Out now!
The first book to explore how our cities gentrify by becoming social media influencers—and why it works.
Cities, like the people that live in them, are subject to the attention economy. In The City Authentic, author David A. Banks shows how cities are transforming themselves to appeal to modern desires for authentic urban living through the attention-grabbing tactics of social media influencers and reality-TV stars.
Blending insightful analysis with pop culture, this engaging study of New York State’s Capital Region is an accessible glimpse into the social phenomena that influence contemporary cities.
Read more about the book from the University of California Press including praise from Sharon Zukin, Paris Marx, and Nathan Jurgenson.
Interviews, Reviews, & Write-ups
- TrueAnon (Ep. 248) (Ep. 287)
- TRASHFUTURE (Preview ep, subscribe for the whole thing.)
- This Machine Kills
- The Antifada
- Nostalgia Trap
- Tech Won’t Save Us
- The Conversation
- The Creative Process
- UC Press Blog
- UAlbany Q & A
- Huffington Post article on Fetterman’s mayoral legacy: “These small towns’ only competitive advantage that can’t be outsourced is fundamentally their own history and identity,” said Banks, author of the forthcoming book “The City Authentic,” which examines how cities commodify their history to woo young professionals.
David A. Banks 