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In the years since Hurricane Katrina, modern-day bohemians have flocked to New Orleans but often find themselves skirting poverty. Down and Out in New Orleans follows the lives of those on the fringes as they carve out unique paths in a resilient city. Peter J. Marina provides an original glimpse into the subcultures of a city in rapid change.

Residential motels have long been places of last resort for many vulnerable Americans-released prisoners, people with disabilities or mental illness, struggling addicts, the recently homeless, and the working poor. Cast aside by their families and mainstream society, they survive in squalid, unsafe, and demeaning circumstances that few of us can imagine. For a year, the sociologist Christopher P. Dum lived in the Boardwalk Motel to better understand its residents and the varied paths that brought them there. He witnessed moments of violence and conflict, as well as those of care and compassion. As told through the voices and experiences of motel residents, Exiled in America paints a portrait of a vibrant community whose members forged identities in response to overwhelming stigma and created meaningful lives despite crushing economic instability. In addition to chronicling daily life at the Boardwalk, Dum follows local neighborhood efforts to shut the establishment down, leading to a wider analysis of legislative attempts to sanitize shared social space. He also suggests meaningful policy changes to address the societal failures that lead to the need for motels such as the Boardwalk. The story of the Boardwalk, and the many motels like it, will concern anyone who cares about the lives of America's most vulnerable citizens.

Views from the Streets explains the dramatic transformation of black street gangs on Chicago's South Side during the early twenty-first century. Drawing on years of community work and in-depth interviews with gang members, Roberto R. Aspholm sheds new light on why gang violence persists and what might be done to address it.