Department or Administrative Unit

Anthropology and Museum Studies

Document Type

Article

Author Copyright

Copyright © 2020 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Publication Date

Spring 2020

Journal

Journal of Appalachian Studies

Abstract

This article examines the economic and symbolic dimensions of redevelopment in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I focus on one particular project, the East Parkway at Baskins Creek Bypass District, which concerned ten acres that contained a vital housing resource for low-income tourism-industry workers: residential motels. I connect Gatlinburg’s housing crisis with changing labor patterns in the wake of economic restructuring. I present two letters submitted by real estate developers and solicited by the City of Gatlinburg. In analyzing the letters, I identify two tensions: (1) between workers’ homes and the aesthetics of “Appalachian” tourism, and (2) between representations of workers and the diverse realities of workers’ lives. I conclude by arguing that solutions addressing housing alone—without also considering tourism-industry labor patterns, including fluctuating wages— will ultimately fall short of accomplishing affordable housing for Gatlinburg’s residential workforce.

Comments

Published as "The Making and Unmaking of an Appalachian 'Home': Tensions between Tourism and Housing Development in Gatlinburg, Tennessee." Journal of Appalachian Studies 26 (1). © 2020 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Download
Contact Author

Share

COinS