From Freedman's Town To Uptown: Community Transformation And Gentrifícation In Dallas, Texas

In this article, we tell the story of the transformation and gentrification of an African-American community (initially known as Freedman's Town and later as North Dallas) in Dallas, Texas. Beginning in the 1940s with two major government-sponsored projects (Roseland Homes and the Central Expre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban anthropology and studies of cultural systems and world economic development 2005-07, Vol.34 (2/3), p.177-216
Main Authors: Prior, Marsha, Kemper, Robert V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Cemeteries
Cities
Communities
Community Development
Dallas, Texas
Expressways
Gentrification
Homes
Housing
Neighborhoods
Retirement communities
Urban anthropology
Urban Development
Urban Renewal
White people
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Summary:In this article, we tell the story of the transformation and gentrification of an African-American community (initially known as Freedman's Town and later as North Dallas) in Dallas, Texas. Beginning in the 1940s with two major government-sponsored projects (Roseland Homes and the Central Expressway) and continuing through the speculative real estate "bubble" of the 1970s and the "bust" of the 1980s, much of the community was leveled to the ground. Eventually, with the cooperation of the city government, private developers acquired large blocks of property and began to build up a new high-density, mixed-use residential/commercial area known as Uptown. An urban space that once contained a unified, but segregated, African-American community now is segmented into an extensive Arts District, the 43-story corporate center Cityplace, the State-Thomas Historic District of Victorian-era homes, and a completely rebuilt Roseland Homes public housing project, all linked to Uptown's thousands of new apartments and hundreds of boutiques, shops, restaurants, and entertainment enterprises. This community transformation through gentrification offers an important lesson for other cities contemplating their pasts and looking toward their futures.
ISSN:0894-6019
2328-1022