↗URBN 1000: Introduction to CitiesPart 2: U.S. Cities: Historical and Modern PerspectivesClass Outline: ➢ urban crisis vs. urban revival➢ Gentrification➢ Post-K New Orleanssuburban investment…urban disinvestment↗ Did the immediate post WWII suburb (1945-1960) cause rapid social and economic destruction in the inner city↗ True and false: true, but not immediately after↗ Inner-city blacks actually worst off in inner-cities after the Civil Rights Movement than they were before the movement↗ Started really in late 1960s and rapidly into the 1970s↗ Shift of people and businesses takes middle-class away from the city, taking their disposable income with them↗ Suburbs destroys downtown commerce in favor of malls↗ Inner-city decay: popular media images in the 1970s and 1980s↗ Example: urban housing projects: rise of “the ghetto”21st Century Urbanism↗ Cities (and suburbs) are constantly changing over time↗ 20th century “urban crisis” vs. 21st century “urban revival”↗ 1970s and 1980s inner-cities “urban crises”: ↗ High crime-rates↗ Poor public education↗ Government abandonment of social welfare programs↗ High rates of poverty↗ Poor housing stock and dismal city infrastructure↗ Eroding tax-base due to white-flight↗ Deindustrialization↗ https://demographics.virginia.edu/DotMap/index.htmlAnti-urbanism 1970s↗ (but as early as the 1940s!)1990s-today: urban revival↗ The 2000s witnessed Americans “rediscovering” the city center↗ “urban renaissance” of American cities↗ No longer just urban problems—now “suburban problems” too↗ Urban crime declined nationwide by 2/3 b/w 1994 and 2014↗ Key idea: changes in cities and suburbs happen not because of individual choice(s) but because of structural decisions made by powerful (social, economic, political) entities (that therefore influence our choices…)↗ structure vs agency↗ investment in one area…leads to disinvestment in another↗ Urban revival is highly uneven and unequal, and not all benefitConvention Centers↗ Convention centers are one example of an economic growth strategy to revive major downtowns↗ Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center:↗ Strategically located at intersection of French Quarter, CBD, and Warehouse District, and Canal Street↗ Location near Harrah’s Casino, the Port of NOLA, many hotels and restaurants, and the newly reopened River walk Mall↗ Draws many national conventions and promotes tourism↗ Opened 1984 as part of World Fair in NOLA↗ 1.1 million sq ft; 5th largest in country; 2nd busiest before KatrinaErnest N. Morial Convention CenterNew Orleans Convention CenterNew Orleans Convention Center: Future ExpansionGentrification↗ Gentrification: ↗ The social/cultural/economic process of urban neighborhood change where middle-class, oftentimes white and college-educated individuals, move into poor, primarily black and ethnic neighborhoods, bringing economic investment and capital after years of disinvestment. They rehabilitate historic and culturally-rich housing (shotguns in NOLA), which in turn raises property values, but also displaces and out-prices the poor residents who have lived there for decadesNOLA shotgun houses“Gentrification” History↗ Term first coined in 1964 by British sociologist, Ruth Glass, describing the return of the British “gentry” into historic, inner-city urban neighborhoods of London↗ “One by one, many of the working class neighborhoods of London have been invaded by the middle-classes—upper and lower. Shabby, modest mews and cottages…have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences ... Once this process of 'gentrification' starts in a district it goes on rapidly, until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed.”Gentrification characteristics ↗ The following patterns are typically associated w/ gentrification:↗ Starts in poor neighborhoods b/c land and housing is cheap (due to decades of urban disinvestment and suburban investment)↗ Shifts from ______ to ______:↗ renters to homeowners↗ low property values to higher property values↗ Blacks/ethnics to whites↗ lower and working class to middle and upper class↗ “DINKS”: Dual Income, No Kids↗ new restaurants, coffee shops, and “niche” stores ↗ Creation of green spaces, including dog parks and bike pathsGentrification stages“gutter Punks”: transient, rebellious, youth, “squatters” “hipsters”, “starving artists and musicians”, gays & lesbians“yuppies”, fresh-out-of-college, “techies”, wants to be in “authentic Treme” or “hip Marigny”“bohemian bourgeoisie”: upper-class, lawyers, doctors…Starbucks and Whole Foods!Gentrification: pros and cons↗ Con: negatively critiqued as rich whites displace poor blacks in neighborhoods that they previously viewed as both dangerous and undesirable↗ Pro: decrease in crime rates↗ Con: loss of racial and ethnic diversity in favor of homogeneity↗ Pro: increase in property value, housing rehabilitation, and economic investment (after decades of disinvestment)↗ Con: benefits are unevenly enjoyed and neighborhoods become too expensive for the original inhabitants, which leads to a “loss of culture” that attracted the gentry in the first placePost-Katrina New Orleans is gentrifying↗ 2005 and the 9 years following have marked a dramatic transformation of the city’s urban geography: ↗ it is whiter↗ It is less dense↗ It is gentrifying↗ It is more-educated↗ It is wealthier↗ It is rebuilding on higher groundNew Orleans, Katrina, and Gentrification↗ Hurricane Katrina was a social—NOT natural—disaster ↗ Who was most severely affected by the breaking of the levees?↗ Overwhelmingly African American neighborhoods↗ Who lived and who died in the storm was a result of historical social inequalities in the city↗ Elevation also mattered—every foot counted!↗ “largest internal U.S. diaspora of displaced people as a result of a natural disaster in American history”↗ Helps us make better sense out of how we think about and understand what we refer to as “natural disasters”↗ Today, the city has drastically transformed—for good and bad1880s New OrleansHurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaPost-Katrina NOLAOrleans Parish Jefferson Parish2000