(Re)Centering place within Detroit's black gentrification

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.