Black Landscapes of the Collective Memory: Urban Renewal Reparations for Lakeland

Abstract

Urban renewal was a United States federal land redevelopment program whose primary purpose was to address urban decay and blight in cities by restoring economic vitality. However, the areas most affected tended to be overwhelmingly African American, ultimately leading to the decimation of Black communities, displacing countless families and individuals in the process. Today, reparations for these communities continue to be a much-debated topic, especially in a post-George Floyd society. Urban renewal not only destroyed neighborhoods but also destroyed public space. Therefore, reparations should not only be for the ruination that urban renewal brought, but also as a direct replacement of public space that had previously existed. This thesis shall explore the agency of landscape architecture to establish urban renewal reparations and restorative justice manifested in the form of commemorative sites of healing and remembrance for Lakeland, a historic African American community affected by urban renewal.