“Cities, Change and Conflict: A Political Economy of Urban Life” is an appropriate, yet dull, introduction to the paradigms of urban ecology and urban political economy. The work, which summarizes the work of several famous twentieth century philosophers, comes off as rushed and patronizing.  The piece reads like a textbook, with very information-dense paragraphs. As such, the work did not hold my attention very well throughout.As a reader, I would have appreciated more of the author’s commentary and analysis scattered throughout.

Opening “Black Corona: Race and the Politics of Place in an Urban Community” with the story of a long-time Corona resident gave me the impression that the piece was based on ethnographic fieldwork. Reading further, the text gives way to straightforward arguments (I, personally, agree with) supported by valid and credible sources. The material was not lacking any supplementary information. However, having only limited access to the work, I am unable to appreciate the extent of Gregory’s research, which is elaborated on in later chapters.

Question: Which model, Hoyt’s sector model, Burgess’s concentric zone model or Harris and Ullman’s multiple nuclei model, best fits New York City?