Weird City

Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas

Bibliographic Data

ID19929313
AuthorsJ Long (0000-0002-5733-8841, corresponding author)
Year2010
Publication date2010-12-31
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueWeird City (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of Texas Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.7560/722064
OpenAlexW4250425869
Open LibraryOL34823318M
ISBN9780292792944
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited48

Austin, Texas, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, is experiencing one of the most dynamic periods in its history. Wedged between homogenizing growth and a long tradition of rebellious nonconformity, many Austinites feel that they are in the midst of a battle for the city's soul. From this struggle, a movement has emerged as a form of resistance to the rapid urban transformation brought about in recent years: "Keep Austin Weird" originated in 2000 as a grassroots expression of place attachment and anti-commercialization. Its popularity has led to its use as a rallying cry for local business, as a rhetorical tool by city governance, and now as the unofficial civic motto for a city experiencing rapid growth and transformation. By using "Keep Austin Weird" as a central focus, Joshua Long explores the links between sense of place, consumption patterns, sustainable development, and urban politics in Austin. Research on this phenomenon considers the strong influence of the "Creative Class" thesis on Smart Growth strategies, gentrification, income inequality, and social polarization made popular by the works of Richard Florida. This study is highly applicable to several emerging "Creative Cities," but holds special significance for the city considered the greatest creative success story, Austin

Art · Art history · Cartography · Geography · Glossary · Humanities · Index (typography) · Linguistics · Performance art · Queen (butterfly) · Reading (process) · Resistance (ecology) · Sense of place · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Crime and Detective Fiction Studies · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · History · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philosophy · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Urban Planning and Governance · Austin · Austin (tex.) · civilization · Intellectual life · Social life and customs · Texas · united states

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