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From "Blighted" to "Historic"

Race, Economic Development, and Historic Preservation in San Diego, California

University of Southern California

Using the example of three buildings in San Diego, the author examines the negotiations between city officials and local residents over competing images of race and history. He shows how the outcomes of these negotiations are used to support and legitimate economic development and historic preservation policies. His main point is that although policies are depicted as race neutral, the results are often racialized. This happens because of the tendency of routine, institutional processes to recognize the history of White communities rather than those of racial minorities, contributing to whiteness. As part of the process of racial formation, activists counter labels of minority neighborhoods as "blighted" and "slums" with the view that they are attractive centers of business, culture, and tourism.

Key Words: economic development • historic preservation • growth machine • Chinese Americans • African Americans • San Diego • race • whiteness

This version was published on November 1, 2009

Urban Affairs Review, Vol. 45, No. 2, 166-187 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1078087408327636


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