astd final

Rust Belt

• 60s-70s

• Areas of the US known for manufacturing that experienced sharp economic decline and population loss in the late 70s and early 80s

• The rust belt relates to the rest of class because the population loss and economic decline that it experienced was related to deindustrialization, when manufacturing corporations moved away from Rust Belt cities

Deindustrialization: Bluestone and Harrison def

• 60’s-70’s

• Deindustrialization mostly impacts white people or people with money that can afford to move out (to the suburbs) to where the jobs are going, leaving those who cannot afford to move. This mostly impacts industrial urban centers (for example, St. Louis and Detroit)

• Relates to the rest of class bc as jobs and capital flowed out of Urban centers, people who could afford to leave did so, resulting in population and income loss for cities and contributing to both the rise of “edge cities” and the decline of urban centers, particularly in the rust belt

1970’s Economic dislocations

• 70s

• Industries move out to “edge cities” or suburban which shifts around the locations of money and who has access to it. For example, many corporations moved to the south, resulting in many layoffs as they sought deregulation and automation

• Relates to the rest of class bc when companies moved out, the people who could afford to do so followed them. As a result, cities experienced large population and income/tax loss, contributing to the perceived decline of American cities

Three theories on deindustrialization: bluestone and harrison

• 70’s

• Spiritual decay: the US had it too good and workers have gone soft

• Big government: economy suffers bc big government is interfering

• Capital flight: summarizes economic dislocations, corporations use mobility of capital to relocate to places with lower wages(nonunion)

Capital flight

• 70s

• Theory that summarizes economic dislocations as companies using mobility of capital to relocate to places with lower wages

• Relationship: as capital and those with it left urban centers during deindustrialization, cities suffered population and income loss, contributing to the urban crisis we have discussed this semester

Camilo Jose Vergara: three types of contemporary ghettos

• 1995?

• Green: places where nature has taken back some of the buildings due to decline, but people still live there

• Institutionalized: privately designed way to move people of de facto segregation

• New immigrant: community takes over a part of the city

• gentrification and reagan’s policies helped cause this

Conflicting images of Flint, MI

• 80s-90s

• Differing views on why Flint, MI suffered economic decline and job loss; in some people’s view, General Motors (which previously employed a large amount of people there) abandoned Flint, while others (like David Bensman) argue that GM poured billions of dollars into plants like the one in Flint and that Flint’s economic decline was primarily due to other factors.

• This relates to deindustrialization, as corporations moved away from cities like Flint, which hurt them economically and resulted in large population and job loss

Reagan Democrats: characteristics

• 1980s

• A typically white, middle class, traditionally democratic voter who supported Ronald Reagan and started to vote red after he appealed to them with the new deal.

• Relates to the rest of class bc Reagan Democrats are an example of how voters who previously supported the War On Poverty became disillusioned with the Democratic party and shifted towards conservatism and against public welfare, helping contribute to urban decline over time. 

Reagan administration urban policy

• 1980s

• Argued that it was not the government’s job to care for the poor and so he moves money from public welfare into the private sector, arguing that was how to help people

• Relates to the rest of the class because Reagan greatly decreased the public welfare and other aid that the War on Poverty promoted, as well as pulling away public funding for cities and putting it towards corporations, which ultimately contributed to the decline of urban centers

New Federalism (1980s)

• 1980s

• Reagan opening up a third part of government through corporations and privatizing everything, while he also decreased the federal government’s power and slightly increased local government’s powers

• This relates to the rest of class because New Federalism was a part of RR’s urban policy, which also resulted in enterprise zones and decreased public welfare that previous presidents promoted during the War on Poverty

Enterprise zones:

• 1980s

• Zones with little government interference, welfare, or taxation; theoretically, these would help improve areas because companies would be encouraged by the low taxes to invest

• Relates to class bc these zones typically did not work as intended and ultimately failed to spur urban growth. Additionally, the enterprise zones were part of Reagan's larger urban policy that involved decreasing welfare funding and moving welfare into the private sector

