Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor

by Sudhir Venkatesh

Book Overview

In this revelatory book, Sudhir Venkatesh takes us into Maquis Park, a poor black neighbourhood in Chicago's Southside, to explore the desperate, dangerous and remarkable ways in which a community survives.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674023552
• ISBN13: 9780674023550
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 426 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The Geography and Calculus of survival ghetto Style is not mere La Vie Quotidienne Americaine

Here in its fullest glory, we get to see both the geography and the calculus of living in the American ghetto: the everyday tradeoffs being made hourly to survive, between "whoring and pimping" or "flipping burgers and cleaning toilets:" hustling pure and simple, from hawking ghettoware to fixing cars, to selling crack cocaine. No matter how it is parsed; no matter how elegant and academically it is dressed up, no matter how detailed it is analyzed, the American ghetto, whether Marquis Park, Robert Taylor, Altgeld Gardens, or Pruitt Igo, is the part of the American environment created so that only chaos can reign: and it is not merely la vie quotidienne Americaine (or slice of American life). It is survival of the "least prepared" in the very lap of 21st Century affluence. One of the problems with classical sociological analysis is that the Heisenberg effect (of the researcher getting in the way of, or inadvertently becoming a part of, his own analysis) begins to creep into play so early on, and so subtly, that the researcher can remain totally unaware of its creeping effects. Before he knows it, the "human" subjects he is studying will have become but "so many bugs at the end of a microscope in a Petrie dish," and then, very much after the fact, all of the collating and sorting just become routine -- not only seeming normal, but also appropriate. Psychological distance from the subject is then seen not only necessary, but the sine qua non of clinical objectivity. While this "psychological distancing" of the researcher is somewhat subtler than that which occurs in the "normal societal distancing process," it is "distancing" nonetheless. It kind of goes without saying that America's race sensitive culture is keen on "social distancing" and on invoking black and white dichotomies wherever it can be done. Arguably, being able to do so is the real scalpel used to carve out the basic reality of American culture. However, these dichotomies in the human sciences, these artificial partitions, this "distancing," this compartmentalization, and splitting-off, of which there seems to be little else and no end to, in American culture, are artifacts of reality; they are not "reality per se" no matter how often (or subtly) they are invoked, or how much they are relied upon. Eventually the human equation must come back to earth and be resolved. Most of all, we expect Sociologist to know this, and thus we expect them to look out for this phenomenon. The point is simply this: because of artificial "distancing," unless the researcher decides to "come up for air often," frequently reviewing, and constantly re-centering and realigning his analysis vis a vis his own psychological involvement and societal perspective, always doing so in its larger context, he can never be sure that what he is studying is grounded in the same humanity of which he is a part. It seems that Professor Venkatesh, whose work I admire very much (After reading and reviewing his first book

Could Become a Landmark Work in the Study of Cities...

40 years ago, Jane Jacobs influenced generations of planners and urban policy makers with her "Death and Life of Great American Cities," a sensitive and sensible portrait of how great cities work as social organisms. Jacobs turned 60 years of urban policy on its head and gave birth to a new way of thinking about cities and how to solve their problems: by celebrating and encouraging their social fabric, rather than dividing it with freeways and public housing projects. Since Jacobs' work, American cities have seen a great resurgance in their central cores. But today they are more divided than ever between rich and poor. While America's central cities are seeing more investment and interest than ever before, those same central cities are also home to deepening poverty and despair. Sudhir Venkatesh has produced a startlingly honest portrayal of how this "other half" the American urban experience really works. While Jacobs saw density as the answer to the city's problems rather than the cause of them, Venkatesh examines what happens when the density of the city meets deep generational poverty. In a world where everyone is engaged in everyday survival, the "eyes and ears" that Jacobs celebrated as the ultimate contol over social behavior become, in Venkatesh's analysis, the mechnism of regulation of a vast underground, off the books economy. The neighborhoods Venkatesh studies are places that are ignored and forgotten by the larger society, places where resources are scarce and where the very definition of "right and wrong" is colored by the need to survive, to put food on the table, to make rent. Venkatesh provides a refreshingly non-ideological study into how the urban poor really live. He avoids glamorizing the lives of underground, criminal actors, and avoids moralizing or grandstanding. Rather, he tells us the realities and consequences of the economic decisions of those residing in America's poor central cities. This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the state of our cities. It reveals the hidden order beneath the apparent choas of the ghetto. By defining how the ghetto works, Venkatesh may well have started a much-needed conversation on how what we can do to make sure it works differently.

Approachable and Informative

I expected this book to be an interesting exploration of the underground economy but did not expect it to be so approachable, human, and readable. Although it is nearly 400 pages long, I read the entire book in about 3 days and retained a great deal of the information. This book is truly an excellent exploration of the unique economic position of America's most disadvantaged areas. One does not have to be an academic, or trained in the social sciences, to understand the majority of Venkatesh's subject matter. A great read, well researched, and enlightening. I recommend it to anyone interested in urban planning, social policy, inner-cities, or street-level realities. Five Stars!

Way More Than Informative...

Some books are informative. And some books are eye-opening. This book is eye-opening. Read it and you will learn many fascinating things you never dreamed were going on.... ...unless you already live in a highly urbanized/disadvantaged neighborhood. The author is an enterprising young academic who is drawn to the firsthand study of life in such neighborhoods. Being of mixed race "gave me (the author) an indeterminate and unthreatening presence" by which he could spend months with the residents - enough time to understand life and the economy there with more thoroughness than perhaps ever before. The underground economy in this corner of America is woven into every fabric of life. You learn first hand about enterprises running the gamut from the homeless fellow who does reliable auto repair in back alleys and side streets, to the (no surprise here) sex workers and drug sellers, to the stay at home mom that cooks meals for local residents, shopkeepers and even the police. You learn how the local gang leader is not simply a lawless soul feared by all, but a broker of influence upon which even the most upstanding residents come to rely. With so much disadvantage built into the neighborhood you come to understand how everyone learns to accept shady economic dealings out of the joint recognition of the need to survive. But when such dealings bring a larger than acceptable threat to the children and residents, then the gang leader is often brought in to broker a deal to return things to homeostasis. As a white suburbanite here is what struck me the most. There is waaaaay more tolerance and acceptance among neighbors in the ghetto than there is in suburbia. There is waaaaay more neighbor involvement and mutual reliance in the ghetto than in suburbia. In fact, instead of the ongoing competition so often found in the suburbs, the ghetto is characterized by the opposite - genuine concern for and involvement with one's neighbors. Is it a great place to live? Of course not. I mean, any world where you have to call on the gang leader to broker safety in the streets for kids must be a risky world. But as the book will teach you, there is a richness, mutual acceptance, and mutual protection that would be envied in the safer suburbs. Not to mention a level of economic enterprise that outsiders - until now - had no idea existed. As I said at the beginning, some books teach you additional things about something you already know. This book teaches you about something (you will admit by page 10) you almost certainly know nothing.

Wise and compassionate

Venkatesh is that rare academic whose writing appeals both to the specialist and the layman. He has constructed a wise and compassionate portrait that never loses sight of the humanity of his subjects.