Document Type
Article
Department or Administrative Unit
Anthropology and Museum Studies
Publication Date
Spring 2020
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.
Recommended Citation
Amason, J.H. (2020). The Making and Unmaking of an Appalachian “Home”: Tensions between Tourism and Housing Development in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Journal of Appalachian Studies, 26(1), 8-24. https://doi.org/10.5406/jappastud.26.1.0008
Journal
Journal of Appalachian Studies
Rights
Copyright © 2020 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Included in
Appalachian Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons
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.