Enforcing civility: Homelessness, "quality of life", and the crisis of urban liberalism.
Item
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Title
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Enforcing civility: Homelessness, "quality of life", and the crisis of urban liberalism.
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Identifier
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AAI3008879
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identifier
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3008879
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Creator
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Vitale, Alex S.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Sharon Zukin
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Date
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2001
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General | Sociology, Criminology and Penology | Sociology, Public and Social Welfare
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Abstract
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This dissertation will describe the central role of homelessness in the creation of the "quality of life" paradigm of social control in New York and San Francisco in the late 1980's and early 1990's. This new paradigm represents a general shift in social policies away from the previous paradigm of urban liberalism along three axes. The first is a transition from socially inclusive, rehabilitation-oriented policies to socially exclusive, punitive ones. The second is a rejection of government centered approaches to social problems in favor of market and community-based efforts. The third is a move away from social tolerance of individual and group differences and towards a communitarian outlook, which privileges majoritarian views on appropriate public behavior. I have identified four central factors that contributed to the breakdown of urban liberalism and the rise of "quality of life." The first factor was a crisis in urban neighborhoods in the 1980's that undermined people's faith in the livability of cities. The second factor was the failure of the professional model of policing that had predominated in both New York and San Francisco for several decades to reduce either crime or disorder. Third, the social policies of urban liberalism failed to adequately address the crises of homelessness and disorder, creating a backlash among many community activists across race and class lines, and business leaders. Finally, neoconservative politicians such as Rudolph Giuliani in New York and Frank Jordan in San Francisco were needed to transform this backlash into a coherent new paradigm.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
