Rethinking Redevelopment: New Urbanism, Neoliberalism, and Sustainable Urban Design Initiatives in Cleveland, Ohio

Location

King Building 323

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-28-2017 1:30 PM

End Date

4-28-2017 2:50 PM

Abstract

This article explores unintended consequences that result from recent urban design initiatives in Cleveland, Ohio. Historically rife with environmental injustice issues, Cleveland’s built environment continues to exhibit issues of distributive justice across racialized spaces. In this research project, I first establish a lens through which I scrutinize New Urbanist aesthetics as those geared towards the white spatial imaginary, deconstructing its whiteness. I seek to answer: is New Urbanism inherently racist? I then explore how New Urbanism in the U.S. has spread into circles of sustainable urban design, pushing space and place towards a homogenized normativity. Third, I examine the history of racial prejudice in urban planning in Cleveland. Lastly, I analyze census data surrounding neighborhoods in which sustainable urban design initiatives have been implemented or are underway. In analyzing how these neighborhoods are changing as a result of these initiatives, I look for the presence of New Urbanist aesthetics or the realization of some their principles and theory. I hope to uncover some of the indirect effects of projects deemed sustainable. The purpose of this project is to look critically at initiatives that are gauged as sustainable, widening the discussion of sustainability in planning and architecture to encompass economic and social factors, not merely environmental ones.

Keywords:

architecture, urban planning, urban design, New Urbanism, environmental justice

Notes

Session I, Panel 1 - Anti-Black | Racism
Moderator: RaShelle Peck, Faculty in Residence, Afrikan Heritage House

Full text thesis available here.

Major

Environmental Studies

Advisor(s)

Md. Rumi Shammin, Environmental Studies

Project Mentor(s)

Md. Rumi Shammin, Environmental Studies
Peter Minosh, Architectural History
Greggor Mattson, Sociology

April 2017

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Apr 28th, 1:30 PM Apr 28th, 2:50 PM

Rethinking Redevelopment: New Urbanism, Neoliberalism, and Sustainable Urban Design Initiatives in Cleveland, Ohio

King Building 323

This article explores unintended consequences that result from recent urban design initiatives in Cleveland, Ohio. Historically rife with environmental injustice issues, Cleveland’s built environment continues to exhibit issues of distributive justice across racialized spaces. In this research project, I first establish a lens through which I scrutinize New Urbanist aesthetics as those geared towards the white spatial imaginary, deconstructing its whiteness. I seek to answer: is New Urbanism inherently racist? I then explore how New Urbanism in the U.S. has spread into circles of sustainable urban design, pushing space and place towards a homogenized normativity. Third, I examine the history of racial prejudice in urban planning in Cleveland. Lastly, I analyze census data surrounding neighborhoods in which sustainable urban design initiatives have been implemented or are underway. In analyzing how these neighborhoods are changing as a result of these initiatives, I look for the presence of New Urbanist aesthetics or the realization of some their principles and theory. I hope to uncover some of the indirect effects of projects deemed sustainable. The purpose of this project is to look critically at initiatives that are gauged as sustainable, widening the discussion of sustainability in planning and architecture to encompass economic and social factors, not merely environmental ones.