Neighborhood of Fear: The Suburban Crisis in American Culture, 1975-2001

The second generation of suburban residents expanded spatial control and cultural authority through a strategy of productive victimization, responding to perceived threats from burglars, kidnappers, toxic waste, and the occult. This movement toward self-protection reaffirmed suburban family values and expanded their parochial power, facilitated by the politics of the Reagan revolution and New Right.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 24 November 2020
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

The expansion of American suburbs following World War II was accompanied by a sense of security and a new way of life, but by the 1970s, this perception of safety began to erode. Perceived threats from burglars, kidnappers, toxic waste, and even the occult challenged the assumptions about safe streets, pristine parks, and the sanctity of the home. In his book "Neighborhood of Fear," Kyle Riismandel explores how suburbanites responded to this crisis by attempting to take control of the landscape and reaffirm their cultural authority.

An increasing sense of criminal and environmental threats coincided with the rise of cable television, VCRs, Dungeons & Dragons, and video games, rendering the suburban household susceptible to moral corruption and physical danger. Residents installed alarm systems, patrolled neighborhoods, built gated communities, and cried "Not in my backyard!" in response to these fears. This movement toward self-protection reaffirmed the primacy of suburban family values and expanded their parochial power, further marginalizing cities and communities of color.

Riismandel argues that this process was facilitated and accelerated by the politics of the Reagan revolution and the New Right, which promoted individualism, limited government, and the deregulation of industries. The fear of crime and environmental threats in the suburbs became a political tool used to justify policies that favored the interests of suburban homeowners over those of cities and communities of color.

The book offers a novel perspective on how Americans imagined, traversed, and negotiated the suburban landscape in the face of these threats. It sheds light on the ways in which suburbanites attempted to control the environment and assert their cultural authority, while also confronting the challenges and limitations of living in a rapidly changing and increasingly diverse society.

Weight: 482g
Dimension: 159 x 238 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421439549