“Welfare queen” iconography/anti welfare backlash

• 1980s

• The “welfare queen” was an example that Ronald Reagan used to justify his anti-welfare views–this was a racist caricature of a Black woman who was fuelling her lifestyle with welfare. This is a symbol of how public assistance came to be viewed as handouts for minorities

• The “welfare queen” shows how public opinion shifted on welfare; instead of aid for struggling citizens, it came to be viewed as free handouts for minorities

Urban moral panic: steve macek definition plus your own example

• 70s-90s

• America became alarmed about the perceived moral decline of cities, particularly being directed at Latino and Black residents; this was part of a larger movement of fears being taken advantage of by corporations in order to make profits.

• Other example: moral panic in the 1980s about the board game Dungeons and Dragons being satanic

• The “urban moral panic” contributed to the Broken Windows Theory and the criminalization of poverty and hostile urban architecture that would follow

Relationships between cultural texts and policymaking

• 80s-90s

• Cultural texts reflect the general opinions of the time, however, they also enforce the same beliefs–these texts can influence policies by how they encourage certain views

• For example, the urban moral panic of the 70s to the 90s resulted in many films being made that depicted cities as dangerous, apocalyptic places, and policies were rolled out that were harsher on small offenses (the criminalization of poverty/broken windows)

“Broken windows”: history, theory, implementation, critiques

• 80s-90s

• History: proposed by James Wilson and George Kelling in 1982

• Theory: Theory that is one window in a building is broken and left unrepaired, then the rest of the windows will also soon be broken–or in other words, small petty crimes lead to more and more big ones

• Implementation: As moral panic about cities rose, policymakers adopted the broken windows theory and throughout the 80s-90s passed laws that targeted smaller offenses, thinking it would also prevent bigger ones

• Critiques: As a result of the theory, crimes that poor/homeless people commit were made illegal–however, for many of those people, they aren’t hurting anyone and they don’t have a choice

• Relationship: one of the causes of the "criminalization of poverty” and hostile urban architecture 

“Criminalization of poverty”

• 80s

• When the broken windows theory became popular, laws were passed that were stricter on actions that many people have to take due to their socioeconomic status–for example, things like sleeping in public were criminalized, even though the homeless don’t really have anywhere else to go

• This relates to the rest of class because the criminalization of poverty was a result of the broken windows theory and the moral panic regarding urban spaces, and as a result, urban architecture shifted to be hostile to the homeless; for example, park benches were designed so that the homeless could not rest on them

“Hostile urban architecture”: concept

• 1980s

• Spaces begin to be designed to prevent homeless people from resting, sleeping, or sitting on things like benches, chairs, etc. in urban areas

• The popularity of the broken windows theory contributed to hostile urban architecture’s prominence, as things like sleeping in public became illegal and so architecture reflected this

Gentrification: Neil Smith def

• 80s

• Reinvestment of neighborhoods and social change in poorer urban areas, both urban and residential

• Explained by several theories

“Rent-gap” theory vs culturalist explanations for gentrification

• Late 70s-80s

• Rent gap: A theory that the driver of gentrification is a discrepancy between the rent prices and what the rent prices in an area could hypothetically be, and that capital increases itself while investors/companies try to take advantage of potential rent rises

• Culturalist: gentrification is caused by the social and political choices of the middle class

• Relates to the rest of class because… potential causes of gentrification

Displacement and potential causes

• 80’s onward

• Gentrification, while increasing property values, forces out previous residents who can no longer afford to continue living in an area

• relationship: gentrification

“Creative class” & cities, plus critiques

• 2000s

• Richard Florida’s theory that economic dynamism in the future will come from creatives, and the city that best captures them will beat out the others

• Criticism: catering to creatives speeds up gentrification, housing costs, and is largely focused on big cities

• Relationship: presents a type of gentrification in which cities and companies gentrify areas while trying to appeal to creatives

Three waves of gentrifiers: Andres Duany model

• 2000s

• A model for how areas become gentrified

• Risk oblivious: students, artists, and poorer people investing in and moving into poorer areas, socially gentrifying it but not really caring about financial risks

