Who cleans the park? : public work and urban governance in New York City
John Krinsky (Author), Maud Simonet (Author)
America's public parks are in a golden age. Hundreds of millions of dollars - both public and private - fund urban jewels like Manhattan's Central Park. Keeping the polish on landmark parks and in neighbourhood playgrounds alike means that the trash must be picked up, benches painted, equipment tested, and leaves raked. Bringing this often-invisible work into view, however, raises profound questions for citizens of cities. The authors explain that the work of maintaining parks has intersected with broader trends in welfare reform, civic engagement, criminal justice, and the rise of public-private partnerships. With public services no longer being provided primarily by public workers, Krinsky and Simonet argue, the nature of public work must be reevaluated. Based on four years of fieldwork in New York City, they looks at the transformation of public parks from the ground up
eBook, English, 2017
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2017