Many North American cities were subject to fundamental transformations during the decades after the end of WWII. As more and more families embraced life in the suburbs, the core of many cities declined due to the erosion of the tax base and growing difficulties to fund police and fire departments, educational facilities, infrastructure etc. This seminar looks at the attempts to remedy this situation, often called “urban renewal,” and its long-term implications. In particular, we will discuss the practice of redlining and its importance for the racialized hierarchies in many American cities, “slum clearance” projects that often displaced poor and black communities, anti-highway protests, and more recent developments such as gentrification.
- Trainer/in: Uwe Lübken