Geographies of Justice and Social Transformation Ser.: Tremé (PDF)

<p>Across Rampart Street from the French Quarter, the Faubourg Trem&eacute; neighborhood is arguably the most important location for African American culture in New Orleans. Closely associated with traditional jazz and &ldquo;second line&rdquo; parading, Trem&eacute; is now the setting for an eponymous television series created by David Simon (best known for his work on <i>The Wire</i>).</p><p>Michael Crutcher argues that Trem&eacute;&rsquo;s story is essentially spatial&mdash;a story of how neighborhood boundaries are drawn and take on meaning and of how places within neighborhoods are made and unmade by people and politics. Trem&eacute; has long been sealed off from more prominent parts of the city, originally by the fortified walls that gave Rampart Street its name, and so has become a refuge for less powerful New Orleanians. This notion of Trem&eacute; as a safe haven&mdash;the flipside of its reputation as a &ldquo;neglected&rdquo; place&mdash;has been essential to its role as a cultural incubator, Crutcher argues, from the antebellum slave dances in Congo Square to jazz pickup sessions at Joe&rsquo;s Cozy Corner.</p><p><i>Trem&eacute;</i> takes up a wide range of issues in urban life, including highway construction, gentrification, and the role of public architecture in sustaining collective memory. Equally sensitive both to black-white relations and to differences within the African American community, it is a vivid evocation of one of America&rsquo;s most distinctive places.</p>