This essay introduces the theme of this special issue, “Making and Unmaking Neighborhood Boundaries in Postwar U.S. Cities,” by tracing the enduring meanings of the words, neighbor, neighborliness, and neighborhood, and relating them to community, place, conduct, and the idea of dwelling, important in Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space. The four case studies in this issue highlight places, where neighborhood formation and boundary making stand out in the historical production of space, and are examples of the benefits of the recent spatial turn in urban history. By examining neighborhoods in San Francisco, Atlanta, and New York City, the authors topple assumptions that prop up postwar urban history and demonstrate the relevance of historical studies of neighborhoods to the crises of the present moment (and the need for more of the same).
Introduction – Ricœur and the Problem of Space. Perspectives on a Ricœurian “Spatial Turn”
