Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: How the Demolition of the Chicago Housing Projects Affected Gun Violence

Jasmine Adams, Oberlin CollegeFollow

Location

King Building 343

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-29-2016 1:30 PM

End Date

4-29-2016 2:30 PM

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between the increase in gun violence and the demolition of Chicago’s historically black housing projects. Recent literature tends to assert that only one source (i.e., poverty) contributes to the proliferation of gun violence in our urban communities. I argue that this approach fails to take into account the extreme fluctuation of poverty and violence, which occurred after the demolition of select housing projects in Chicago. The mass migration this caused led to overpopulation of many neighborhoods, which added to the already extreme poverty and lack of resources faced by community members. This, in turn, has led to increased violence in those communities. This project explores the history of the demolition of the housing projects and shows how the demolition, an urban planning decision via the federal government, led to the increase in violence in African American neighborhoods in Chicago.

Notes

Session I, Panel 6 - The Production of Space: Studies of Ethnicity, Identity, and Place
Moderator: Wendy Kozol, Professor of Comparative American Studies

Major

Sociology

Advisor(s)

Clovis White, Sociology

Project Mentor(s)

Clovis White, Sociology

April 2016

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Apr 29th, 1:30 PM Apr 29th, 2:30 PM

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: How the Demolition of the Chicago Housing Projects Affected Gun Violence

King Building 343

The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between the increase in gun violence and the demolition of Chicago’s historically black housing projects. Recent literature tends to assert that only one source (i.e., poverty) contributes to the proliferation of gun violence in our urban communities. I argue that this approach fails to take into account the extreme fluctuation of poverty and violence, which occurred after the demolition of select housing projects in Chicago. The mass migration this caused led to overpopulation of many neighborhoods, which added to the already extreme poverty and lack of resources faced by community members. This, in turn, has led to increased violence in those communities. This project explores the history of the demolition of the housing projects and shows how the demolition, an urban planning decision via the federal government, led to the increase in violence in African American neighborhoods in Chicago.