“At its core, Perry’s work and research is very personal, intimate and familial, because it’s for and about Black people, and his life experience has made him exceptionally sensitive and conversant in the patterns of socioeconomic disparity—but what he’s doing is also a public service for the common good.”—Carla Bell, Essence
“VERDICT Especially for students of urban planning and public policy but also for those seriously interested in equity and social change in America, this work combines extraordinarily readable, well-documented data analysis with a people-oriented call for activism.”—Library Journal
“Perry reflects on the good, the bad and the ugly, and even apologizes along the way for falling short of what he’s now challenging others to do—to see and understand black lives and black places as inherently worthy of investment.”—Oscar Perry Abello, NextCity
“Know Your Price: Valuing Black Live and Property in America’s Black Cities is an important contribution that clearly makes the case for how any path forward to ensure Black futures will require the dismantling of structural racism, centering Black communities and Black people as assets, and distributing resources accordingly.”—Monica McLemore, BLAVITY
“A bracing look at the systemic devaluation of black property and a rousing call to empower majority-black communities to build wealth through asset-based development.”—Anthony M. Barr, The American Conservative
“The book is powerful and moving; the stories of his childhood in Wilkinsburg, PA, and the medical struggles he and his wife faced are both searing and illuminating. But Perry also delivers the kinds of facts, figures and charts that one would expect from a Brookings Institution fellow.”—Peter Greene, Forbes
“The book is an obvious choice for courses in urban studies and racial inequality, but also (e)valuation and economics. Perry effectively highlights the value of Black communities while acknowledging the systematic disinvestment and structural racism that have devalued them.”—Zawadi Rucks-Ahidiana, Social Force
03/27/2020
Just over one in three U.S. blacks (37 percent) live in metropolitan area neighborhoods that are majority black, and U.S. cities with populations of more than 50 percent black are on the rise, notes Perry (Metropolitan Policy Program fellow; Brookings Institution; The Garden Path). That purposeful clustering results from policies designed to devalue black people and their assets, he argues, adding that such racist, white-centered social practices defeat sustainable economic growth. He offers a vision of urban planning that adds value to majority black cities by recognizing and removing biased policies, and by paying attention to people rather than to physical environments. Reviewing local history of six urban sites—Atlanta, Birmingham, Detroit, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and his native Wilkinsburg, PA—he provides comparative analysis with personal stories to demonstrate exactly how racism devalues blacks in the U.S. Included are achievable projects to expand options that develop social connections and secure families with reproductive justice. VERDICT Especially for students of urban planning and public policy but also for those seriously interested in equity and social change in America, this work combines extraordinarily readable, well-documented data analysis with a people-oriented call for activism.—Thomas J. Davis, Arizona State Univ., Tempe