• Risk aware: people who like the “edgy” vibe or “bohemian” lifestyles but work normal jobs who move in because of the cultural tone of the area, but unlike the first wave, they care about their investment

• Risk adverse: large corporations and conventional investors moving in looking to profit off of the area, expecting the property values to rise

• Relationship: an explanation for HOW gentrification takes place over time

Ethical debate over gentrification: standpoints

• Began in 1980s-1990s

• Some people think gentrification is a good thing because money is flowing back into the cities and previously impoverished spaces, but many are concerned about how gentrification and the influx of wealth changes communities; for example, how original residents can be pushed out by rising costs of living

•  Connects to the rest of class bc a major concern about gentrification is how it pushes out older residents and erases the history of certain places rather than preserving it

Edge cities: characteristics

• 1990s

• Massive growths on the outskirts of urban cities where shopping used to be, these areas were the home of the “black middle class” and the rise of working from home; edge cities were/are commonly car-centered and largely isolated, with back rather than front yards.

• This relates to class bc deindustrialization resulted in companies moving out of urban centers, with edge cities around them

Edge cities vs traditional postwar suburbs

• 80s

• Edge cities: mansion-like houses that attempted to model some of the characteristics for neighbors interacting, however, they are largely more isolated; they are very car-centered with back rather than front yards. Residents typically work from home or work close to the edge city. These are also upward focused.

• Traditional suburbs: typically ranch style single family homes, where yards are popular and the communities tend to grow outward. Residents typically also travel out of the neighborhood for work.

• Deindustrialization resulted in companies moving out of urban centers, and people followed them and lived in edge cities around them–contrasts traditional postwar suburbs, wherein people drove out to their jobs in the city

dolores hayden

• 90s

• Specific visual characteristics of those areas and she argues if they’re good or bad (on back of sheet)

• Bloomburg: Connected, squiggly maze of house.

• Pod: Cul-De-Sac of houses, one way to get out and one way to get in, on isolated land.

• Tract Mission: Very large homes w very large lots. Very secluded compared to traditional suburbs that are very small and close together.

  • Can be connected with New Suburbs being more isolated and farther apart—edge cities

Anti-sprawl arguments: aesthetic, sociological, environmental, lifestyle, NIMBY, and your evaluations

• 90s?

• Aesthetic: the suburbs are ugly and make the land ugly

• Sociological: sprawl creates conformity and isolation

• Environmental: bad for the environment because of lawn-maintenance chemicals, energy use, cars, etc.

• Lifestyle: suburban life is restrictive, boring, and conformist; people want to go and socialize

• NIMBY: Not In My Backyard

  • Entitlement to spaces leads to restrictions tied to racism, classism, etc

• My evaluations: I do not like sprawl because I think it is bad for the environment

• White flight and NIMBY–people trying to control the community around them

Smart growth principles and policies

• 90s

• Focuses on mixed use land, diverse housing options, and efficient infrastructure usage in existing spaces rather than expanding

• A response to the sprawling suburbs and urban decline

Urban growth boundary

• 90s

• Boundaries that incorporated municipalities/cities cannot grow outside of

• Relationship: this is a characteristic of smart growth, however, this can cause issues with population density and housing shortages. This also goes against normal population density rules.

New urbanism: principles

• 90s

• High density diverse housing, interconnected street grids, accessible public spaces that foster community

• New urbanists follow these principles when designing new spaces, such as those on greenfield developments vs in urban areas. Additionally, these principles are similar to that of smart growth, but NU focuses more strictly on architecture

New urbanism: greenfield development vs urban infill

• 90s

• Greenfield: making use of new areas, such as on undeveloped “green fields”

• Urban infill: filling empty areas within existing communities

• Relationship: these were two different approaches that new urbanists took to improving shared spaces amid the rise of suburbanism

New urbanism vs smart growth: similarities and differences

• 90s

• Both prioritize walkability, mixed use buildings, high density living, varied transportation, and strong communities

