Urban Preppers and the Pandemic in New York City: Class, Resilience and Sheltering in Place Anna Maria Bounds Author

Drawing on urban and community resilience literature, Urban Preppers and the Pandemic in New York City: Class, Resilience and Sheltering in Place offers a detailed qualitative analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City and on the philosophy and practices of the cityâ s urban prepper subculture.With a special focus on the height of the pandemic in New York, this book considers the cityâ s unique position as the pandemicâ s first epicenter in the United States. It also explores the lived experience of enduring the pandemic as reflections of class division, considering key themes, including the exodus of the wealthy, sheltering in place for the middle class, the inability to leave high-risk neighborhoods for the poor, and sheltering-in-place practices and community resilience efforts by New York preppers. It analyzes the importance of good government and an engaged citizenry in developing an agenda for the cityâ s continued recovery and its future, underscoring the need for cities to develop disaster management approaches that expand traditional â command and controlâ models to make space for local knowledge and resources.At its core, Urban Preppers and the Pandemic in New York City: Class, Resilience and Sheltering in Place is about understanding New York Cityâ s pandemic experience and how self-reliance evolves into community resilience outside of institutions. It is vital reading for scholars and students of sociology, anthropology, geography and urban studies with interests in subcultures, ethnography and the sociology of disasters.