Whose city? : redevelopment and governance in Boston
Name
775014519-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
12.22 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
62878ea44f464ef8e2dfcf9babb8b472
Author(s)
Molina Costa, Patricia
Advisor(s)
Brent D. Ryan.
Alternative Title
Redevelopment and governance in Boston.
Date Issued
2011
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis explores the challenges and opportunities of the community-based redevelopment model in a neoliberal economic context. Drawing on a review of the history and theories of redevelopment and governance in the United States, it analyzes the particular case of Jackson Square, a community-led redevelopment process in a low-income neighborhood between Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, in Boston. In an area that was razed for the construction of a failed highway project in the late 1960s, a partnership of community development corporations (CDCs) and private developers are struggling to implement a plan that was defined through a public participation process. The Jackson Square case is a paradigmatic example of a highly democratic decision-making process that resulted in a community vision for a distressed area. However, despite ideal community engagement and development by community-based nonprofit organizations, the project is being seriously delayed and downgraded due to an economic recession, while the community is not mobilizing to defend their vision and ask for much-needed public support. Given the structural inequalities engendered by the neoliberal economic system, and the government's retreat from leading the revitalization of distressed neighborhoods, this research questions the present ability of community-led processes to achieve their goals. Through a critical analysis of the role that each group involved is playing, this thesis aims to contribute to the improvement of the community-led redevelopment model in a way that enhances the creation of a more just city.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-99).
Subjects
Urban Studies and Planning.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
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