Urban renewal

Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in British English) is a movement in urban planning that reached its peak in the United States from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. It has had a massive impact on the urban landscape and continues to the present day. It has also played an important role in cities worldwide, such as Saint John, New Brunswick, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, and Bilbao, Spain.

Urban destruction

Under the powerful influence of multimillionaire R.K. Mellon, Pittsburgh became the first major city to undertake a modern urban-renewal program in May 1950. Pittsburgh was famous around the world as one of the dirtiest and economically depressed cities, and seemed ripe for urban renewal. A large section of downtown at the heart of the city was demolished, converted to parks, office buildings, and a sports arena and renamed the Golden Triangle in what was universally recognized as a major success. Other neighborhoods were also subjected to urban renewal, but with mixed results. Some areas did improve, while other areas, such as Liberty Hill and Lower Hill declined following ambitious projects that shifted traffic patterns, blocked streets to vehicular traffic, isolated or divided neighborhoods with highways, and removed large numbers of ethnic and minority residents.

Related Topics:
R.K. Mellon - Pittsburgh - Golden Triangle - Liberty Hill - Lower Hill

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In 1956, the Interstate Highway Act gave state and federal government complete control over new highways, and often they were routed directly through vibrant urban neighborhoods?isolating or destroying many?since the focus of the program was to bring traffic in and out of the central cores of cities as expeditiously as possible and nine out of every ten dollars spent came from the federal government. This resulted in a serious degradation of the tax bases of many cities, isolated entire neighborhoods, and meant that existing commercial districts were bypassed by the majority of commuters.

Related Topics:
Interstate Highway Act - Tax bases - Commuters

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These developments lead many to say that, "Urban renewal is Negro removal"?and indeed, segregation continued to increase as communities were displaced and many African Americans and Latinos were left with no other option than moving into public housing while Whites moved to the suburbs in ever-greater numbers.

Related Topics:
Negro - Latinos

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In Boston, one of the country's oldest cities, almost a third of the old city was demolished?including the historic West End?to make way for a new highway, low- and moderate-income high-rises (which eventually became luxury housing), and new government and commercial buildings. Later, this would be seen a tragedy by many residents and urban planners, and one of the centerpieces of the redevelopment?Boston City Hall?is still considered an example of the excesses of urban renewal.

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