Overview

Once a group of young people (reformed street robbers) had a vision to transform their poor divided community. But the vision was tarnished by harsh reality, violent feuds and factional strife, corrupt and ineffective leaders, and youths involved in networks of criminality. Tarnished Vision is the story of the rise and fall of a utopian community project told against a background of crime and delinquency in a troubled neighbourhood. This vivid and authentic account of life in `Satellite City' is set in the 1980s, a decade when the promises of the enterprise culture failed to deliver, and the conditions were created for a generation hooked on crime. Tarnished Vision depicts the 1980s inner-city cycle of social tragedy followed by inept societal response, followed by social tragedy. But this is not only a story for the 1980s. The message is that programmes to save the inner cities, however well-resourced, cannot afford to ignore the destructive frustrations of urban male youths who are involved in crime. Community action programmes can be no more than window-dressing to camouflage these realities.

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9780198257516

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Reviews

'anyone interested in what happens to the disadvantaged in our cities should read it' Roger Graef, New Statesman and Society

"`This is a short but sobering book for idealists of all persuasions ... Robins is good on the criminal subculture: on its individual psychopathology, as well as its social function ... His disappointment with the process and outcome of local politics has not dimmed an empathy for the area visible in his sharp sketches of local personalities ... Anyone interested in what happens to the disadvantaged in our cities should read it, and prepare, if not to weep, at least to mourn the fantasies of the past 20 years.' Roger Graef, New Statesman & Society `an extraordinary book ... I picked it up to browse, and couldn't put it down. It is gripping to read, in the best traditions of urban ethnography.' Geoffrey Pearson 'His disappointment with the process and outcome of local politics has not dimmed an empathy for the area visible in his sharp sketches of local personalities. Anyone interested in what happens to the disadvantaged in our cities should read it, and prepare, if not to weep, at least to mourn the fantasies of the past 20 years.' Roger Graef, New Statesman & Society 'the sharp images conveyed in Tarnished Vision pull on the heart as well as the mind. It is a fundamentally persuasive text ... should be essential reading for both academics and practitioners concerned with marginalised youth and local community initiatives established purportedly on their behalf' Howard Williamson, University of Wales College of Cardiff 'Robins provides a vivid description of life in ""Satellite City"" as a backdrop to understanding the dynamics and pressures involved in the development of a community center.' Eric Fritsch, Sam Houston State University, The Criminologist, January/February. 1994 `Robins ... displays a broad-based knowledge of the area ... By adopting an unobtrusive ethnographic approach, the author is able to present a vivid and quite fascinating account of the initiation and development of `The Center' ... a worthy read for the academic sociologist or criminologist; for the teacher, social worker, youth worker, probation officer or community worker; or for anybody interested in inner-urban life.' Town Planning Review `a unique book, bringin the area and the people to life via anecdote and description, recognising the humour that exists among the despair, the victimisation of those already on the margins, the lack of solidarity, and the jealousy of those that do succeed. Read it.' LCCJ Newsletter"

Author Information

David Robins is Study Director at teh Institute of Community Studies, Bethnel Green, London

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