READINGS

Ben Metcalf, “American Heartworm” in The Baffler, 1998. Link to article. 

Boris Vormann, “Toward an infrastructural critique of urban change: Obsolescence and changing perceptions of New York City’s waterfront” in City 19:2-3, (2015). Link to article.  

Elizabeth Kolbert, “Down the river” in Under a white sky : the nature of the future, 2021. Link to book. 

PROMPT

In his article, Boris Vormann echoes Neil Smith’s caution against the use of terms like ‘revitalization’ and ‘regeneration’ in waterfront development. Discuss Vormann’s critique in the context of his article and one other—either Metcalf or Kolbert.

Alternatively, you may focus your entire reflection on the Providence River, considering these readings in light of the 1990s waterfront transformation and its current use and access.