(Urban Development & Power) + (Environmental Governance & Commons)

Robert Moses vs. Jane Jacobs

Conflict between top-down urban planning (Moses) vs. community-based, human-scale cities (Jacobs)

Urban Decay / Urban Renewal

Decay: decline of city areas.
Renewal: redevelopment, often displacing residents

Frederick Law Olmsted

Landscape architect who designed public parks (e.g., Central Park) to improve urban life

The Great Migration

Mass movement of Black Americans from the rural South to northern/western cities (1910–1970)

White Flight

Movement of white residents from cities to suburbs, often after racial integration

Redlining

Discriminatory housing policy denying loans/services to minority neighborhoods

Urban Growth Machine

Theory that cities grow based on coalitions of elites seeking profit from land development

Gentrification

Wealthier people move into poorer neighborhoods → rising costs → displacement

Public-Private Partnerships

Collaboration between government and private sector to fund/manage projects

Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) Securities

Financing tool where future tax increases fund current development

The Tragedy of the Commons

Shared resources get overused because individuals act in self-interest

Design Principles for Common Pool Resources (Elinor Ostrom)

From Elinor Ostrom — rules showing communities can sustainably manage shared resources

Multilevel Governance

Decision-making spread across local, national, and global levels

Spatial Scale Mismatch

When environmental problems and governance operate at different scales (e.g., global climate vs. local policy)

Absentee Ownership

Owners control land/resources without living there, often prioritizing profit over sustainability