Timo's PhD project fuses urban studies, social and cultural history, historical sociology, micro-history and Latino Studies, to offer the first social history of community activism in the neighbourhood of Loisaida, in New York City's Lower East Side. From the 1960s to the 1990s, the Puerto Rican community in this neighbourhood organized itself to fight against post-World War II urban deindustrialization, housing disinvestment, and gentrification. He argues that the community pioneered different forms of 'sustainable activism'. In reclaiming abandoned lots and buildings, creating community gardens, organizing educational and career-advancing workshops, and supporting cultural institutions, the Loisaida Puerto Rican community sought to create sustainable housing, sustainable education, and sustainable culture. Timo's network model of sustainable activism reveals how key institutions and community groups actively organized themselves and supported each other. He is also building a digital humanities resource in order to further develop the field for others, the Loisaida History Project, a public, online archive of Loisaida's social history. The Economic History Society supports research and teaching in economic and social history, and is one of the oldest professional societies of historians in the world.
University Park Nottingham, NG7 2RD
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