Denise Gallagher, Graduate Research Assistant, MTSU Center for Historic Preservation
Proposal Type
TBD, looking for feedback
Seeking
- General Feedback and Interest
Related Topics
- Civic Engagement
- Preservation
- Memory
Abstract
In my own research I am looking at how preservationists interpret the history of urban neighborhoods and how those methods overlook local communities. I have looked at how preservationists have been limited by artificial constraints that prevent a full interpretation of the cultural landscape and how they are largely missing from the academic discourse on gentrification.
In my master’s thesis research, I focus on the history of Edgefield’s African American community (located in an area now referred to as Northeast Nashville, TN) and how it is facing the threat of physical and cultural erasure due to the process of gentrification. I review the history city planning, zoning, public housing, redlining, urban renewal, and residential succession in Nashville to provide historical context for the process of urban decline, which set the stage for gentrification. I’m engaged in community-centered preservation practices that aim to recognize the struggle, celebrate the history, and preserve the legacy of gentrifying African American neighborhoods.
This topic relates to the conference theme in the sense that inhabitants of gentrifying neighborhoods are the undervalued “middle”. Chronologically, the inhabitants of these urban neighborhoods are those who remained or moved in after the neighborhoods initial development and stayed through the period of decline that began after World War II and are those who are vulnerable to displacement during the period of revitalization or gentrification. They are also the undervalued because preservationists celebrate the initial development of the neighborhoods in historic district narratives, then ignore the period of decline, only to celebrate the neighborhood’s revitalization or return to its mythical golden age.
Some scholars point to the field’s “theoretical confusion” over how and why historic sites and districts are preserved. In 2004, David Tipson argued that the field focuses on indirect benefits like aesthetics, tourism, and property values instead of direct benefits that support cultural and educational value of historic resources. For example, a strong theory of preservation based on community building through public history would include the needs of the local community, rather than just preservation-minded residents or tourists. (Note: see New York Times article, “The End of Black Harlem” by historian Michael Henry Adams).
Seeking
I wish to connect with other public historians interested in the intersection of historic preservation and gentrification in the cultural landscape of American urban neighborhoods. Let’s move beyond cause/effect and discuss the ramifications. I do not have a format in mind, but would be interested in developing a session that explores this timely topic.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to share contact information for other people the proposer should reach out to, please get in contact directly: Denise Gallagher
If you have general ideas or feedback to share please feel free to use the comments feature below.
All feedback, and offers of assistance, should be submitted by July 3, 2016.