Dr. Sarah Lowndes is a writer, curator and Research Fellow at Norwich University of the Arts, UK. Her other publications include ocial Sculpture: The Rise of the Glasgow Art Scene (2010), All Art is Political: Writings on Performative Art (2014) and Contemporary Artists Working Outside the City: Creative Retreat (2018).

"The author brings together a remarkably diverse set of creative ventures, such as bands, record labels and live-music venues, exhibition spaces, art galleries and bookstores, as well as magazines and publishing imprints, among others, while demonstrating how these pursuits reflect but also, crucially, affect the social and cultural environments within which they occur." -- Mari Valdur, University of Helsinki, European Association of Social Anthropologists

• Preface Part 1: Creative Self-Reliance in the Post-War Period 1. We Couldn’t Get the Door Closed: San Francisco since 1955 2. More Love House Than Can Ever Be Repaid: Los Angeles since 1955 3. We Had to Make It Up: Dusseldorf after 1960 4. I Can Do That: New York after 1975 Part 2: DIY and Entrepreneurship in the 1970s and 80s 5. There Are No Barriers: London after 1976 6. A Radical Change of Gear: Manchester since 1980 7. It Was Not a Competition: Cologne after 1980 8. Maybe I Can Change a Block: Hard Core and Straight Edge in DC after 1979 9. We Felt Like It Was Our Space: Detroit since 1987 Part 3: DIY in the Age of Neo-liberal Capitalism 10. Poor but Sexy: Berlin after 1989 11. It's Going to Happen: The Glasgow Art and Music Scene since 1990 12. Rebel Girl You Are My World: Riot Grrrl in Olympia, Washing after 1991 13. This Locality Moves to the Internet: Moscow since 2000 14. The Power is Stronger These Days: Istanbul since 2013 Conclusion