by 
In
honor
of
Black
History
Month,
I
annually
write
some
piece
that
honors
the
significance
and
impact
of
the
contributions
of
Black
people
on
the
American
urban
environment.
In
the
past
I’ve
written
about
the
people,
historical
and
in
the
present-day,
who
made
our
communities
better
through
their
research,
their
professional
endeavors,
their
political
acumen,
and
their
art,
advocacy
and
activism.
Taken
together,
the
contributions
of
individuals
has
led
to
a
distinct
view
of
how
Blacks
can
and
should
live
in
cities
–
what
I
call
Black
Urbanism.
Today,
however,
I
won’t
focus
on
the
people
and
their
contributions
to
the
American
urban
environment.
Instead,
I
will
focus
on
the
significant
physical
imprint
that
Blacks
had
on
cities,
as
they
moved
from
the
rural
South
to
the
urban
North
throughout
the
20th
century,
despite
the
constraints
placed
on
them
by
segregation.
Black
Town
Centers
As
a
kid
I
often
heard
many
older
Black
people
say
that
Blacks
lost
as
much,
if
not
more,
through
integration
than
we
gained.
Most
referred
to
the
strength
and
cohesiveness
of
their
segregated
neighborhoods,
by
saying
things
like,
“we
saw
Black
success
all
around
us,”
or
“we
had
everything
we
needed
right
where
we
were.”
They
were
talking
about
how
segregation
ironically
created
tight-knit,
self-sufficient,
mixed-income
communities
that
were
walkable
–
the
things
urbanists
and
planners
seek
in
communities
today.
Unfortunately,
as
Blacks
became
more
geographically
dispersed
by
income
and
wealth,
the
strength
of
those
communities
was
eroded.
But
for
roughly
two
generations,
between
the
1910s
and
the
1960s,
the
influx
of
Blacks
into
major
cities
led
to
the
creation
of
Black
town
centers
that
served
the
needs
of
a
community
that
had
to
become
self-reliant.
Despite
barriers,
Blacks
created
thriving
business
hubs
that
provided
goods,
services,
and
cultural
sustenance
to
their
communities.
These
commercial
districts
were
not
just
economic
centers
but
also
social
and
cultural
hubs,
fostering
a
sense
of
solidarity
and
identity
among
its
residents.
The
mid-20th
century
Black
town
centers
had
everything
we
urbanists
talk
about
today
when
referring
to
“15-minute
cities”.
There
were
grocers,
clothing
shops,
and
restaurants.
There
were
doctor’s
and
lawyer’s
offices,
banks,
and
insurance
companies.
There
were
bars,
jazz
clubs
and
venues
that
attracted
the
top
names
in
Black
entertainment.
And
the
town
center’s
amenities
were
predominantly
owned
by
Black
entrepreneurs.
The
decline
of
black-owned
commercial
districts
began
in
the
mid-20th
century,
influenced
by
several
factors.
The
most
significant
was
urban
renewal
policies,
which
often
resulted
in
the
displacement
of
African
American
communities.
Highways
and
new
developments
were
frequently
constructed
through
thriving
black
neighborhoods,
leading
to
the
destruction
of
these
commercial
districts.
Additionally,
the
desegregation
of
the
1960s,
while
a
monumental
step
towards
equality,
had
unintended
economic
consequences.
African
Americans
gained
access
to
previously
white-only
businesses,
leading
to
a
dispersal
of
their
economic
power.
The
rise
of
large
chain
stores
also
undercut
smaller,
black-owned
businesses,
which
struggled
to
compete.
Economic
recessions,
discriminatory
lending
practices,
and
lack
of
access
to
capital
further
exacerbated
the
decline.
The
1968
Fair
Housing
Act
aimed
to
address
some
of
these
issues,
but
the
damage
to
black-owned
commercial
districts
had
already
been
severe.
By
the
1980s,
many
Black
town
centers
had
been
so
decimated
that
their
presence
had
largely
been
lost
to
history.
However,
they
were
never
completely
forgotten.
My
first
planning
job
assignment,
with
the
City
of
Chicago
in
the
early
1990s,
was
to
work
on
what
we
called
the
Mid-South
Plan,
covering
the
city’s
south
lakefront
communities.
Residents
attending
community
meetings
remembered
the
vibrancy
of
the
area’s
heyday
in
the
1950s
when
it
was
referred
to
as
Bronzeville
and
sought
to
revive
that
long-forgotten
name.
Read
the
rest
of
this
piece
at
The
Corner
Side
Yard.
Pete
Saunders
is
a
writer
and
researcher
whose
work
focuses
on
urbanism
and
public
policy.
Pete
has
been
the
editor/publisher
of
the
Corner
Side
Yard,
an
urbanist
blog,
since
2012.
Pete
is
also
an
urban
affairs
contributor
to
Forbes
Magazine’s
online
platform.
Pete’s
writings
have
been
published
widely
in
traditional
and
internet
media
outlets,
including
the
feature
article
in
the
December
2018
issue
of
Planning
Magazine.
Pete
has
more
than
twenty
years’
experience
in
planning,
economic
development,
and
community
development,
with
stops
in
the
public,
private
and
non-profit
sectors.
He
lives
in
Chicago.
Photo:
Hollywata
via
Flickr
under
CC
2.0
License.
Go to Source
Author: Pete Saunders
