Story highlights Photographer Daniel Traub's new book profiles a struggling area of North Philadelphia

Traub says he examined neighborhoods long troubled by destitution yet ripe with beauty and possibility

"I want to show the complexity of the place. ... It has a lot of hidden richness," Traub said

(CNN) Daniel Traub knew North Philadelphia in his youth, accompanying his artist mother from their home in the more affluent central Philly as she helped residents transform vacant lots with sculptures and murals.

After growing up and working 10 years on photos examining economic divides in China, he knew where he wanted to look next.

"I want to show the complexity of the place. ... It has a lot of hidden richness that maybe has been overlooked," Traub said.

Daniel Traub

For example? Start with the ubiquitous churches, some recently converted from commercial buildings. Others, as he writes in the book's essay, were "built in more prosperous times, such as the Church of the Advocate, which played an important role in the Civil Rights era."

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