Neoliberalism, Race and the Redefiningof Urban Redevelopment

• Christopher Mele ^[1]
  1. [1] University at Buffalo, State University of New York

     University at Buffalo, State University of New York

     City of Buffalo, Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: International journal of urban and regional research, ISSN 0309-1317, Vol. 37, Nº. 2, 2013, págs. 598-617
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Neoliberal urban redevelopment is often represented as consensual, socially-neutral‘local economic development’with a positive effect on both a city’s overall economy andits level of racial and ethnic diversity. The purpose of this article is to focus specificallyon the key ideological premises of color-blind racial discourses that help facilitateand provide necessary legitimacy (and ideological cover) for neoliberal urbanredevelopment in a mid-sized US city. Color-blind racial discourses facilitate the agendaand mandates behind tax abatements, enterprise zones, public–private partnerships andnew forms of urban consumption. Despite efforts to the contrary, neoliberal urbanismdoes not retreat from race — rather, racial dynamics are reconstituted to accommodateprocesses of capital accumulation and uneven urban development in poor and minoritycities. Drawing on the case of Chester, Pennsylvania, this article focuses on howcolor-blind racial discourses influence exclusionary urban redevelopment policies andpractices, facilitate their implementation and legitimize their outcomes.