Recently published and available from Princeton University Press, Amazon, and Indie Bound.

“In Constructing Community, Levine deconstructs many urban planning buzzwords to reveal the complexities of neighborhood redevelopment in Boston. Participation, empowerment, representation, consensus, democracy, partnership, community: none of these ideas are easily accomplished, and none ensure fairness or equity. This book is a masterful examination of neighborhood reproduction and transformation and a must-read for urban scholars and practitioners alike.”—Mary Pattillo, author of Black on the Block

“Constructing Community generates new insights into old debates about who governs. Showing how a space is manipulated, how boundaries are formed, and how community participation is managed, this book makes a valuable addition to the literature on urban inequality.”—Patrick Sharkey, author of Uneasy Peace

“This impressive book serves as a prime example of effective research that treats organizations seriously as important actors in urban processes. Constructing Community will be recognized for its groundbreaking contributions to community and urban sociology, and specifically for how we understand the political sociology of urban governance.”—Edward T. Walker, author of Grassroots for Hire

“Through an exceptional ethnographic account of the Fairmont Corridor development in Boston, this outstanding book breaks new ground in our understanding of urban politics and community organization. Every chapter reveals fascinating findings, important insights, and novel thinking.”—Mark R. Warren, coauthor of Lift Us Up, Don’t Push Us Out!

“Books that sit astride several disciplines risk falling into the cracks between them but Constructing Community resists that pull with prose that rejects academic jargon and invites readers into different literatures rather than expecting a fluency with them. The book seems destined to become a go-to source, paired well in political science and sociology classrooms with Dahl’s Who Governs or William Julius Wilson’s The Truly Disadvantaged, and in methods classes to illustrate ethnography.”—Claire Dunning, in Metropolitics

“Constructing Community is an engaging, imperative read for scholars and professionals practicing in urban governance and development.”—Jonathan W. Smith, ABA Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law.