• NU is a complimentary architecture movement that emphasizes traditional walkability and neighborhood bonds, focusing on the architecture of spaces

• SG originates in city planning and is not strictly architecture

• Relationship: New Urbanism and Smart growth are two different approaches to improving spaces in the face of suburban sprawl and America’s “urban crisis”

Critiques of smart growth and new urbanism

• 90’s to present

• SG: congested areas, reduced affordability, infringed personal freedom, and also used concrete and steel in design that New Urbanists would be wary of

• NU: “putting lipstick on a pig” and just making spaces look pretty rather than addressing the root causes of problems

• Two different responses to the urban decline and sprawl

Arthur Blumeyer homes, St. Louis: contrasting public housing models

• Established in 1968

• Originally four high-rise apartment buildings, but was torn down and rebuilt into hope-6 low rise town homes for a mixed income population. 

• Related to class bc the original apartments were urban renewal buildings, but they were torn down and instead shifted over to the Clinton-era approach to public housing

National Historic Preservation act of 1966

• 1966

• Legislation that created the National Register of Historic Places and added steps for demolishing historical structures

• Related to the historic preservation

Restoration vs reconstruction vs adaptive reuse

• 90s

• Reconstruction: rebuilding an older, unusable structure

• Restoration: try to restore older building to how it was previously

• Adaptive reuse: reusing a structure that was there before for a new purpose

• These are different approaches to historic preservation

Missouri Rehabilitation Tax credit program for historic buildings

• Late 90s

• A tax credit program for tourism/historic buildings being rehabilitated

• relationship

Preservation: monumental vs vernacular structures

• Years?

• Monumental: nationally significant structures that are considered the best that they can get

• Vernacular: locally significant structures that are important because of the people that used or inhabited them

• Relationship: these are two different types of structures that can be preserved

Historic preservation and social justice: relationship

• 2000s???

• The idea that historical preservation cannot accurately depict everyone that has used a space; for example, preserving an old building and not the impoverished community around it selectively remembers history

Immigration and nationality act of 1965

• 1965

• Ended immigration quotas, and also gave preference to migrants who were related to recent immigrants and those with necessary skills.

• Relationship: social demographics began to shift to an age of “New Immigration”; many more nonwhite/non European immigrants came to America, however, immigration became a more contested issue, as the rights of immigrants and their children have been under fire since the 1980s, especially refugees and undocumented immigrants

Types of immigration

• 1965 onward

• Immigrants typically come in response to economic/political unrest in their home countries or seeking better lives in the US

• Labor migrants: migrants who frequently fill low-wage manual jobs; some arrive via family-reunification preference programs or as contract laborers, while others may cross the border without documentation or overstay visas. These migrants are coming as a response to domestic demand for labor and commonly move back between the US and their country of origin. These make up the bulk of recent immigrants but pathways have been restricted since 2020.

• Professional immigrants: enter through formal immigration programs; work in higher-paid US professional occupations. Less visible to the native-born population and more frequently initially settle in the suburbs rather than in tight-knit ethnic communities

• “Entreprenurial immigrants”: characteristic of urban landscapes of small immigrant-run businesses, frequently cohere in identifiable enclaves; often create employment values for later arrivals

• refugees/asylees: Under the Carter-era refugee act of 1980, protections extended to those fearing persecution or harm in their home country–in practice, these preferences were weighted through 1980 to those fleeing communist governments rather than political persecution under anticommunist US regimes

  • In 2026, the trump administration has capped refugee admits at 7,500–with 3.5 million in process asylum cases, this has created a multi year backlog

• Relationship: following the immigration and nationality act, more of these people allowed to come in due to removal of quotas; influx of immigrants has led to “latino urbanism”

South grand and urban change

• 2010s

• After a period of economic struggle, businesses have filled the area of South Grand more densely and the area has also become more racially diverse. South Grand has also economically recovered over time.

