Mapping Alfred Street: A Microcosm of Detroit’s Socio-economic Change Through Time

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Alfred Street in the Brush Park neighborhood of Detroit has witnessed the socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic changes, inequalities, and policy-driven tensions within Detroit through time. These changes are often articulated through the lens of a select few and remove the voices of entire populations’ lived experiences that helped shape the city. This research seeks to amplify community voices through data visualization. Critical insights into neighborhood change between 1860 and 1950 were gathered from census data, archival research, and archaeological artifact analysis. The output maps, created using ArcGIS, are stark visuals that relay a complex and storied history of a neighborhood through time. They provide a visual reference for the archaeological artifacts, enhance contextual conversations about Detroit’s change through time, and facilitate an opportunity to amplify those who have been underrepresented.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025   •
• 2025 SHA Poster Submissions

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow