(Re)Centering place within Detroit's black gentrification
Name
1193561382-MIT.pdf
Size
4.02 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
ef27ccc792a93e2b179e30dcbc446fd3
Author(s)
Peña, Stephanie(Stephanie E.)
Advisor(s)
Ceasar McDowell.
Date Issued
2020
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Detroit's 1940s industrial boom began to falter in the middle of the twentieth century as foreign competition and automation spurred deindustrialization. Employment scarcity and a growing black population ignited white flight that cut Detroit's population dramatically and cemented the region's persistent segregation. In efforts to augment the local tax base, cycles of mayors at the turn of the century initiated revitalization efforts to attract and retain talent to Detroit's shrinking city. Declining infrastructure and federal funding pushed Detroit leaders to seek private funding to support city improvement projects that ultimately exhibit exclusionary practices towards the broader lower-income populations of Detroit. As residents see persistent reinvestment outside of their central-city neighborhoods primarily benefiting newcomers, frustration grows. These emotions create what urban geographers Mark Davidson and Loretta Lees refer to as "emotional geographies," that ultimately construct a sense of displacement without residents being physically displaced. The following thesis aims to analyze the limitations of Detroit's revitalization efforts that overlook the importance of place when implementing anti-displacement and equitable development initiatives.
Description
Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, May, 2020
Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 39-43).
Subjects
Urban Studies and Planning.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.
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