The War on Neighborhoods

A worthy plea for change. --Kirkus Reviews Lugalia-Hollon and Cooper call for a domestic Marshall Plan to boost employment, health, and education, and urge policymakers to focus on removing problem situations, rather than problem people. --Booklist The War on Neighborhoods reveals, in chilling detail, what our collective delusions about safety have done to vulnerable communities and how unsafe we have made the places we police most heavily. It also lays the groundwork for imagining a future in which we overcome what the authors call our 'addiction to punishment.' --Eula Biss, author of On Immunity and Notes from No Man's Land Clear-eyed and insightful, The War on Neighborhoods illuminates the structural forces that shape the course of mass criminalization in communities of color. This book is a cautionary tale about current approaches to violence and harm, and a compelling call to action to every one of us. --Andrea J. Ritchie, author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color Beyond national headlines on murder rates and inept government, Ryan Lugalia-Hollon and Daniel Cooper dig deeper to reveal the oft-missing story of disinvestment, displacement, and the structured disposability of black and brown people. A truly important read for those interested in the life of cities. --David Stovall, coauthor of Twenty-First-Century Jim Crow Schools Lugalia-Hollon and Cooper's argument is both simple and devastating: America's legal system has never and will never lead to safer communities. Beautifully written and painstakingly researched, the authors show us how divesting our public dollars from mass incarceration and instead investing in human potential is the only humane, economical, and effective long-term solution to harm. --Purvi Shah, cofounder of Law for Black Lives Buttressed by evocative stories and persuasive data, The War on Neighborhoods makes the case that entire communities have been at once abandoned by capital and targeted by the punishing state. This book is a clarion call to address the impacts of disinvestment and racialized/gendered criminalization on generations of people living on the West Side of Chicago and across the country. Everyone should read this book. --Mariame Kaba, founder and director of Project NIA As a lifelong advocate for greater investments in youth and families, I was both educated and reinvigorated by reading The War on Neighborhoods. This book reminds us to act fast and be bold with those investments if we hope to turn this long tide of racial and economic injustice. --Elizabeth Gaines, senior fellow, Forum for Youth Investment Beyond national headlines on murder rates and inept government, Ryan Lugalia-Hollon and Daniel Cooper dig deeper to reveal the oft-missing story of disinvestment, displacement, and the structured disposability of Black and Brown people. With sincerity and a keen knack for storytelling, Lugalia-Hollon and Cooper provide an important analytical lens by which to understand the city of Chicago. A truly important read for those interested in the life of cities. --David Stovall, professor of African American studies and educational policy studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, and co-author of Twenty-First-Century Jim Crow Schools Buttressed by evocative stories and persuasive data, The War on Neighborhoods makes the case that entire communities have been at once abandoned by capital and targeted by the punishing state. As Lugalia-Hollon and Cooper demonstrate, the consequences have been devastating for residents of Chicago's Austin neighborhood: high unemployment, poor schools, rampant drug addiction, and high rates of incarceration. This book is a clarion call to address the impacts of disinvestment and racialized/gendered criminalization on generations of people living on the West Side of Chicago and across the country. Everyone should read this book. --Mariame Kaba, founder and director of Project NIA This excellent account of how we have systemically decimated hope in so many urban neighborhoods comes at a pivotal moment. As a lifelong advocate for greater investments in youth and families, I was both educated and reinvigorated by reading it. We must find ways to dramatically shift public investments from punishment to opportunity. This book reminds us to act fast and be bold with those investments if we hope to turn this long tide of racial and economic injustice. --Elizabeth Gaines, senior fellow, Forum for Youth Investment The War on Neighborhoods reveals, in chilling detail, what our collective delusions about safety have done to vulnerable communities and how unsafe we have made the places we police most heavily. It also lays the groundwork for imagining a future in which we overcome what the authors call our 'addiction to punishment.' --Eula Biss, author of On Immunity and Notes from No Man's Land Lugalia-Hollon and Cooper's argument is both simple and devastating: America's legal system has never and will never lead to safer communities. Beautifully written and painstakingly researched, the authors show us how divesting our public dollars from mass incarceration and instead investing in human potential is the only humane, economical, and effective long-term solution to crime. In doing so, The War on Neighborhoods demands that we rethink everything about our broken criminal justice system and provides the blueprint for a new way forward. --Purvi Shah, cofounder of Law for Black Lives A clear-eyed and insightful illumination of how often-invisible economic and structural forces of spatial governmentality and social investment converge to shape the course of mass criminalization of communities of color. The War on Neighborhoods is simultaneously a cautionary tale about current approaches to violence and harm, a compelling case for radically reenvisioning public-investment priorities in the name of public safety, a prescription for concrete and common-sense systemic interventions, a hard look at current reform efforts, and a compelling call to action to each and every one of us. --Andrea J. Ritchie, author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color