Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2003.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Serda, Daniel
Other Authors: Lawrence J. Vale.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7985
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author Serda, Daniel
author2 Lawrence J. Vale.
author_facet Lawrence J. Vale.
Serda, Daniel
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description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2003.
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spelling mit-1721.1/79852019-04-12T15:33:24Z Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization Serda, Daniel Lawrence J. Vale. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2003. Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-246). Inner-city neighborhoods have gathered new life as the hopeful settings for the resurrection of community, safety, economy, and social vitality. Preservationists, artists, historians, and urban designers make bold claims that urban heritage can strengthen community identity, empower neighborhood residents, and serve as catalysts for economic revitalization. Despite the prominence of such claims in professional and policy discourse, the social and political implications of heritage revitalization strategies remain largely unexplored. This exploratory study therefore builds a theory explaining the ways in which heritage is used by different groups and actors to promote the economic revitalization of historic inner-city neighborhoods. This dissertation uses a comparative case-study method to apprehend three ways in which heritage is used instrumentally to promote neighborhood revitalization: heritage as reclamation, the invocation of legacies to validate disputed claims to space by communities engaged in struggle; heritage as remembrance, the evocation of the past through commemoration; and heritage as restoration, the literal and discursive recreation of the past in the present through ritual and ephemeral urbanism. Two neighborhoods, the 18th and Vine Historic District of Kansas City, Missouri, and Ybor City in Tampa, Florida, represent in-depth case studies of the second and third categories. The model developed in this dissertation identifies four structural factors intrinsic to differences in the outcomes of heritage-based revitalization: 1) small-scale activities by "place entrepreneurs," or individuals with active financial, social, and ethnic commitments to place; 2) the creation, manipulation, and promotion of heritage narratives by heritage institutions (such as museums and historical societies); (cont.) 3) the public institutions and policies through which heritage is developed and implemented; and 4) the symbolic evocation of memory and place through "ephemeral urbanism", including routine patterns of street life as well as elaborate "invented traditions" such as fairs and festivals. The conclusion offers recommendations for designers and planners engaged in heritage-based practice. by Daniel Serda. Ph.D. 2005-08-24T22:34:04Z 2005-08-24T22:34:04Z 2003 2003 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7985 53009829 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 246 p. 31798884 bytes 31798642 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Serda, Daniel
Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization
title Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization
title_full Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization
title_fullStr Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization
title_full_unstemmed Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization
title_short Re-constructing place and community : urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization
title_sort re constructing place and community urban heritage and the symbolic politics of neighborhood revitalization
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7985
work_keys_str_mv AT serdadaniel reconstructingplaceandcommunityurbanheritageandthesymbolicpoliticsofneighborhoodrevitalization