Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US Big City
by Mike Davis

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Book Reviews of Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US Big City

Book Review: Interesting counterpoint to the usual view of immigration
Summary: 4 Stars

The book points out that Hispanic communities are among the fastest growing in the USA, and are thus likely to become increasingly important economically and politically. Each chapter of the book deals with particular aspects of the broader topic, from the opening chapter outlining the demographic position of Hispanic communities in America's larger cities, through to chapters specifically about immigration, the built environment, economics, labour and cultural exchange, to name a few. It's a refreshing read, making a number of points that usually escape mass media debates on immigration and minority (although as Davis points out, in some cities, Hispanic residents actually form a majority) communities. Davis also writes eloquently about the problems these communities encounter, paticularly well in the chapter "The Puerto Rican Tragedy", pointing out that obvious solutions (the granting of citizenship to some illegal immigrants) don't always work as expected.

I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in immigration/minority community issues. It can be a rather dry read at times (there are paragraphs that seem to be composed entirely of densely packed percentages and figures), but this is a book that, in my opinion, is well worth your time.

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