PUBLICATIONS
Derek Hyra is well-recognized author with several important scholarly books and articles. Dr. Hyra’s research has been published in esteemed book outlets including the University of Chicago Press and Routledge, and top academic journals, such as Housing Policy Debate, Journal of Urban Affairs, Urban Affairs Review, and Urban Studies.
BOOKS
THE NEW URBAN RENEWAL
CAPITAL DILEMMA
RACE, CLASS, AND POLITICS IN THE CAPPUCCINO CITY
Talja Blokland | Journal of Urban Affairs
“The book asks difficult questions but provides no easy answers. Consequently, it is a must-read for anyone interested in gentrification, social mixing, diversity, and equity. It should provoke self-questioning and. . . much discussion on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Japonica Brown-Saracino | American Journal of Sociology
“Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino City is a significant accomplishment. Given the timeliness of the complex issues it engages, it ought to be read widely within and beyond the academy.”
Loretta Lees | International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
“Hyra is a scholar activist par excellence––he worked as an organizer in DC for many years; his frontline experience, sensitivity and understanding is evident through the book. He is also an ethnographer in the tradition of Swedish anthropologist Ulf Hannerz and US anthropologist Elliot Liebow, who produced classics based on Washington, DC’s Shaw/U Street neighbourhood. Also looking at DC’s Shaw/U Street neighbourhood, Hyra sets out to investigate the complex strategies people adopt as they struggle to survive, no longer just surviving in poverty as in the 1960s, but now also surviving the threats from gentrification. . . . Hyra’s book is political, but in a grounded and more strategic way. This is a great book which all critical urbanists should read.”
David P. Varady | Journal of Housing and the Built Environment
“Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino City by Derek Hyra focuses on whether gentrification benefits low-income residents who remain in place. Hyra’s core argument is that the poor rarely benefit from gentrification. . . . The book benefits from its ethnographic approach. Hyra was able to probe into the dynamics of neighborhood change at the level of the individual household better than more quantitative studies. . . . I would consider this book to be among the top two recently published social science books, the other being Evicted by Matt Desmond (2016). Cappuccino City will be an excellent supplementary text for planning, urban studies, and related fields.”
Richard J. Meister | Journal of American History
“For historians the book is a welcome addition to the study of the African American urban experience. . . . A fascinating examination of what is happening to two historic black communities and to race relations.”
Kesha S. Moore | Urban Affairs Review
“New Urban Renewal greatly advances our understanding of how and why urban neighborhoods change. Both the methods and the results of this study are innovative contributions to the field of urban sociology. Through its multilayered comparative approach, New Urban Renewal reveals the global, national, and local processes responsible for transforming low-income black neighborhoods into gentrified communities. . . . It is written with clear, straightforward language that makes it easily accessible to undergraduates and of sufficient theoretical rigor to engage graduate students. [It] will be of particular value to courses, scholars, and individuals focused on community development, race and class stratification, and urban politics.”
Mary Pattillo, author of Black on the Block: The Politics of Race and Class in the City
“The New Urban Renewal is not only a close-up look at two neighborhoods, it is also a broad account of how the sources of change in Bronzeville and Harlem are located in downtowns, D.C., and even more distant places as workers in the global economy demand more and more space in central cities. This is a really ambitious study with tremendous analytical payoff.”
William Julius Wilson, author of When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor
“The New Urban Renewal will change the way many people think about socioeconomic stratification within black America. Derek Hyra’s study of the local, national, and global factors that led to the economic transformation of two historic black communities is insightful. And many of his findings on how this revitalization affected relations between the black poor and the black middle are original. It is an important addition to the burgeoning literature on intraracial class conflict.”
Stephen S. Fuller, University Professor, George Mason University
“The scope of Capital Dilemma and the depth of the research it reports makes this book a foundational read for anyone interested in. . . understanding how today’s cities might better interrelate their past and current growth patterns with their. . . potentials to achieve a stronger and more balanced and viable social and political framework for the future. . . . Students of urban development, social change and political reform at all levels will find Capital Dilemma an intellectually enriching and important addition to the literature.”
Mindy Thompson Fullilove, author of Root Shock and Urban Alchemy
“In 2011, as the economy of Washington DC was booming, its black population slipped below 50%. This is the ‘capital dilemma’ explored in this fascinating book. Astute analysis, lively writing, and deep concern for human survival characterize this superb set of essays. Elegantly conceived to cover the complexity of the urban landscape, the chapters dovetail neatly to stimulate our thinking and push our questions. This is a terrific book and students of history, American cities, race relations and economic development will all find it a great asset.”
Suleiman Osman | Washington History
“The book, in sum, is an exciting read that will be useful for instructors and researchers. The editors have planted the flag for a new ‘DC School’ that establishes the city as the archetype of the 21st-century American metropolis.”
Gareth Potts | Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal
“It is in its nuanced treatment of gentrification that the book is especially strong. . . . [T]his is an excellent collection. Any urbanist studying or working in/on DC should access a copy and most urbanists elsewhere should give it a look.”
