2008 - Race, Class, and Planning: The limits of physical development in addressing social issues

Consciously or unconsciously, planners are actors in class and race issues associated with social equity as the environments they create intersect with the social and economic life of communities. This paper explores the ways in which planning theorists and practioners have approached and affected class and race differences over time, from urban renewal initiatives in the mid-20th century to bold, contemporary experiments in creating mixed-income communities.

Through a case study of one mixed-income community in Baltimore built through the federal HOPE VI program, this paper describes benefits and limits of dramatic physical redevelopment in reducing urban poverty and stimulating upward class mobility.

Images/Documents

LAkchin finalpaper.pdf