Researcher(s):
Rachelle Hanson Atsatsa Antonio Kori Groenveld
ENVS course(s): 220 Initiated: November 2015 Completed: Go to project site
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Contemporarily in cities throughout the world, from Manchester to Toronto, we are witnessing processes of gentrification play out. Gentrification can be defined as “the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents”. Often, such processes are racially biased in which white or more affluent populations will displace people of color or of lower socioeconomic status. City urban planning efforts often exacerbate rather than ameliorate the issue. Portland, OR is no exception, and presents an intersting context to further explore these issues.
From Black exclusion laws of the mid 1800’s to the flooding of Vanport City during WWII, Portland, has a racially exclusive history, which is represented today by the city’s lack of diversity. By comparing PDC project rhetoric against census demographics, from URA project initiations through 2010, our research explores the potential for contemporary urban development projects to perpetuate historically constructed social injustices. Our research is centered on the question: How does the rhetoric of PDC’s Urban Renewal Projects compare to the reality of spatio-temporal demographic shifts related to gentrification (race, education, and income) in project areas?