Understanding Street Culture: Poverty, Crime, Youth and Cool

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How do poverty, youth and crime relate to the concept of being 'cool' Jonathan Ilan presents a unique, theoretically informed overview of street culture in various parts of the world its origins, functions, manifestations and appeal examining both its bearing on criminal lifestyles and on the cultivation of 'cool.'

Drawing on contemporary research and original examples to evidence new ways of thinking about street culture - from the favelas of Brazil to housing projects in the USA - the text locates street culture within its particular social, cultural and economic contexts. Covering diverse subjects from brutal violence to contemporary fashion it explores the ways in which street culture is intertwined with processes of social exclusion and inclusion.

An in-depth and even-handed guide to understanding the practices, styles and struggles associated with a particular section of the socio-economically disadvantaged, this text stands as an invaluable resource for students and academics across a range of disciplines, including youth studies, urban studies, criminology, sociology, cultural studies and geography.

Reviews

The book is well written and a pleasure to read Understanding Street Culture is an important text for academics, researchers, and criminal justice stakeholders interested in understanding how young peoples street cultural existences are regulated and thrust into contact with the law. It emphasizes the urgency of disrupting the perpetual criminalization of street culture and how, moving forward, this requires more than the business as usual of standard criminal justice practice. * Angela Dwyer, Jeunesse, jeunessejournal.ca, Vol. 9 (1) *
Understanding Street Culture by Jonathan Ilan is a book about the manifestations of street culture; what it is, how it came to be, the implications of it on mainstream society, and the effects mainstream society has on it The book is a useful source for others to develop research on this important topic Learning from Ilans book would offer a different way to consider how marginalization shapes adolescent development and outcomes. * Billie Endress, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 45 *

Author Bio

Jonathan Ilan is Lecturer in Criminology and Director of Studies for BA Criminology at the University of Kent, UK. He has researched youth cultures in Dublin and published numerous journal articles in the field of cultural criminology.