The Political Waves of Displacement: Heritage and Neoliberal Urban Renewal

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Urban Erasures and Contested Memorial Assemblages" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

During the 19th and 20th centuries in the US, some urbanization methods included displacement of the working-class and communities of color. Discriminatory housing policies delineated communities to the periphery of the urban landscape, many to industrial zones or fringe housing stock. Largely forgotten, these communities now find themselves on hallowed capitalistic ground—waterfronts with views or historic districts with character. Resiliency projects and private investment in historic districts complicates the current cycle of urban re-creation, at times erasing these communities through neoliberal urban renewal. Many development projects are located in historic districts or are attached to governmental funding that require environmental reviews. Therefore, does heritage and heritage management play a role in the social sustainability of communities? Or contribute to the gentrification process? This paper explores how targeted communities in New York City respond to these latest waves of displacement.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• Urban Erasures and Contested Memorial Assemblages

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 282