This article problematizes the development of affordable housing as a form of equity planning. Th... more This article problematizes the development of affordable housing as a form of equity planning. Through both qualitative and quantitative data, the article examines three affordable housing projects within a redevelopment plan in Santa Ana, California. The research finds that a narrow focus on affordable housing, as it is designed and produced within the larger affordable housing complex, facilitates the process of gentrification and displacement. The findings show that equity is more than housing production alone. When affordability is defined at a larger scale, and the planning process is stripped of substantive community participation, affordable housing loses its more equitable underpinnings.
Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 2017
Abstract Micro-urban interventions at the smallest scales represent a challenge for planners conc... more Abstract Micro-urban interventions at the smallest scales represent a challenge for planners concerned with social justice and urban theory. This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of micro-urbanism through an exploration of the Little Free Library phenomenon. Two case studies in Madison, Wisconsin and Santa Ana, California provide data for a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis that together support a complicated view of the phenomenon and offer insights into urban theory. In particular, the article proposes that Little Free Libraries represent micro-urbanist actions, which can be analyzed according to a theoretical terrain that often blurs the boundaries between “do-it-yourself,” tactical, and guerrilla urbanism. Our research supports the view that micro-urban interventions can take on different forms as either a grassroots contribution to resolving urban problems or a bottom-up effort reinforcing existing and developing spatial inequities.
In this study, we analyze why a low-income community failed to meaning- fully affect plans for th... more In this study, we analyze why a low-income community failed to meaning- fully affect plans for the redevelopment of the Station District in Santa Ana (CA) although they used three avenues to do so: public participation, liberal democracy, and deliberative democracy. The city provided opportunities for public participation but controlled the agenda, effectively preventing residents from reframing the discussion. The liberal democratic electoral system failed residents because many were ineligible to vote, while city council members received campaign contributions from external business interests. Residents did develop extensive deliberative democratic processes that produced collaborative plans; however, these plans were not well incorporated into the official plan. In addition, the city refused to sign a community benefit agreement through which residents could hold the city and developer responsible for the redevelopment plan.
This article problematizes the development of affordable housing as a form of equity planning. Th... more This article problematizes the development of affordable housing as a form of equity planning. Through both qualitative and quantitative data, the article examines three affordable housing projects within a redevelopment plan in Santa Ana, California. The research finds that a narrow focus on affordable housing, as it is designed and produced within the larger affordable housing complex, facilitates the process of gentrification and displacement. The findings show that equity is more than housing production alone. When affordability is defined at a larger scale, and the planning process is stripped of substantive community participation, affordable housing loses its more equitable underpinnings.
Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 2017
Abstract Micro-urban interventions at the smallest scales represent a challenge for planners conc... more Abstract Micro-urban interventions at the smallest scales represent a challenge for planners concerned with social justice and urban theory. This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of micro-urbanism through an exploration of the Little Free Library phenomenon. Two case studies in Madison, Wisconsin and Santa Ana, California provide data for a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis that together support a complicated view of the phenomenon and offer insights into urban theory. In particular, the article proposes that Little Free Libraries represent micro-urbanist actions, which can be analyzed according to a theoretical terrain that often blurs the boundaries between “do-it-yourself,” tactical, and guerrilla urbanism. Our research supports the view that micro-urban interventions can take on different forms as either a grassroots contribution to resolving urban problems or a bottom-up effort reinforcing existing and developing spatial inequities.
In this study, we analyze why a low-income community failed to meaning- fully affect plans for th... more In this study, we analyze why a low-income community failed to meaning- fully affect plans for the redevelopment of the Station District in Santa Ana (CA) although they used three avenues to do so: public participation, liberal democracy, and deliberative democracy. The city provided opportunities for public participation but controlled the agenda, effectively preventing residents from reframing the discussion. The liberal democratic electoral system failed residents because many were ineligible to vote, while city council members received campaign contributions from external business interests. Residents did develop extensive deliberative democratic processes that produced collaborative plans; however, these plans were not well incorporated into the official plan. In addition, the city refused to sign a community benefit agreement through which residents could hold the city and developer responsible for the redevelopment plan.
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into the official plan. In addition, the city refused to sign a community benefit agreement through which residents could hold the city and developer responsible for the redevelopment plan.
into the official plan. In addition, the city refused to sign a community benefit agreement through which residents could hold the city and developer responsible for the redevelopment plan.