Author: An Urban Renewal
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On Our Communities & Climate
The last week of September marks Climate Week, a period of conversations and discussion where local and international institutions reflect on the state of affairs on climate change. While we labor through the last days of one of the hottest summers on record, I hope to make the beginnings of a larger argument on the…
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The Dilemma of the College Town: Baltimore, MD
When I was a pre-teen, I was introduced to the archetype of the college town through various films and television shows. While there are commonalities that show up in most of these types of media, what is often absent is a dignified portrayal of locals living in the communities around these settings. Generally they are…
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The Challenges of Black Suburbs: Dolton, IL
But corruption in small town America isn’t particularly new. What is different is the visibility of such corruption by a Black mayor against their mostly Black town.
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The Future of Black Suburbs: Hampton, GA
The growth across much of the urban South has been explosive, with a lack of key conversations about the infrastructure needed to sustain this growth.
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A Retrospect on Jackson: Water Pipes over Highways
August marked the 2-year anniversary of the water crisis that plagued the city of Jackson, Mississippi through much of 2022 and a good portion of 2023. I must emphasize that the crisis impacted the city of Jackson, rather than the region, and highlight the many implications of that fact. What should have become a collaboration…
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“Don’t Move Here, We’re Full” and Other Discourses
So, wouldn’t the average person not be somewhat happy to have their hometown described on the internet as a positive place to be? Depending on what you think that may mean for your community, maybe not. Let me explain.
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Invisible Lines and Loud Boundaries
I began to write this post in the early days of ongoing siege of the Gaza strip and international demands for a ceasefire back in October 2023. In the first days and weeks, I have found myself looking at the region not just through numerous posts on social media and news segments, but also the physical…
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An Urban Renewal, Behind The Name
The title for this site was inspired, at least in part, on a segment from an interview between reknown psychologist Dr. Kenneth Clark and writer James Baldwin, which you can watch in its entirety below. At around 14 minutes, Baldwin recalls a conversation with a Black teenager during the filming of the documentary ‘Take This…
An Urban Renewal 