Sharon Zukin
On her book Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places
Cover Interview of December 15, 2009
art /
sociology /
architecture /
new york city /
urbanism /
social mobility /
consumption /
food /
brooklyn /
gans herbert /
Editor’s note
Originally, this interview ran on the Rorotoko cover page under the headline
“Can we consume the city without destroying it?”
We highlighted two quotes.
On the first page:
“Is the idea of authenticity only a means of preserving a city’s elite cultures? Or can it be used to ensure everyone a right to stay in the place where they live and work?”
On the second:
“I have been both exasperated and enchanted by the New York City’s gilt and dross, brutal honesty and flagrant self-promotion and ability to inspire dreams.”