“Refusing the easy stereotypes that characterize too much reporting on gentrification, Japonica Brown-Saracino provides a nuanced portrait of the varying beliefs and practical activities of affluent, recently arrived residents in quaint rural towns and gritty multiethnic urban neighborhoods. In particular, she illuminates the challenges faced by some community newcomers as they strive to maintain a commitment to social diversity and authenticity in the face of changes that they themselves help to ignite. Exceptionally well researched, analytically sophisticated, and engagingly written, this is an important and original contribution to our understanding of community in America.”

Richard Lloyd, author of Neo-Bohemia: Art and Commerce in the Postindustrial City

“A Neighborhood That Never Changes offers a sophisticated reinvention of the classic community study by emphasizing how local residents interpret contemporary economic and political forces through the lens of culture and the imagination of authenticity. Brown-Saracino’s intellectually ambitious and entertaining book adds to the burgeoning literature on gentrification by slicing through some of the assumptions of the field with empirical rigor. Furthermore, urban and cultural sociology thrive on comparative approaches, and this beautiful book will serve as an exemplar of this perspective for years to come.”

David Grazian, author of On the Make: The Hustle of Urban Nightlife