What Happened to Grandma's House? Exploring Structure and Agency in the Gentrification of Seattle's Central Area.
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Authors
Murphy, Emily Jordan
Issue Date
2009
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to understand gentrification in terms of a structural process, identify the
key actors and stakeholders, and focus on the hurdles plaguing one particular community
organization at the heart of a gentrified neighborhood. I examine the significance of agency
within Seattle's Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP) and the housing needs of the
neighborhood's low-income African American residents. My goal is to examine gentrification in
a unique and nuanced way by advancing the following arguments: (1) That gentrification is the
teleology of Western modernity, embodied in the neoliberal market usurpation of the urban
landscape; (2) That purely structural explanations of gentrification are morally disenfranchising
and undermine individual and community agency. Informed by the conceptual framework from
the literature review and my fieldwork in the Central Area, my final synthesis takes the form of
recommends on how CAMP can build on preexisting community assets in order to better serve
the housing needs of low-income African American residents in the community.
Description
v, 45 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College.
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.