• how immigration and demographic change can reshape an urban neighborhood, and as the neighborhood declines immigrant businesses can help commercial order

Immigration and “neighborhood aesthetic wars”

• 80s

• As immigrants move in, they change neighborhoods, which can cause conflict with the older residents who want to stick to the cultural norm

• Connected to how Latinos use space differently than native-born Americans do, as cultural issues like that can cause different communities to come into conflict

“Latino urbanism” vs “new urbanism”

• Became prominent in the 80s

• Latino Urbanism focuses more on shared public spaces, with street activities that do not stop in the night and mixed-use areas that build a sense of community. Additionally, there are less cars and people spend more time outside.

• NU: focuses on walkable neighborhoods and mixed-use areas

• Similar, but LU is more of an imported version of Latino culture while NU seeks to improve life through space design

US barrios and organization of public space

• Became big in 80s

• In Barrios, there is an emphasis on shared public spaces rather than living entirely indoors. This is because Immigrants brought over their culture from 

Peter Moskowitz, introduction to How to unalive a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood

• About gentrification and how Moskowitz found himself belonging to both the Gentrified and gentrifiers when he returned to New York from College, then considers how gentrification happens.

• Argues that while the “hipster” narrative of gentrification is not necessarily inaccurate, gentrification is systemic and based off of years of racist housing policies, and rather than individual acts being the primary forces behind gentrification, large events or real estate/governmental decisions are ultimately what cause cities to change. For example, following Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of many poor, Black neighborhoods, New Orleans marketed itself to White people (leading to gentrification).

• Relates to rest of the course because it argues that the “creative class” of hipsters are NOT the primary agents of gentrification, but that rather larger events or entities are mainly responsible

Green Manhattan

• Discusses how, despite being more populous than many states, Manhattan is still relatively energy-efficient

• Argues that spreading out increases damage to the environment, as New Yorkers take up less space and have less ability to create waste than their suburban counterparts, especially by using less cars–by this logic, the author says that urban centers are one of the few ways that humanity can try to solve the environmental issues that we have caused.

• Connects to the environmental argument against sprawl as the author demonstrates how cities–which are usually perceived as being bad for the environment–are actually better than sprawling suburbs

A. K. Sandoval-Strausz, “Building Latino Urbanism”

• Describes how latino barrio communities differ from typical American neighborhoods, particularly in regards to the use of public space

• Argues that the Latino Urbanism has been able to establish a lifestyle in their Barrios similar to which New Urbanism aims to create, and that their hard work has enabled Latinos to have safer and healthier areas

• Relates to New Urbanism in that LU’s shared spaces is very similar to that which NU aims to create and demonstrates the benefits to New Urbanist’s vision for how to solve urban decline

Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class

• Discusses the “creative class” and how companies are shifting to hire the new generation of creatives who think outside of the box and have new values

• Argues that a new class of young people–the creative class-are what make cities thrive, and that by catering to this group, cities can achieve dominance and drive economic growth.

• Florida’s theory has driven gentrification; by trying to cater to the “creative class,” cities drive up their costs and often price out older residents

Alex Kriegger, The Costs, or have there been benefits too, of sprawl

• Describes the history of suburban sprawl, as well as specific arguments that have formed against it

• Argues that Americans have not abandoned their “instinct” towards sprawl because of factors like housing costs (more affordable housing that gets more valuable over time), but that we are becoming less tolerant to the sprawling of our neighbors as we become more aware of the issues with sprawl. Ultimately, Kreigger writes that the only way for Americans to fully move on from sprawl would be to abandon our self-interests (such as with housing costs) and decide that the long-term consequences of sprawl are too great

• Sprawling suburbs helped lead to the rise of policies like Smart Growth and New Urbanism, which directly combat suburban sprawl

Broken Windows Theory

• Discusses crime and how to decrease it

• Argues the “broken windows theory”: that is one window is broken in a building, the others will soon follow. Essentially, this means that if people get away with small crimes, it will lead to bigger crimes

• Adoption of this theory led to the “criminalization of poverty” and hostile urban architecture towards the unhoused