What can architecture and urban planning do to mitigate racial inequality? Do we still believe that residential racial integration is the solution? Miami’s lines of racial segregation have barely moved since the Civil Rights movement. On the one hand, incoming immigrants settled in neighborhoods according to preexisting demographics, while residential programs crafted in the aftermath of the 1968 Fair Housing Act to promote integration were increasingly defunded. On the other, new infrastructure projects, along with real estate interests, reconfigured the city’s geography in some areas. As a result, black neighborhoods experienced a decline. How can new “placemaking” initiatives, largely spearheaded by communities and the nonprofit sector, contribute to overcoming inequality?
Panelists: Shekeria Brown (South Florida Development Coalition), Neil Hall (Overtown’s Urban Collective/Arts Africa), Dr. Willie Logan (Opa Locka Community Development Corp.), Dr. Moses Shumow (Florida International University)
Moderator: Professor Robin Bachin (University of Miami)