Sidewalk

"In Sidewalk, Mitchell Duneier takes us back to the streets of the Village, but finds a scene very different from the one Jacobs described.

Much of the architecture remains, and many people live the way Jacobs suggested, but there is another population in the Village today - poor black men who make their livelihoods on the sidewalks by selling secondhand goods, panhandling, and scavenging books and magazines left out for recycling, and whose appearance and behavior are affronts to the sensibilities of many passersby."--BOOK JACKET. "In recent years, these men and others like them have become the targets of "quality of life" campaigns in cities nationwide. Mayors scold them. Police keep after them. Businesses want them off the streets. Even liberal whites feel uneasy in their presence. These men are seen as proof of the influential "broken windows" theory, which holds that the mere appearance of social disorder leads to crime."--BOOK JACKET. "But Duneier contends that, far from being incitements to crime, the men on the street are necessary and beneficial to city life today, and that their behavior, which often appears disorderly, actually contributes to the order and well-being of the neighborhood. For five years, he spent time on the blocks with them - working with them at their vending tables, hearing their stories, and observing the roles they play in the ongoing life of the city. Often he was accompanied by Ovie Carter, whose photographs depict Village life with rare breadth and insight."--BOOK JACKET. "Sidewalk brings us into the hearts and minds of the men on the street, showing us not only their common human values but also the many practical and moral choices they must make every day."--BOOK JACKET.