front porch

Originally constructed for flood control and hydroelectric power, the TVA's vast chain of lakes quickly revealed their potential to promote regional prosperity by attracting visitors interested in fishing, boating, and vacationing. "More than we realize," he writes, "bodies of water hold a mirror to the societies that inhabit their shores," and in his view, the South's modern coasts now exhibit environmental degradation, massive land losses for black farmers, immense costs to taxpayers, the privatization of public spaces, and extensive developments that are vulnerable to every passing storm.