essay
Return to the future: Puerto Rican vernacular architecture in New York City
re-presenting the city : ethnicity, capital and culture in the 21st century metropolis • New York • Published In 1996 • Pages: 60-92
By: Sciorra, Joseph.
Abstract
In this essay Sciorra describes how Puerto Rican residents of the South Bronx (also East Harlem and the Lower East Side) appropriated municipally owned property where multi-storied buildings once stood, cleared the debris from the site, cultivated gardens, and constructed wood-frame structures known as CASITAS. This 'unauthorized' use of municipal lands obviously created problems between the Puerto Rican inhabitants and the city government which are discussed to some degree in the text. Much of this document, however, deals with the functional aspects of the CASITAS not only as shelter but also as a focus for socialization between friends and family, and perhaps more significantly as a memento of the lives they left behind in Puerto Rico.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2002
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Sociologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- John Beierle ; 2000
- Field Date
- 1988-1990
- Coverage Date
- 1946-1990s
- Coverage Place
- South Bronx, New York, N.Y., New York
- Notes
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCN
- 95037010
- LCSH
- Puerto Ricans--United States