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Ghetto Residents and Urban Politics

Attitudes Toward Urban Renewal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

John H. Lindquist  and
Charles M. Barresi
John H. Lindquist
Affiliation:
Trinity University
Charles M. Barresi
Affiliation:
University of Akron
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Extract

One of the traditional themes running through the literature on urban renewal is that the residents of urban renewal areas are universally opposed to being relocated. Relocation is described as being destructive of community subcultures which provide a viable social milieu for the residents. It is argued that the term “slum,” denoting a disorganized social structure and apathy on the part of the residents, is a misnomer (Gans, 1962; Jacobs, 1961; Glaser, 1968). Urban renewal areas, it is said, represent unified neighborhoods for some ethnic groups, though not for all (Gans, 1965: 30-31). Among the most eloquent spokesmen for this point of view have been those who researched and made famous Boston's West End. Thus Herbert Gans wrote of the feelings of urban renewal victims (Gans, 1965: 29):

Slum dwellers whose homes were to be torn down have indeed protested bitterly, but their outcries have been limited to particular projects; and because such outcries have rarely been supported by the local press, they have been easily brushed aside by the political power of the supporters of the projects in question.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , November 1970 , pp. 239 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © 1970 The Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

AUTHORS' NOTE: This is a revised version of a paper read at the joint Ohio Valley Sociological Society Midwest Sociological Society Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 1969. The authors are indebted to The University of Akron's Center for Urban Studies for making needed data available. Dr. Norman F. Washburne assisted in scale construction, and Dr. Lloyd B. Lueptow provided computer programming assistance.

References

GANS, H. (1965) “The failure of urban renewal.” Commentary 39 (April): 29–37.Google Scholar
GANS, H.-(1962) The Urban Villagers. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
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HARTMAN, C. W. (1963) “Social values and housing orientation.” J. of Social Issues 19 (April): 113–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Housing and Home Finance Agency (1965) Local Public Agency Letter 347. Washington, D.C.: Urban Renewal Administration.Google Scholar
JACOBS, J. (1961) The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
WOLF, E. P. and C. N., LEBEAUX (1967) “On the destruction of poor neighborhoods by urban renewal.” Social Problems 15 (Summer): 3–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar