Colette Blog Post
Date
Today there is a risk of cultural displacement from historic contexts. When analyzed globally, cultural displacement from urban historic contexts is significant. In fact, the type and effect of relocation differs between historic and non-historic urban contexts (Azarnoush, Kenari, Ghaari, and Roders, 2022). In historic contexts particularly, forced relocation is more common than voluntary, with the most prominent factors causing this being economics and policies (Azarnoush, Kenari, Ghaari, and Roders, 2022). Even some urban development projects aimed at improving this historic context have caused displacement. For example, “state-led urban development policies in historic Mexico City have pushed up land and housing prices, making it difficult for low-income people to continue.” Furthermore, it has been found that certain designations, like UNESCO world heritage sites, can drive up tourism that pushes residents out due to pricing (Azarnoush, Kenari, Ghaari, and Roders, 2022). This phenomenon might be applicable to National Register designation, which is a legal effort in the United States to preserve the historic fabric.
The relationship between historic urban context and cultural displacement seems to vary from city to city. For example, it has been shown that in Fort Worth, Texas National Register designation did not lead to statistically significant cultural displacement (Coulson and Leichenko, 2010). In contrast, in Chicago, Illinois researchers found that a cluster of National Register historic sites were linked to gentrification in the surrounding area (Grevstad-Nordbrock and Vojnovic, 2019). Because this phenomenon can happen so differently from city to city, it is interesting to pinpoint what about this location caused the correlation between historic designation and gentrification. Historic designation is more likely to correlate with gentrification in cities that have strong real estate markets (Grevstad-Nordbrock and Vojnovic, 2019). The mechanism follows three main steps: It starts with the neighborhood being promoted as historic and desirable. Next, residents and homeowners build to use up all space, such as additions to homes or new development to fill lot space. Finally the last step is “tear downs.” Because the value of the neighborhood has grown, there is financial gain in tearing down historic buildings to make room for new developments that still benefit from the “character” of the surrounding historic neighborhood (Grevstad-Nordbrock and Vojnovic, 2019).
This mechanism could be at work in Tucson’s barrio neighborhoods today, which are sought after for their walkability, southwestern feel, and historic character. In 2019 a home sold for $1.5 million in Barrio Viejo for the first time, clearly marking rapid price increases (Foster, 2019). The Tucson Displacement Study, from University of Arizona Planning Masters Students (2020), created a numerical scale to rate populations’ risk of displacement around Tucson, and many historic neighborhoods showed an increased risk compared to much of the city. Furthermore, many Mexican-American downtown residents have perceived gentrification to be happening and report feelings of isolation because of it (Quiros, 2009). While historic districts should be appreciated, behind the scenes, Mexican American families are being forced out by predatory developers and rising rent and property taxes (Foster, 2019). Historic preservation has benefits of conserving cultural heritage and strengthening a sense of community. However, in Tucson there is a significant issue that the very communities that have created historic neighborhoods are being displaced.
References
Feagin, J. R. (1987). Urban Political Economy: The New Paradigm Matures [Review of Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place., by J. Logan & H. Molotch]. Contemporary Sociology, 16(4), 517–519. https://doi.org/10.2307/2069910
Gibson, T.A. (2004), “Covering the world-class downtown: Seattle's local media and the politics of urban development”, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 283-304.
Ted Grevstad-Nordbrock and Igor Vojnovic (2019) “Heritage-fueled gentrification: A cautionary tale from Chicago.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1296207418300700
