished.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dusted this off for a class I'm teaching and am struck with how poignant it is, knowing what's become of the West End and what the area's like now.