white spatial imaginary lecture

neoliberalism

promotes state deregulation, a decrease in state involvement accompanied by privatization and free market approaches, to encourage economic growth

spatial advantage of whiteness

• access to superior schools

• protection from environmental hazards

• inclusion of word-of-mouth networks about jobs and social opportunities

• access to cheaper forms of credit

• proximity to sources of employment

• better services from the underfunded public sphere

impact of homeownership

legacy of discrimination in the housing market for African Americans

key source of the wealth gap

urban renewal

helped construct a new white identity in the suburbs by helping destroy ethnically specific European-American urban inner-city neighborhoods

race more important, ethic differences less important

white flight

btwn 1960 and 1977, 4 million whites moved out of central cities, while inner city black populations increased by 6 million

by 1998, 86% of whites lived in places with a black pop below 1%

urban renewal and highway projects as a vicious cycle

population loss led to decreased political power, which made minority neighborhoods more likely to be subjected to further urban renewal and freeway constructions

as well as placement locations for prison, waste dumps, and incinerators or other chemical hazards