Redignifying LaVilla: Visualizing and Recentering Black Epistemologies in the Revitalization of LaVilla, Jacksonville, Florida

Abstract

There is a need and desire for planners and designers to atone for racism and white supremacy in the field, and Reparative Planning as a theory and practice is a start. This thesis looks at recent revitalization efforts in LaVilla, a historic African-American neighborhood situated in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida as an example of reparative planning, with specific interest around the upcoming Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park. The creation of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park signals a pivotal moment for Black Landscapes in the US South in which the City of Jacksonville is looking to use public space to acknowledge and preserve local Black history. As the downtown area transforms, there is a need for grounding revitalization in a reparative process that is informed by lived experience and local expertise. Drawing upon methods such as unstructured interviews, archival research, and visual inquiry, this thesis proposes scrapbooking as an innovative approach to activating archives and visualizing Black Epistemologies within the urban planning context. At the core of this project lies the argument that Black Epistemologies represent a legitimate expertise that is missing from revitalization efforts. Planners and other practitioners engaged in anti-racist, reparative work should embrace these epistemologies as a valuable resource to inform their understanding of the built environment from distinct cultural and historical perspectives.