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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing can sometimes be a lonely process, but completing a book is not. It takes the time, effort, and resources of many people. My deepest regards go out to the many colleagues, mentors, funders, students, editors, friends, family members, and firm believers who have supported this project from the beginning. This book has been a long time in the making, and I have benefited in countless ways from their support and encouragement.

I am grateful for my closest readers and advisers. Randy Hester taught me what it means to be an activist-scholar and to measure my work by its impact on the world. Margaret Crawford first introduced me to the suburbs as an interesting place of study and has remained a steadfast enthusiast of great ideas and always pushed me to think bigger. Louise Mozingo grounded me in both the worlds of theory and practice, taught me to never hold my tongue, and always made time for me, even in the midst of completing two books of her own. Paul Groth taught me how to read and interpret ordinary landscapes and be a meticulous writer and scholar. Mai Nguyen kept close eyes on me and never failed to remind me about the grace and grit required to break down barriers. There is no one who put more wind in my sails during the final stages of this project than Carol Stack. A gifted writer and compassionate soul, Carol saw things in these pages and in me that I did not know or trust were there. I called on her for big things and small but mostly to hear her perpetually cheery voice and glimpses into the life of a true public intellectual.

This book has traveled with me across the country and through several institutions. To colleagues and friends at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Maryland at College Park who have read drafts, given me feedback, and supported my scholarship in so many other ways—thank you. I could not have been luckier to find such remarkable mentors so early on in my career. I am especially indebted to my longtime colleague and friend Shenglin Elijah Chang, who has always taught me to work hard and enjoy the journey that is our life’s work. Becky Nicolaides, Andrew Wiese, and John Archer, whose books all sat beside me and were copiously referenced, also provided me heavy doses of support and feedback along the way. Katrin Anacker, Tom Campanella, Wendy Cheng, David Freund, Bruce Haynes, Jeffrey Lowe, Marie Howland, Jim Cohen, Carol McKibben, Christopher Neidt, Herbert Ruffin, Alex Schafran, and Abel Valenzuela, you too have influenced this book in ways that you may not fully realize but are deeply appreciated.

I have been especially thankful to be a part of scholarly groups that have critically shaped how I think and write about issues of social justice. A special thanks goes to the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues at Berkeley, which provided not only financial support but also an intellectual home for a lonely social change scholar. Thanks especially to Christine, David, and Deborah for caring about the whole me, for your insightful and close reads, and for being among my best critics and cheerleaders. At the University of North Carolina, this role was taken up by my cohort of Carolina Postdoctoral Research Fellows. And at the University of Maryland, I have found a comfortable intellectual home in many places but most especially among the scholars and mentors I have connected with through their ADVANCE programs. Thanks especially to KerryAnn, Stephen, and Carol for never giving up or giving in. To my writing buddies both far and near—Andrew, Marisa, and Tonya—thank you for being there, do or die, and thanks to Kanisha for all the sweet potato fries and small victories that we have shared together along the way.

I have presented portions of this work at countless conferences, symposia, and invited talks. A hearty thanks is due to the Urban History Association and the Society of American City and Regional Planning Historians, whose conferences have been among my favorite places to present my work and, as I often tell my students, provide some of the best graduate student mentorship and writing support that I have found.

My thanks also go to funders at the University of California at Berkeley (the University of California Dissertation Year Fellowship, the Dean’s Normative Time Fellowship, the Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship, the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, and the University of California child care system) that eased both the time and financial burdens of writing; the University of North Carolina’s Carolina Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and Department of City and Regional Planning; and the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, which has never wavered in its support of my scholarship.

To the staff and editors at the University of California Press. Naomi, you are everything that I wanted and did not know that I needed for a first book—a steady guide and a stanch ally. And to the many anonymous reviewers of the book and previous versions of chapters published elsewhere, your exhaustive feedback has been generous beyond measure.

Thanks go to the many departmental staff members and graduate students who have tirelessly and graciously given their time to this project and responded to more than their fair share of frantic e-mails and last-minute requests. I also thank my students, who inspire me every day in the classroom, asking all the right “wrong” questions that take me to task and push my thinking.

I am grateful for all the people in Fremont who opened their homes, businesses, hearts, and minds to this project and spoke frankly and reflectively about their experiences in ways that I never expected.

My gratitude also goes to my friends in the many places that I call home, some of whom have read and commented on my work but perhaps more important interrupted me for study breaks, a glass of wine, or a warm cup of tea. They celebrated all of my milestones along the way and reminded me that writing a book takes a lot more than willpower.

My family both near and far cheered me on from day one often without the faintest idea of what I was writing about unfailingly maintained that whatever it was, it was going to be brilliant simply because it was mine. The stories that my father told inspired my interest and connection in Fremont, and his simple truths about life and work kept me resolute during the hardest of times. My mother never forgot to tell me how proud she was and always helped me to keep things in perspective with stories about her latest gardening adventure and culinary experiments. She was a fighter in every way who taught me the unbending courage that it takes to speak your truth. This book is written in her memory.

No one deserves more thanks than my husband, who suffered none of my doubts yet quietly listened as I recounted my own misgivings. He forced me to write in “plain English” and not sweat the small things. His calm and confidence made my writing better and bolder. This book took a tremendous amount of time and resources, and he shouldered the load without a question or complaint. I also thank Ashay and Temani, who never let me forget why I do what I do, for interrupting at all the right times, for their patience with my impatience, and for their endless curiosity that continues to inspire my own.

MAP 1. Fremont is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is widely considered a Silicon Valley suburb because of the large number of high tech companies and residents employed in high tech industries that have located there. Image by author.